A pair of Bald Eagles has shacked up and built New York City鈥檚 first eagle nest in at least a hundred years.
The newcomers were spotted earlier this month by a tugboat captain, who watched the pair shuttle nest material to the top of an unused dock on a small uninhabited island just off the coast of Staten Island, the southernmost of New York鈥檚 five boroughs. (Another pair of eagles, one sub-adult, the other fully grown, . They were practicing nest-making, a behavior common among young birds.)
That the raptors are in the market for city real estate is a good sign. Nationally, the birds were nearly wiped out by DDT before the pesticide was banned in the 1970s, and the population has been climbing gradually ever since, thanks in large part to Endangered Species Act protections and reintroduction efforts. Today roughly 173 breeding pairs nest in New York state, roughly 2 percent of the national population. In winter, the state鈥檚 Bald Eagle population jumps much higher when birds from Canada and Alaska fly south in search of areas with open waters brimming with fish鈥攍ike the Hudson River which circumvents part of New York City.
As the population grows, the eagles will have to travel farther afield in search of food. And that can only mean we鈥檙e going to see more and more of them in urban centers 鈥淏ecause eagle numbers are increasing,鈥 says Bob DeCandido, a Bronx-based ornithologist, 鈥渢his is probably just the beginning.鈥
The birds are unlikely to become the next tourist attraction, though鈥擭ew York state discourages revealing the exact locations of nests, to protect against poachers and crowds that might spook them.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e talking about a bird that was federally endangered at one time, the symbol of the United States,鈥 DeCandido explains. 鈥淚f people get too close they are going to be in big legal trouble.鈥 Warnings aside, he expressed delight at the eagles鈥 return, mentioning that urban areas often provide great habitat for wildlife, despite their reputation as concrete jungles.
Many other raptors have also found homes in Gotham, drawn by the large numbers of rats and pigeons to feast on. Peregrine Falcons, American Kestrels, and Red-tailed Hawks all build nests on Manhattan buildings, and Ospreys, Cooper鈥檚 Hawks, and three types of owls breed in Brooklyn and Queens. It鈥檚 a good reminder that even birds can make it in the big city.