Light Rain 56°F  wind from SE at 3MPH. Sunrise time 5:46 AM.

The forecast calls for showers likely, mainly before 8am. Areas of fog before 9am. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Light and variable wind becoming west 9 to 14 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Checked in this morning just after 6:20 AM to find the male incubating.  He was sitting quietly and barely moving. At 7:08 AM he departs, and returns minutes later, turns the eggs, shakes, rocks, and rolls, then nestles in on the eggs.  At 7:14 AM the female flies in, and the male rises and departs.  The female quickly settles on the eggs, engages in making low level chittering sounds along with active head turning.  Ten minutes later she departs, and returns after ten minutes.  Lots of in and out this morning.

If you watch closely, you regularly see either adult get up, move around, then settle back down on the eggs. Sometimes they do this just to get into a different position, and maybe to give their legs a bit of a stretch, but often what they’re doing is turning the eggs. They turn the eggs to ensure that they get evenly heated. If the eggs aren’t heated evenly they may not develop, or they may develop abnormally. It’s also possible for the developing egg to stick to the inside of the eggshell. Turning the eggs keeps the egg membrane from sticking to the sides of the shell. Falcons turn the eggs using their bills and their feet. As you can imagine, they turn their eggs very carefully! If you’re watchful and lucky, you may get to see a picture of them turning the eggs. It may look like they’re stepping on the eggs or pecking at them, but now you know what’s really going on.

Turning is an essential for successful hatching of avian embryos.  One of the most important roles of incubating parents, is to turn the eggs in the nest box.  Regular turning of eggs is known to be critical for normal development.  The most common explanation is to prevent the embryo from adhering to the inner shell membrane.

Literature cited:

Imprints Blog, The Journal of the Rfalconcam, Rochester Falcon Cam.  The Genesee Valley Audubon Society is the local chapter of the National Audubon Society in Rochester, NY. GVAS sponsors the Rochester Falconcam (Rfalconcam) as part of their education and awareness programs.

Deeming, Charles (2002) Avian incubation: behaviour, environment and evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford. ISBN 0198508107

Sunrise time this morning was at 5:45 AM.  The peregrines awoke to overcast skies and light rain, no wind, and temp at 53F.

From WHDH weather: the last three days have been phenomenal spring days for us!!  While today we bring back soaking rain into the mix, we do still hold onto a pleasant weather pattern this weekend into next week. This morning we saw a batch of widespread rain showers, but late morning many of us are catching a break from the steadier rain with scattered showers. This doesn’t mean we’re through the soaking weather yet though, so keep that rain gear close by.  We’ll grab another round of steady & heavier rain this afternoon & evening with downpours likely. We could also deal with a few thunderstorms capable of bringing downpours and gusty winds.

At 5:42, the female had been incubating.  She rose up and headed out in flight, but for just a few minutes, and returned.  A minute later the male popped in and left.  Just after 6 AM, the female went out again for a quick trip and returned to shuffle around and then settle into incubation mode.

Day 13-14

* Upper eye lids begin to cover the eyes.

* The knee caps begin to form.

* The seroamniotic tissue connection lies in the neck region of the embryo

* Hematopoietic activity in the bone marrow

* Thyroid glands produce diiodotyrosine

Literature cited: Veldhuis, Froona, Embryonic development day 11-14, Sept 15, 2008                                                                                                                                                                    http://falcoperegrinus-froona.blogspot.com/2008/09/embryonic-development-day-11-14.html

This morning, again, clear skies, bright sun and temperature at 43°F.  The forecast calls for lots of sun, with a high near 70!!  Light southwest wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning.

At 5:39 AM, the male had been incubating the 4 eggs.  He lifted himself up, and off the eggs, walked over to the edge of the nest box, looked out for a moment, and returned to incubation mode.  He then spent  quite a bit of time doing his normal shuffling and adjusting on and around the eggs.

So let’s continue with the fascinating notes on embryonic development, and look at day 12:

* Three rows of feather germs are visible on the tail.

* The nictitating membranes (inner eye lids) begins to form.

* The egg tooth begins to form.

* The bone marrow cavity of the femur begins to form.

Until now the skeleton is made up of cartilage. The proces of ossification is beginning from day 12. Ossification is the process of bone formation, in which connective tissues, such as cartilage are turned to bone or bone-like tissue. The ossified tissue is invaginated with blood vessels. These blood vessels bring minerals like calcium and deposit it in the ossifying tissue. Bone formation is a dynamic process, with cells called osteoblasts depositing minerals, and osteoclasts removing bone.[1] This process, termed bone remodeling continues throughout life.

Literature cited: Veldhuis, Froona, Embryonic development day 11-14, Sept 15, 2008                                                                                                                                                                      http://falcoperegrinus-froona.blogspot.com/2008/09/embryonic-development-day-11-14.html

Clear skies, bright sun, light wind from the south at 3MPH, and temp just after sunrise at 36°F.  Monday morning forecast calls Sunny, with a high near 65. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.

At about 5:55 AM, the female rose up from incubation duties, stretched, walked to the edge of the nest box, waied for a moment and flew off.  Four minutes later the male entered the box, and then the female pops in and then out again.  The male does his half-hearted part to incubate the eggs….moving around, shaking, rocking back and forth, and then side to side.  He finally settled in and remained on the egg

One question that has come in from many watchers….how to tell the female and male apart?

1. Size: the female is larger than the male; true in most raptors
2. Known as sexual dimorphism
3. Male typically 1/3 smaller than female
4. White stripe between eyes, just above yellow part of the bill, known as cere;
5. Head shape: female’s a bit flatter
6. Head markings; male has two light spots on back of head
7. Female more heavily marked below with broader and fewer bars on average than male

Literature cited: Imprints Blog, The Journal of the Rfalconcam, Rochester Falcon Cam.  The Genesee Valley Audubon Society is the local chapter of the National Audubon Society in Rochester, NY. GVAS sponsors the Rochester Falconcam (Rfalconcam) as part of their education and awareness programs.

The peregrines started Friday morning with overcast skies, wind from the west at 6MPH and the temp at 37F.  The forecast for the day ahead calls for partly sunny skies, with a high near 53. Northwest wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.  The next few days are looking much warmer….finally!  While taking a look just after 6:30 AM this morning, the female was incubating the eggs.  She started to wail, and it looked like she was wailing loudly.  She settled back down, and remained on the eggs for over an hour.  Then she popped up and went out for a quick flight, an then returned right away.  Keeping the eggs warm is a long, slow, and tedious process.

So how is it that the peregrines provide constant heat to the eggs?  Many bird species, including peregrine falcons, have a special adaptation that helps them keep their eggs warm. The birds develop featherless areas on their breast called brood patches. These areas develop thickened skin and an increased blood flow that helps the birds pass body heat along to the developing embryos inside the eggs. Male peregrine falcons also develop brood patches and help with incubation, but as the female will do the majority of this work her brood patch is much more developed.

Literature cited: Richmond Falcon Cam, Brood Patches, https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/falcon-cam/2012/04/brood-patches/   Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, P.O. Box 90778, Henrico, VA 23228-0778