Lawrence Peregrines: week of March 6, 2023

March 12, 2023 in lawrence peregrines

March 6, 2023 under clear skies, wind NW 15MPH with gusts to 23MPH, and temp at 41F. After viewing the female moving around inside the nest box around 7:30AM from the webcam, had a nice opportunity to view her again on the lateral perch pole outside the box just before 10AM. She continues to spend time in and around the nest box in advance of final pair bonding activities, and preparing to lay eggs around the end of this month. This view from Merrimack Street below the nest box.

March 7, 2023 under mostly cloudy skies, wind NW 13MPH with gusts to 22MPH, and temp at 33F with wind chill at 24F. Arrived at the Clock Tower with no sign of either falcon, then moved on to the Verizon Clock Tower. Not surprising with continued chilly temps to find the male perched on one of the south facing heat exhaust ledges. This is a favorite perch location in the winter months. No female in sight. The male scratched and preened for a while with this photo showing the male using his right leg for head scratching. Note the federal silver leg band on the right foot. Hoping to capture an image showing the black/green 78AB state leg band….stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 8, 2023 under overcast skies, wind N at 12MPH and gusts to 24MPH, and temp at 37F. Just before 10AM, the female was observed perched on the outer edge of the nest box and looking off to the west. She walked in and out of the nest box a number of times and was seen pushing the gravel around to prepare the scrape for laying eggs. Prior research indicates that although the male will lead the female to scrape locations and initiate scraping action, they will both make further adjustment to the scraping bowl. The image below shows a classic move by the female where she lies on her breast and pushes her feet backward to deepen the scrape bowl.

March 9, 2023 under clear skies, wind NW 10MPH, and temp at 40F. From the New Balance webcam, we can see her perched on the lateral pole extending out from the nest box while she preens herself and continues to establish this location as most likely for laying eggs this year!

March 10, 2023 just before 6AM, under clear skies, calm wind conditions, and temp at 28F. From the New Balance webcam the female was seen moving around inside the nest box and making squawking calls.

March 11, 2023, near 10:30AM, under overcast skies, wind N at 16MPH, and temp at 36F. From the New Balance webcam we see the female moving out further on the lateral perch pole while continuing to maintain an active presence in this location.

March 12, 2023, just after 1:00PM, under clear skies, wind E at 9MPH, and temp at 43F. From the New Balance webcam we see the female soaking in the afternoon sun and preening as the sun moves to the west side of the New Balance building.

Overall, it has been nice to have sightings of both female and male in the extended area. The female seems to claiming this location for this year’s breeding cycle, and we’ll likely know for sure within two, possible three weeks!  Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ayer Mill Clock Tower

March 2, 2023 in On the Clock Tower

March 2, 2023: after scouting around looking for the Peregrines, stopped along Merrimack Street, facing east and scanning the Ayer Mill Clock Tower. The female was seen perched on the lateral pole outside of the gravel lined nest box on the west side of the Clock Tower. We are so grateful to our friends at New Balance for maintaining the live video feed of the nest box. The male was perched in an upper location on the Clock Tower. Still too early to say where the female will lay her eggs, so stay tuned!

Lawrence Peregrines: Verizon Cell Tower

February 8, 2023 in Near the Clock Tower

On Feb. 8, 2023, made a search for the Lawrence Peregrines all along Merrimack Street and then on the north side of the Merrimack River in the extended area around the Casey Bridge. Discovered both Peregrines loafing on hot air exhaust ledges located on the south side of the Verizon cell tower. These have been regular winter perching locations and facing south for maximum sunshine exposure!

At this point in the annual breeding cycle, they are renewing the pair bond and spending more time in perch locations together, or nearby one another. Still a bit early to see how this season plays out and where the female will decide to lay eggs, around the end of March or early April.

 

Lawrence Peregines nest ledge and a fledgling!

June 12, 2022 in lawrence peregrines

Friday, June 10, 2022: Clear skies, wind W 8 MPH, temp at 71F; sunset time 8:22PM

_W7I6104-001After locating the nest ledge for the Peregrine Falcons last Sunday afternoon from the kayak, was hoping to see if fledglings were out and about in the local area. The view from the kayak strongly suggested they were about 34-35 days old, and days away from fledging, or making first flight from a flat ledge underneath the Casey Bridge.

 

 

IMG_7415-001Spotted the vigilant female on one of the old smokestacks, but was totally unable to find any fledglings. After moving to many different vantage points, finally settled in at the Mill240 Park with great elevated views up and down the Merrimack River. A group of loud Crows flushed a smaller raptor from a nearby tree in hot pursuit. The raptor headed upriver, swooped in flight from below me, pulled up, and landed on the black park railing just 15 feet away! The landing and balancing was very awkward. What an unexpected treat!

 

 

IMG_7435-001Turns out to be one of the 2022 fledglings!! While out scanning with just binoculars, had to quickly run back to the car and grab a camera. This was about 13 minutes after sunset with clouds on the western horizon dimming the light as dusk settled in. While trying to get the right camera settings, a group of 4 youngsters crept a bit closer from the park, and initially tried to startle the bird. After gently encouraging them to quiet down a bit, they were very curious to know what type of bird it was, how old it was, and where it had nested….a great teaching moment out in the field!

