March 6, 2016 in On the Clock Tower
Beautiful late afternoon looks at the unbanded female after a series of solo aerial drills with the male nowhere in sight. She had been perched on a protruding steel beam at the roof line along the west wing of the New Balance building. She ended up at the nest box perch rod in golden late day sun!
April 1, 2015 in In the Nest Box
The peregrines are now spending significant time in the nestbox and exhibiting all kinds of courtship behavior including mutual ledge displays and lots of nest scraping by both male and female. The female was bowing and calling out to the male from the outside perch. The male flew into the nestbox and then left shortly thereafter. These are all signs of courtship and hopefully will result in eggs being laid in next few days!
7 photo sequence: http://www.pbase.com/birdshots/image/159636773 Click “next” in upper right to advance frames!
March 31, 2015 in In the Nest Box
The female is spending more time in the nestbox and can be seen from the street perched on the outer edge of the window frame or on the extended outer perch. All good signs of more courtship activity ahead!
October 8, 2014 in Near the Clock Tower
The peregrines were both seen late this afternoon in flight and perched around the Clock Tower. While enjoying a short visit, there were numerous sorties after nearby prey and other uninvited local intruders. As the sun was getting low in the sky, the female with clearly seen leg bands (V/5) came to rest on a favorite utility pole perch along Merrimack St. The close views were unexpected but very enjoyable!
October 6, 2014 in In the Nest Box
Both adult peregrines continue to be seen in all the normal fall perch locations around the Clock Tower. They tend to favor the west side in late afternoon and frequently retreat to the nest box perch in response to any nearby activity.
September 24, 2014 in In the Nest Box
Late afternoon midweek visit to Clock Tower provided nice views of both male and female. They were seen both perched and in flight in stunning late afternoon light. The female will frequently visit the nest box in the off season. In this perch moment, she is turned in just the right way to expose her left ankle. This provides confirmation of her black/green V/5 leg bands and helps us to know that she remains healthy and well. What a delight to be able to observe these urban dwellers most days this time of year and to see them in a variety of perch locations.
Two fascinating peregrines updates from online sources:
Skydivers and a diving peregrine from BBC News: http://www.breakingnews.ie/discover/watch-a-falcon-outrace-skydivers-from-10000-feet-643545.html
New book from Great Britain – Urban Peregrines: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-29381032
Enjoy!
September 10, 2014 in On the Clock Tower
The Peregrine Falcons have been seen with regularity over the past few days. The adult pair were only seen a few times on the Clock Tower during the month of August. Almost every sighting was just a solo sighting and never of the pair. However, in the last few days, the pair have returned from summer camp on Plum Island and are perching in many of their normal perch locations. They are also fully engaged in reminding neighbors and visitors about their territory around the Clock Tower! This image shows the male perched on the outside edge of the nest box.
June 12, 2014 in On the Clock Tower
After a few days remaining in the nest box, the third and final chick fledged on Thursday. In the late afternoon, had a nice opportunity to observe the fledgling on a lower ledge closer to Merrimack Street. It was testing its wings and hopping along a ledge. Not only a treat to watch from a close vantage point, but also had the chance to observe and document the black/green bicolor leg bands used on peregrines in Eastern United States. This fledgling has black numbers (59) over green letters (BD).
More photos: http://www.pbase.com/birdshots/image/156086349
There is an international protocol in North America for colored leg bands on Peregrine Falcons. The color indicates the origin or subspecies for chicks banded in the nest. The colors in the protocol and their meaning are:
Red Captive bred
Black/red bicolor Eastern United States
Black/green bicolor Eastern United States
Blue Tundra Peregrines
Black/blue bicolor Tundra or Anatum captured off the breeding grounds or subspecies unknown
Green Peale’s Peregrines
Black Anatum Peregrines
Characters used on the Peregrine bands are letters and numbers, with one character on the top of the band and one character on the bottom of the band. Older bands may have these characters either vertical or tipped ninety degrees to the left. Newer bands have all vertical characters.
June 11, 2014 in On the Clock Tower
The fledglings continue to be seen in a variety of locations around the Clock Tower with one of first two fledglings remaining for a day on a nearby ledge. The older fledgling has flown to upper ledges and even atop the weathervane at the top of the Clock Tower!
June 10, 2014 in On the Clock Tower
The peregrine chicks took their first flights away from the nest over this past weekend. Not always choosing to or being capable of returning to the nest site, they will be found in different locations around the Clock Tower like these 2 on a nearby lower ledge!
