FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE06-03
January
31, 2006
Contact:
Ian Michaels
(718) 595-6600
DEP
to Release Endangered Peregrine Falcon at Flushing Meadows
Park Unisphere in Queens
Date: |
February 1, 2006 |
Time: |
11:00 AM |
Location: |
Unisphere at Flushing Meadows Park
Queens, NY |
DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd and staff will release
an endangered Peregrine falcon that was rescued in Westchester
and rehabilitated at a wildlife center in New Jersey.
Peregrine falcons are listed by the State of New
York as an endangered species. Today, there are numerous
territorial pairs of Peregrine falcons that maintain active nest
sites within New York City, including at the Verrazano Bridge,
the Throgs Neck Bridge, Riverside Church, New York Hospital and
the Brooklyn Bridge.
Peregrine falcons are the world’s fastest bird. They
can reach a speed of over 200 miles per hour in a vertical dive
and in level flight average about 60 miles per hour. They
are predators that feed on other birds within their territory. Adults
have a wingspan of about 40 inches.
DEP, in cooperation with the New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation, manages the Peregrine Falcon Program
in the metropolitan area. The program ensures that nesting
falcons have appropriate nesting boxes to prevent eggs and young
from rolling off nests; inspects the birds and their nests to ensure
that they are free of disease; bands the birds so that their travels
and lifetimes can be traced, maintaining records of the birds;
and protects them from human disturbance.