 

Click on images to enlarge!

Lawrence Peregrines new nest ledge found!

June 5, 2022 in lawrence peregrines

Sunday, June 5, 2022. During the 2021 breeding season, the Lawrence Peregrines did not lay eggs in the Ayer Mill Clock Tower nest box. Many individuals and small groups diligently and regularly scanned the skies and mill buildings in the local area, but with no success. During February and March, 2022, the Peregrines were seen many times, but provided absolutely no actionable clues on the whereabouts of their new nest ledge location. We could sense they were nearby, but just didn’t know where.

_W7I1164-001

In March, the male was regularly seen perched on the old smokestack just past the north end of the Casey Bridge and on the west side of the Pacific Mills complex, near the corner of Amesbury and Canal Streets. Most of the time, it was facing the Merrimack River. This image on the left, shows the male lifting off in flight, heading SW, late afternoon on March 16,2022.

 

 

_W7I1322-001Many mornings, the male was perched in the upper zone of the smokestack, facing south or southeast, and soaking in the morning sun. The departure flight patterns, altitudes, and directions were quite a mix and never really provided firm clues. This image was captured on March 23, 2022, and likely before the female had selected the exact nest ledge location for laying eggs.

 

 

_W7I1491-001

From time to time, the female was seen perched on the faded green weathervane atop the Ayer Mill Clock Tower. This was a fascinating scene to observe as her reaction made it clear that it was not the local male but rather a very unwelcome interloper passing through the neighborhood. She went into full territorial defense mode, rolling over on her back, and using her outstretched talons to send a very clear message! This image was captured on April 5, 2022. At this point the female may have not yet laid eggs. Our biggest challenge was where to look next to find the nest!

 

_W7I4916-001

Bridges have played a significant role in the national peregrine falcon recovery, consistently supporting more than 30% of the known population.

In Virginia, two researchers from the Center for Conservation Biology, conducted 166 surveys of bridges in coastal Virginia using a call-broadcast protocol. Broadcast calls were extremely effective in eliciting a response from falcons with nearly 60% and 100% of falcons responding within five and 30 seconds of call initiation respectively.

The ten-minute, call-back protocol includes a series of advertisement and courtship calls interspersed with silent listening periods. Response rates measured from detection trials were 83% during the breeding season overall with a peak of 100% during the courtship period.

Occupied bridges supported more potential nest sites, were longer and higher and were embedded within landscapes with more foraging habitat compared to unoccupied bridges. The current practice of installing nest boxes or trays has resulted in higher breeding success and reproductive output.

The flight image above shows the female responding to one of our call broadcast surveys performed along the east side of the Casey Bridge. After two successful surveys, we had almost full confirmation in regard to the highly probable nest ledge location.

Citation: Watts, B. D. and M. U. Watts. 2017. Investigation of breeding peregrine falcons on bridges. The Center for Conservation Biology. Technical Report Series, CCBTR-17-01. College of William and Mary & Virginia Commonwealth University, Williamsburg, VA. 38 pp.

_W7I6104-001

On Sunday afternoon, June 5, 2022, we launched a kayak into the Merrimack River on the upriver and south side of the Casey Bridge. The Joseph W. Casey Bridge runs north/south over the Merrimack River. From the south, access to the bridge is from Parker Street, and from the north, access to the bridge is from Amesbury Street. On kayak approach to one of the large bridge archways, the unseen female started defense cacking vocalizations, and flew off downriver. While scanning the ledges up and under the west side of the bridge, the two peregrine chicks came into view……HOOORAY! Best guess on age is around 34-35 days old, and likely days away from the first one being ready to fledge.

Looking back, and making a number of probability calculations, it looks  like the eggs were laid first week in April, hatched first week in May, and the first chick fledged late this past week. These estimates fall within all of the normal breeding season sequence and timing for Peregrine Falcons in Eastern Massachusetts!

Click on any image to enlarge!

Lawrence Peregrines: mock combat!

June 26, 2019 in Near the Clock Tower

_W7I6865-001The young Peregrines were out in full force this afternoon in and around the Verizon Cell Tower on Hampshire St.  This has been a regular location for the young Peregrines over the past few years after they have fledged.  One of the two females, the one with leg band, BV/66 was seen on the rooftop on the Verizon Tower while taking a short break.  These young Peregrines spend a lot of time in playful mock combat and then time to res

 

 

Observed one of the peregrine fledglings in aerial flight with large loops and infrequent diving stoops. Quite an exciting show from the young fledgling. To my surprise, another fledgling joined the fun and the real show got underway! For over 20 minutes, they proceeded to engage in an amazing demonstration of playful mock combat. Here is
an explanation of mock combat from Cornell’s Birds of North America:

_W7I7049-001Play occurs mainly in young. Immatures will pursue adults, siblings, prey, and attack inanimate objects.  Playful pursuit of siblings begins 2–3 d after first flight, mock combat between siblings begins 4–5 d after. Mock combat progresses from flying parallel and occasionally rolling to extend feet toward siblings, to making short darting dives and grappling in the air, to using air currents to make vertical stoops. Latter develops within 3 wk of flying. Play in falcons may be an expression of joie de vivre or it may simply represent the maturation of neuro-muscular coordination and central control mechanisms involved in agonistic behavior and pursuit and 
capture of prey.

