Saturday, March 21, 2009

Peregrine Falcon Nesting Biology

ll, what a great way to start spring with the peregrine laying her first egg. I have just posted a video blog talking about what we should see over the nest month. Click here to watch it.

So here are some things that we should be watching for. The bird will lay 3-4 eggs around 48 hours apart. So by next Friday we should have a full clutch. Before the female lays the eggs she become quite lethargic, and this is what we have seen this last week and I believe is what explains her behavior of just sitting in the nest over three nights last week.

The eggs should take around 33 days to hatch, so we should see our first chick around April 22nd.

The female will tend to the eggs about two-thirds of the time while the male will attend the nest about one-third of the time. Every half and hour or so you should see the birds stand up and rotate the egg in order to keep the yolk from becoming stuck to one side. This is very important to keep the egg healthy.

We will keep you updated on the latest developments!

Have a great weekend.

Wing Goodale
Senior Research Biologist
BioDiversity Research Institute

35 comments:

  1. 1:02 she is in nest laying there.

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  2. 03/21 @ 22:48

    Thanks, Wing, for the new info.

    Thanks, also, to Lisa for the great pic!

    22:49 - Falcon sitting very quietly with much of egg visible.

    Hoping for another egg tomorrow ...

    JAM in IL

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  3. 03/22 @ 09:05

    08:22 - Female left nest with egg unattended a few minutes ago.

    09:00 - Egg still uncovered; still only one egg.

    09:01 - Finally, a falcon on nest incubating the egg!

    I don't know the temp at the nest, but worry that the egg is left uncovered too long.

    JAM in IL

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  4. 3-22-09 7:10 p.m./
    2nd egg just laid ! ! Checked in about 4 minutes before she laid the egg. First time I have ever witnessed anything like this. This is just too much!! Loved it.Judy in Western Maine
    Will be watching off and on for the next couple of days, she should lay the 3rd egg on
    Tuesday.

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  5. AWESOME!! I had just signed on to this site and saw her lay that 2nd egg. I'll be watching in the future . Checking in from Bethel, Maine

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  6. Judy from Western Maine again. 7:34 p.m.

    Went back to the site and watched her push the 2 eggs side by side with her beak. It just amazes me to see her do that without breaking the eggs. She has settled down now. Just wondering, does she move the eggs every half hour during the night also, Wing stated that she turns the eggs every half hour, she must not get any sleep!

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  7. 03/23 @ 12:10

    Yikes ... what an awful time to lose the cams. First the live feed died and now the stills have not updated for about an hour. Am I the only one having a problem??

    JAM in IL

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  8. To JAM in IL, yes I am having the same problem, I thought it was me, so I updated with the new Windows Video Player, but that didn't make any difference. I'M sure someone will fix it soon. What a great experience to watch these birds, the eagles were mating again this morning, I wished the crows and ravens would stay away and let them start nesting, I believe the same thing happened last year.
    3-23-09 2:37 p.m. Judy in Western Maine

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  9. 3/23 1431 EST
    To JAM....nope, I just signed on to this site for the first time, and I got blank screen....
    (Been following the 2 eagle cams, didn't dare start watching any other cams since I waste sooooo much!!!)
    Anyway, I can't get anything recent!
    Linnie

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  10. 3/13 Sorry - it's not wasting time, is it? Spending so much time online with these that other things are just not getting done!!!!!
    Have a great day all.....

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  11. 03/23 @ 15:00

    Hooray ... back in business. Thanks, BRI.

    Thanks, too, to Judy & Linnie for responding to my post.

    Let's hope we all get a peak at the eggs and maybe catch another egg tomorrow!

    JAM in IL

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  12. 3/23 3:15

    Just checked in on our birds and from the rear view it looks like one egg is sticking out from the bird. Hope it doesn't get cold. Must be the male bird who doesn't know how to sit on a clutch of eggs!

    cathy h in mass

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  13. Checked in at 4:55, the egg is still "out in the cold" Not a good sign, I wish I could yell at him, and say "hey you, you forgot one."
    Judy in Western Maine

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  14. 3-23 5:45 p.m.
    Falcon finally covered the egg, Wing, is it too late?

