Made a visit to the Peregrine Falcons in Woburn on sunny Sunday afternoon.  Discovered both adults perched on the double cross bar utility pole located on the south side of the main parking lot.  It was a beautiful afternoon with bright light, little wind and temps in middle 40’s.  Had a nice opportunity to pause for closer looks at the female as she was resting with a full crop after a recent meal.

Took a moment to observe and appreciate the nostril cone; falcons have a cone (baffle) just inside each nostril that disrupts the air flow and reduces the pressure of the air entering the respiratory system…also a nice look at the tomial tooth, known as the “killing tooth.” It is a notch on the cutting edge of the upper beak that is used to sever the prey’s spinal column.

The Woburn Peregrines have finally laid their 2017 clutch of eggs!  As with all Peregrine Falcons nest locations, clutch sizes vary from one to five. Three or four seems to be the norm. Eggs are laid at intervals of two to three days. Incubation usually does not start in earnest until the clutch is almost complete. The female typically does most of the incubating, and during this period is fed by the male. The incubation period is approximately 29 – 33 days. The young then spend up to six weeks in and around the nest ledge until they are old enough to make their first flight, or “fledge.”

Here the female is finally hunkered down in incubation posture with the male nearby watching over the nearby area!

A bright sunny Monday morning with blue skies and spring in the air with temp almost at 60F and gentle SW winds at 10MPH.  Only the male was seen this morning perched on a rocky outcropping near the nest ledge but the female was not around.  It seems like she has yet to go into incubation mode but no doubt we are very close!