Author: Matt Perry

It appears as though our camera # 1 has been hit with” whitewash” and now the entire right hand field of view is obscured. Before nesting began we had mounted that camera higher in the box in the hope that it would be out of range of squirting chicks, but evidently one got in a lucky shot. It’s possible that like last year, camera 1 will get cleaned by driving rain or by a nestlings rubbing against it, but there’s no guarantee of that. Meanwhile we still have cams 2 & 3 and they are both working fine. Cam 3 in particular offers a great view of the entire nest site. Before next season’s nesting we hope to mount new cameras on either side of the box (both will be high above the whitewash line). These cameras will have wider fields of view and so we’ll be sure not to miss any of the action.

Besides the nestlings growing like weeds and starting to put out the very beginnings of wing and tail feathers, other changes have been taking place at the nest site. From the beginning of the season to now, there’s been a notable lack in diversity of prey species coming into the box – that is compared to what was cataloged last season. However, in the past few days, we’ve seen a large uptick in prey diversity. Yesterday, Ares brought back his first cuckoo for the season. He also managed what might be his most obscure catch yet – a Dunlin (in breeding plumage, no less). Eastern Kingbird, Tree Swallow and Chimney Swift have also been on the menu recently. As you might imagine, the Chimney Swift wasn’t greeted by Astrid as a legitimate meal, and Ares was forced to leave with it. For the most part Astrid is handling the feedings, but once and a while, Ares is allowed to do one.

 

 

Yesterday (5/20), Ares went missing for about 4 hours and we began to fear that he met with an accident. Astrid’s uncharacteristically anxious behavior seemed also to indicate that something wasn’t right. Last evening Deb Saltis and I went Downtown to see if we could make sense of the situation on the ground. Once we were there Astrid’s behavior did nothing to allay our concerns. She continued to be anxious and notably she seemed to be taking on all parental roles herself, including chasing off a Turkey Vulture and going out to retrieve prey.  To make a long story short, Ares finally returned looking fine and with prey in his talons. Taking long hunting trips are what we expect to start happening as the chicks get closer to fledging, but it seems that Ares may have shifted gears a bit prematurely. Brooding the 3 growing nestlings has been difficult for him to manage just lately and so perhaps making longer hunting trips is his response. One thing is for sure, Astrid doesn’t seem to happy about the new arrangement – if that’s what it is. She prefers Ares to be on hand to relieve her once in a while. Today Ares did spend over an hour in the box with the nestlings. Doing Penance?

 

 

 

 

Eight days after the first Peregrine chick hatched, plenty of changes have taken place at the nest box. Most notably the 3 chicks have been spending more time by themselves and without a parent standing nearby. Usually they are all huddled together, but today the eldest did some wandering around by itself and even eliminated over the edge of the box! Litter trained already? Well, probably not, but it’s a beginning. We’ve seen some amazing changes in their bodies too; most obvious is the size disparity between even the youngest chick and the infertile egg. The chicks’ throat pouches called “crops” have also become very prominent. Feedings have been fairly frequent and a diverse array of bird prey has been brought in by the parents. Just in the last day or so we’ve seen Blue Jay, Mourning Dove and Goldfinch brought to the nest. Lots of people have been concerned that the last chick to hatch hasn’t been getting enough food, but its growth rate would seem to indicate that it has received more than adequate nutrition. Now that their feet and legs are being seen more clearly, we’re coming close to announcing the sexes of the chicks. We’re fairly sure now what we have, but we’ll be giving it a few more days just to be even more certain.

 

 

Over the past 2 days a number of people have pointed out the apparent pip in the 4th egg. It’s a neat round spot and very pip-like, but more likely it’s just a superficial stain on the eggshell. It’s probably a dab of falcon droppings or what we refer to in polite birding circles as “whitewash”. As for the remaining egg, we’ve now moved beyond its likely hatch window. This means that 3 youngsters will constitute this season’s entire clutch – same as last year. Again, assuming there is no 4th hatch, we can expect that the parents will continue to incubate the egg for another week or so – in other words, way past any reasonable chance of its viability.