Memorial Day started off under overcast skies with fog and mist, wind from the north at 9MPH, and temp at 52F.  Sunrise time was at 5:12 AM.  The forecast for the day ahead calls for patchy drizzle before 10am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 68. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning.  WOW!….from near 90F Saturday afternoon, to stuck in the 50s yesterday afternoon, it was about as big of a turnaround as you’ll see around here as August weather went to April real quick.  The week ahead brings warmer temps and lots of sunshine for the growing peregrine chicks!

Now we are around day 15, and the chicks are beginning to enter the “hunchback” phase, during which they are often seen in the pose above, with their feet splayed out in front of them and their head angled forward.  Today, we continue to observe the chicks in the ongoing lazy mode of lounging and sleeping in the back left corner of the nest box, with the attentive female always nearby.  Around 2PM, the female returned to the nest with prey in talons.  Once she settled inside, the chicks gathered in the semi-circle position, and they provided a nice look at their feet splayed out and they all stood in hunchback mode! 

Literature cited:

Ratcliffe, D. 1993. The Peregrine Falcon. 2nd ed. Carlton, England: T. and A. D. Poyser.

The Canadian Peregrine Foundation, Peregrine Falcon Development – Age Guide; http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/info/ageguide.html