Every year for the past 15 years a feathery couple has given birth to four baby birds outside the Nassau University Medical Center.
But this year’s hatching surprised everybody because a fifth baby bird was born on the 17th floor ledge, brining the total number of birds born outside the hospital to 55.
The proud parents, Meadow and Brook, named after the Meadowbrook parkway, aren’t just any regular birds. They are peregrine falcons.
They first arrived in 1997 and were given a 3 x 4 box to help hatch their eggs. And ever since the hospital provided them with that box, they haven’t stopped adding to the family.
State environmental officials visit the ledge around the same time every year to place a band on each of the four birds to track their whereabouts because they are on the endangered species list. So when officials climbed up to the box this Friday, they were surprised to find one extra baby falcon.
The additional tiny falcon put a hitch in the hospital’s plan to name the four birds after the four members of the music group, Black Eyed Peas. But the hospital quickly solved that problem by giving the fifth newborn the title of group manager.
Unlike their parents, the Nassau University Medical Center will only be a temporary residence for will.i.am, Fergie, Taboo, apl.de.ap, and their manager. The young group of falcons will migrate elsewhere once they learn how to fly.
Weird names
