The Peregrines started off this morning under overcast skies and light rain, wind from the S at 9MPH, and temp at 66F just before 6MA. The forecast calls for a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 5pm. Some of the storms could produce small hail, gusty winds, and heavy rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87!! Southwest wind 9 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Tonight, a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 9pm. Some of the storms could also produce small hail, gusty winds, and heavy rain. Cloudy during the early evening, then gradual clearing, with a low around 53. West wind 8 to 14 mph. Quite a day ahead!

Just before 6AM, all was quiet in the nest box. The chicks were huddled in the back left corner, a growing group of loose feathers are collecting in the middle of the nest box around the addled egg, and the female is perched on the pole keeping watch. She bolted in flight and returned minutes later with fresh prey. The little ones were eager for a meal and nibbled at every morsel offered by Mama Bear! Then, all three retreated to the back left corner in a tight huddle.

Around day 16, dark spots can be seen along the edges of the wings, indicating the growth of the flight feathers underneath the covering of down.  The down on the head also begins to take on a “rougher” texture around this time.  As mentioned in a prior post, most of the day is spent sleeping, up to about 16 days, but movements around the nest box become more developed, and they start to become more active during the day.  

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

Post and webcam photos submitted by Craig Gibson: please send any comments/questions to cbgibson AT comcast.net

The Peregrines started this morning off  under partly cloudy skies, wind fromt he SW at 6MPH, and temp at 54F.  The forecast calls for a chance of showers, mainly before 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 75. Southwest wind 6 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.  Tonight, a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3am. Patchy fog after 5am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. Southwest wind 8 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. 

Now we are around day 15, and the chicks are beginning to enter the “hunchback” phase, during which they are often seen in the hunchback pose, 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 very front of the nest box, out of sight below the webcam, with the attentive female always nearby.  Around 7AM, the female returned to the nest with prey in talons.  Once she settled inside, another morning feeding frenzy got started!

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

Made a stop by the Clock Tower around 5:15PM this afternoon under overcast skies, wind from SE at 6MPH, and temp at 64F.  Upon arrival, the female was seen out of the nest box and making a number of circles around the Clock Tower.  She finally settled on an upper edge on the NW corner.  As I scanned all over to see if the male was around, airborne feathers started to float by above the west clock face.  Well that usually means one thing!  The male was ripping apart fresh caught prey and preparing the next meal.  Once the prep work was finished, he launched into flight, initially swooping downwards, and then around the corner and to the NW.

A few minutes later, while going out of sight, the female swooped in and then made a very nice food transfer. The male continues to do the bulk of the hunting.  To feed the chicks, the male will capture prey and prepare it nearby.  The male then readies himself for flight and food transfer.  the female will receive the fresh pray and return promptly to the nest box to feed the nestlings.  Great teamwork!

After the female captured the prey with her talon, she returned to the nest box.  She arrived and landed on the left side of the window box ledge.  In sorting through the photos, it was fascinating to see that as she arrived, the prey was in her left talon, and then in a flash, she moved it to her bill while landing on the outer edge of the box!