Mon. April 8, 2024 under clear skies, wind SW at 3MPH, and temp at 39F.

Had a nice visit looking to get an update on the local peregrines with breeding season getting in full swing! After a full tour around the Ayer Mill Clock Tower, moved on to scout out other nearby regular perch locations. From Merrimack Street just west of the clock tower, observed a peregrine chasing pigeons just west of the Mill240 complex. Tracked it in flight until it landed near the top of the brick smokestack by the Pacific Mills complex.  This male peregrine with alphanumeric black over green leg bands (78/AB), began to preen itself.

One thing the peregrine falcon does a lot is preening. Many hours are spent each day is spent on the care of feathers, beak, cere and feet. Without well preened feathers the peregrine could become soaking wet when it rains. Feathers that are not well groomed may cause drag when flying. When preening they also remove parasites from their feathers and skin. Preening birds run their beaks through their feathers or scratch their heads with an outstretched toe. Minutes later, the peregrine lifted off in flight!

We’ll continue to monitor the local area for any sightings of a female peregrine. We receive lots of emails from peregrine watchers that follow the webcam. A fellow peregrine saw the resident male in the box with a juvenile plumaged female on Tuesday! This was the first time in months that there has been any activity inside the nest box. The banded male flew in first, followed by the young female. There was lots of vocalizing and bowing before he left.  She tried to make a scrape, then flew off.  Stay tuned for more!!

May 15, 2023 under sunny and clear skies, wind from W at 10MPH with gusts, and temp at 72F. The female was seen just before 10AM perched near the top of the red brick Pacific Mills smokestack.

May 16, 2023 under mostly clear skies, wind SW at 13MPH, and temp at 64F. Finally we have a sighting of the male again, perched on a south facing rooftop, overlooking the Merrimack River, on a building that is part of the Pacific Mills complex.

April 24, 2023 under overcast skies, light rain, wind E at 5MPH, and temp at 52F. Made a late afternoon visit, started on the north side of the river, and scanned all of the usual perch locations. Found a falcon perched on the Clock Tower and moved closer for better looks. Turned out to be the young female. She was on one of the ledges at 10AM, diagonally above the clock face.

At sunset time, checked the web cam and found the male inside the nest box. He was in and out a number of times, but not joined by the young female.

April 25, 2023 under mostly cloudy skies, wind E 7MPH, temp at 56F. Stopped by the Clock Tower this afternoon and initially sighted the male Peregrine perched on a lower NW ledge. Minutes later the female arrived and landed on an upper ledge. The male then went into a series of swinging flight moves on the west side of the tower. Later he landed joined the female on the upper ledge, before departing in flight to the NW. At no time has there been any observed copulation activity between these two falcons.

April 27, 2023 under partly sunny skies, light winds and temp at 54F. While scouting around for the Peregrines, around 10:30AM, in the extended area around the Clock Tower, made a sighting on the north side of the Merrimack River. Both Peregrines were seen tucked into the gear near the top of the red brick smoke stack on the west side of the Pacific Mills complex. This has been a very regular perch location this year.  The female is in the upper right quadrant of the photo and the male more to lower left.

On Saturday morning while looking through the web cam, spotted the female perched on the pole outside of the nest box!

That’s it for this week….stay tuned!

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!

April 10, 2023 around 5:30PM, under clear skies, wind S at 5MPH, and temp at 34F. Observations made from South Canal Street just west of the Clock Tower. At first the male was seen perched atop the weathervane on the landmark Ayer Mill Clock Tower. For these local Peregrines, this is one of the most frequently used perch locations with excellent 360 views.

Minutes later, a second Peregrine arrived and spent time with the male, also perching on the weathervane. The two then launched in flight making large flight circles. It appeared to possible be a second year female. A bit later, three Peregrines were seen in flight with the females going at in a number of aggressive flight moves, even locking talons and rolling upside down while descending in flight. It was very dramatic. From a distance, this image below, documents the interactions close to 6:20PM.

April 12, 2023 under clear skies, wind W at 13MPH with gusts to 21MPH, temp at 70F. Observations made from South Canal Street on the west side of the Clock Tower. The male was seen perched on NW corner railing above the clock face. It had to make many adjustments due to the strong wind gusts. It lifted off in flight and provided nice views of the leg bands.

The male circled the weathervane a number of times and was in soaring mode with little wing flapping needed to maintain altitude. In this image below it was just turning on the west side of the upper roof and enjoying the wind with no distractions in sight. Minutes later, the male soared off to the NW and slowly out of sight!

April 15, 2023 under clear skies, wind NE at 10MPH, and temp at 64F. Out looking for the Peregrines on a sunny Saturday afternoon. There are many regular perch locations around the Clock Tower, and sometimes, you have to check two or three times to make sure you don’t miss. After multiple scans all around the tower, discovered the new two year old female perched on the SE corner of the roof railing, well above the clock face. She was facing NW and offered side views showing a white eyebrow and much heavier and thicker chest streaking. This female continues to be fed and cared for by the resident male, so stay tuned to see where this goes!

See you next week!