April 18, 2023 under mostly cloudy skies, very breezy with wind from SW at 22MPH, gusts to 31MPH, and temp at 55F. INitial stop along Merrimack Street looking NE towards Clock Tower and scanning all known perch locations. Discovered the two year old unbanded female in a ledge diagonally above the 2:00 setting on the large clock face. She was enjoying some type of snack provided by the banded male.

Minutes later she lifted up and off in flight heading westward and away from the Clock Tower.

At 3:21, after circling the tower in flight, the male came roaring in, circling the tower, and then landing and moving inside the nest box. The young female followed right after him and this image shows her arriving into the nestbox!

Quickly pulled out my cell phone and gained access to the nest box webcam to catch looks of the male and female tilting forward and head bowing towards each other, a normal routine in the courtship rituals between Peregrine Falcons. The male leg bands are clearly visible on his lower left leg. So the big question continues, what may happen next, and is the other female already incubating eggs nearby?

A bit later, the male and female regrouped on the upper ledge, diagonally above the 2:00PM clock face. The female continued to feed on prey left earlier by the male. They spent a few minutes on the ledge together before the male lifted off in flight. The mystery continues……

April 19, 2023 under overcast skies, wind W at 13MPH with gusts to 21MPH, and temp at 50F. After initial scouting on the north side of the Merrimack River, discovered the male perched atop the red brick Pacific Mills smokestack located at the north end of the Casey Bridge. After watching a few minutes, also observed the young female. A minute later, she lifted up and launched into flight towards the river.

She returned shortly and perched near the male. She started to lean forward and make loud begging type calls directed at the male. A short while later he took off in flight and headed towards the Clock Tower.

April 20, 2023 under clear skies, light winds, and temp at 59F. After a number of random online nest box checks during the day through the webcam, spotted activity with both the male and the young female. Yet again, the courtship rituals continue with the male performing classic head low bowing along with eechip vocalizations. The image below from the webcam shows these actions.

A short while later, had a chance for direct observations, and found both falcons perched together, in close proximity, on the south side of the red brick Pacific Mills smokestack. The male was perched in the bright sun and the young female back a bit and in the shadows from my vantage point. Still no sightings, nor any sign of activity for the adult female. No way of knowing if she is still around and quietly incubating eggs nearby. The mystery continues……

On Sunday afternoon, under overcast skies, light rian, wind E 10 MPH, and temp at 47F, while online during a plane ride home, made a quick check on the falcons and found both the male and young female in the nest box. They continued with pair bonding and courtship ritual activities. The male continues is in the back, leaning forward and bowing his head low.

That’s it for this week….stay tuned!