Lawrence Peregrines: loafing around Clock Tower!

June 19, 2019 in Near the Clock Tower

_W7I6483-001Made a late afternoon visit to South Canal St. to observe the fledglings around the Clock Tower under overcast skies, light winds, and temp at 66F.  Had a chance to see all three peregrine chicks and both adult parents.  The cover photo shows two of chicks loafing on a ledge on a NW corner of the Clock Tower.  The adult female is on lookout on the ledge below and the adult male does a flyby to keep an eyes on the young ones. In this photo, the scene shows the young ones loafing, female below, and the male has just landed to the right.

 

 

_W7I6433-001One of the great joys of monitoring a peregrine falcon nest, eggs, hatchlings, nestlings, and then fledglings, is the exciting moments around first days of flight.  Although they rest quite a bit, as they adjust to their new life outside the nest box, their flight patterns are a joy to behold.  Most of the flight patterns are a bit awkward, their takeoffs and landings, a bit uneven.  They love to zoom around in playful flight with adults and each other. Flights grow stronger day by day over the first week.  Many times the youngsters will engage in mock combat drills with rolls and outstretched talons. The family usually remains close around the Clock Tower, roosting in many different locations. By now the nest box looks bare, with few remains left behind.

Lawrence Peregrines: on the wing!

June 18, 2019 in Near the Clock Tower

The Peregrines started off this morning under mostly cloudy skies, wind from NE at 5MPH and temp at 62F.  The forecast calls for a chance of showers, mainly after 9am. Cloudy, with a high near 73. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.  Tonight, isolated showers before 1am. Patchy fog after 5am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 58. Light southeast wind. 

_W7I5920-001What a joy to watch these young Peregrines on the wing and in flight around the Clock Tower.  Made my way over to the Clock Tower last night just after 5:30PM.  While heading over the Duck Bridge, it was possible to see a number of Peregrines in flight while circling the Clock Tower.  From a big picture perspective, the young falcons will be seen in this general area for the next 6-8 weeks.  This has been the pattern every summer over the last number of years.  At times, it is a challenge to find them, but tend to they stay around and remain within a  3/4 mile radius. The cover photo shows 65/BV, the chick that had fledged first thing Monday morning. She is turning in flight around the west side of the Clock Tower!  This photo shows the ever vigilant mother keeping a close eye on her brood.

_W7I6305-001After searching a bit longer, was able to also locate and observe the young female, 66/BV.  She was wedged tightly into a granite ledge corner on the SW corner of the Clock Tower, well below the clock face.  The ledge, on the south side, was very narrow and made moving around very difficult.  She walked back and forth along the ledge a number of times with little room for error. She was kind enough to provide a clear view of her leg bands for positive identification!

Lawrence Peregrines: both females fledge!!

June 17, 2019 in Near the Clock Tower

The Peregrines started off this morning under patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 80. West wind 3 to 5 mph. The forecast calls for mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Light south wind.  The remaining Peregrines are both females. 

2019.0617.1Female chicks tend to make first flight a number of days later that the young males.  Both females were seen lounging in the nest box as late as 8:45PM on Sunday night.  It looks like the female chick with the 65/BV leg band departed first thing this morning!  The second female had a nice meal dropped off by the adult female around 6:45AM.  She continued to exercise her wing muscles.  She moved all around the nest box, and hopped out onto the perch pole.  At times she moved to the outer length of the pole and just barely in sight of the web cam.  She finally launched into flight late morning!

Lawrence Peregrines: Day 43

June 16, 2019 in Near the Clock Tower

The remaining two Peregrines started off Father’s Day under overcast skies, light rain, and temp at 64F.  The day ahead calls for mostly cloudy skies with a few scattered showers around midday and into the afternoon. Still mild, but a bit cooler than Saturday with highs around 70!

2019.0616.1The two remaining chicks were seen in the nest box all day.  They are so ready to make first flight! One of the chicks hopped out onto the perch pole and was flapping vigorously, but not quite ready to launch into flight. The web cam will continue to operate, but little chance we will see any further action through the cam.  The chicks will be seen over the next many weeks in and around the area near the Clock Tower.  The chicks will be learning to fly while the parents continue to feed them. The young falcon, as it launches into the world, is a most handsome bird, and when the last vestiges of down are shed from the head, it has the regal appearance of the adult. The eyes have by now, taken on that extraordinary quality of lustrous vitality and intense watchfulness that even the best paintings cannot capture in its fullness.

Literature cited:

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