We now have two chicks in the nest!! This is an edited video of the first feeding which took place at 2:40 AM – a nice early breakfast, I’d say. This chick took at least 40 hours to break out of its egg shell, but it appears to be strong and healthy.
LATEST NEWS
Feeding of the First Hatchling – From May 4th
The first hatch of the 2016 season!!
Tuesday, May 3rd at 7:18 PM, we determined one of the eggs had hatched! We had heard the chick calling from inside the egg for several hours. Astrid stayed on duty the entire time as the chick slowly hammered itself out of the shell – helped along by Astrid dragging the egg against the stones. After the hatch Astrid ate the egg shell. We only got the briefest looks at the chick, but hope to have much better views once light returns in the morning. Perhaps another hatch will come tomorrow!
Let the Countdown Begin!!
If Astrid and Ares follow the same incubation time frame from the past two years then we are now in the final 10 days of incubation. Incubation typically takes 30-33 days but can be as short as 29 days and as long as 35 days. Our falcons have hit 33 days for the first hatch in the past two years. If that holds true again this year we could see our first hatch on May 3rd.
Of course we will have to watch for the telltale sign of a “pip” that alerts us a hatch is imminent. A pip is a small hole in the egg created by the “eggtooth” of the chick inside. The eggtooth is a small tooth like structure on top of the chicks beak. When a chick is fully developed, a muscle on the back of the neck contracts which springs the head upward causing the eggtooth to pierce the egg. The small hole created by this action is called a pip. The chick then uses the eggtooth to “saw” its way out of the egg.
First third of incubation complete!
As of today we are 1/3 of the way through incubation. We expect to see our first hatch in early May.
Astrid and Ares have been very careful to keep the eggs covered constantly. This is excellent since we have had colder than normal temps recently.
This is a short clip of them in what we like to call “changing of the guard”