Peregrination

by C. Fernsebner, concerning the matter of Babies

Gothamist recently reported that a nestful of peregrine falcon chicks was found on the Throgs Neck Bridge. They're snow-white clumps of down with grumpy, grey faces.

A cursory flickr search reveals that the sight of hard-hatted men holding adorable baby birds (of prey) is not unique to New York City:

Washington State's Department of Transportation (which has a flickr account!) even puts nesting boxes on bridges:

Falcons hunt starlings and pigeons, the main source of bird droppings which corrode the bridge paint. The faster the bridge paint corrodes, the more frequently bridge maintenance crews must work on the bridge. In short, the peregrine falcons help save taxpayer dollars.

Above: Biologist Michael MacDonald and peregrine chick, from WSDOT's peregrine falcon flickr set.