Duck Injured by Peregrine Falcon Rescued on Mid-Hudson Bridge

This gives a whole new meaning to the term 'lucky duck.'

The New York State Bridge Authority is known for giving traffic and travel updates on its social media sites. They even update drivers about weather conditions and speed restrictions on all bridges across the state and other information that can be helpful in the future.

Sometimes there are updates that make people like myself do a double-take. Earlier this week that's exactly what happened after the New York State Bridge Authority shared that their maintenance staff rescued an injured duck from the Mid-Hudson Bridge.

In a Facebook post, shared on January 5th, 2023 the New York State Bridge Authority introduced us to Pickles, the duck. Yes, that's right Pickles. The name fits perfectly since, as the Bridge Authority explains, she found herself in quite the pickle.

They write:

MHB Security Technician, Maria, was out doing her rounds and spotted the injured duck (later identified as a Lesser Scaup) on the pedestrian path of the Mid-Hudson Bridge. She reached out to our Maintenance personnel who came to the rescue.

The team at the Bridge Authority teamed up with Annie from Wild Mountain Birds, which is located in Rosendale and does "wild bird rescue, rehab, and education programs in NYS" according to their Facebook page. They believe that Pickles was injured by a young Peregrine Falcon.

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Peregrine Falcons are no strangers to the Mid-Hudson Bridge area. Every year, towards the end of March, the Bridge Authority airs a live stream of the falcon nest that becomes active that time of year.

Thankfully, there is fantastic news to share. The Bridge Authority spoke with Annie after the rescue and write:

She filled us in on Pickles, who is eating, drinking, and making normal duck “messes” and Annie is confident that Pickles has a 95% chance of survival and will most likely be released back into the wild once her wound heals.

A big shout-out to Dan, Evan, Shawn, Kevin, Maria, and Annie for getting Pickles the duck to safety and healthy recovery.