Jersey falcons put up a squawk

BAYONNE, N.J., May 26 (UPI) -- Port Authority workers said they got a rude welcome when they poked around a new falcon nest near the Bayonne Bridge linking Staten Island and New Jersey.

A biologist climbed to the top of a tower Friday to the tag a pair of falcon chicks in the nest, and received plenty of static from the parent birds.

"They were flying around, squawking at us," said Ron Marsico, a spokesman with the Port Authority, who monitored the operation.

The chicks were named Archie and Juliette and may have a pretty good life ahead of them once they grow into their flying feathers. The area around the bridge is flush with food in the form of starlings, pigeons and other birds, the New York Post said, as well as plenty of tall buildings where falcons can perch during their hunting sorties.