    Judy in Western Maine

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  15. Just catching up...probably not to late-that the egg was uncovered...This nest is gonna have its challenges...egg roll...I watched mom last night as she laid her second egg...it took her quite awhile to get both of the eggs under her...If I hadn't known how important it was, it would have been funny...she would gather one egg, which would tap the second egg and send it rolling...this occurred many times..but she was very patient and was able to get both under her. It should really be challenge when she has more eggs...wish I could give her some more gravel so she could have a deeper scrape...

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  16. 3-24 7:50 am Live camera is down again. What is she going to do when she lays another egg today? She can't keep the 2 underneath her as it is. I must say it is very interesting to watch what we normally can't see in the wild.
    Judy in Western Maine

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  17. 03/24 @ 15:02

    15:01 - the male (banded) just got off the eggs. He was actually on two. No other falcon in sight when I started typing this.

    Is it possible this pair is just inexperienced? Is this a new nesting box or nesting site ... or just the first year for the cam?

    15:04 - female arrived. Looks as though she has both eggs covered.

    Hard to tell if the egg left uncovered much of the other day is still viable, or even if it was always the same egg. Actually, I would sometimes observe an egg uncovered and sometimes both seemed to be covered. Usually when I see an uncovered egg, I later observe the male leaving them. However, I cannot verify that he is the only one not always incubating two eggs. Would they bother to incubate an egg they had determined not to be viable?

    We can only wait to see what happens when a third (hopefully!) egg arrives.

    JAM in IL

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  18. Why is she not sitting on the egg? It's off to the side of her.

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  19. 03/24 @ 22:06

    21:58 - 22:05 - Falcon up, sitting with two eggs visible in front, a little movement. Finally settled down again into incubating position. Is it possible that while she was up and moving slightly we got another egg?

    Wish that I could see better.

    JAM in IL

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  20. 03/25 @ 07:27

    Three indeed!

    07:26 - found 3 eggs, no falcon.

    07:28 - Oh, no. Looks like female (?) came into nest. Looked at eggs ... 2 together and 1 alone. Decided to incubate single egg! Briefly down then abruptly up and off nest with chatter.

    07:31 - falcon back in nest, straight to 2 eggs and incubating.

    Never saw legs to confirm id. Any thoughts as to the strange incubating behavior. If an egg/eggs not viable, I would think the falcon would never incubate. As it is, hard to tell which eggs are being left in the cold. Perhaps the falcons are as confused as I am?

    JAM in IL

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  21. 03/25 @ 07:42

    07:40 - falcon up, turning 1 of the covered 2, rolling it toward the single uncovered, and then turning the uncovered egg. Back down incubating, now facing forward with 1 egg peeking out around right wing. Do not know how many eggs covered ... at least 2. Did not see legs for id of falcon.

    This nest is going to give us a bumpy ride for the next month. Hopefully, we will have a happy conclusion with fledging offspring.

    JAM in IL

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  22. 03/25 @ 07:52

    Geez ...

    07:49 - falcon up again. Attempted to resettle over front 2 eggs; then turned to 3rd egg toward the back of the nest and proceeded to settle into incubating position only to rise again. Back down with one egg uncovered toward front of nest. Cannot see status of other eggs.

    Sorry for the brief, sketchy posts but I keep trying to leave the computer and the falcon keeps changing its position effectively keeping me glued to the keyboard.

    07:58 - no change.

    JAM in IL

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  23. I think the nest needs more pebbles, the reason those eggs keep moving around is because they roll on that bare board underneathe. If the whole area was covered in pebbles the eggs wouldn't move as easily. I wonder if all the eggs will hatch the way they keep being exposed to the cold air for extended periods.

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  24. 3/25 3:55PM
    Falcon off nest. 3 eggs are bare.

    cathy h in mass

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  25. 3/25 4:00PM

    Falcon back covering 2 eggs. Not sure if male or female. It'll be a miracle if we see hatching this year. (but I'm trying to stay positive)

    cathy h in mass

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  26. 03/26 @ 08:47

    No live feed; still cams stuck at 07:47.

    JAM in IL

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  27. 3-26-09 5:25 p.m.
    Wing, Just curious as to why there is only a "live" camera now. I know that the cameras were "stuck" for several hours today. Enjoyed seeing the angle towards the water, we could see if the falcon was still in the area or not.
    Judy in Western Maine

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  28. I am so glad I found this site!! I have been watching the Peregrines in Worcester, Massachusetts and the female has been sitting at the nest box all week acting very lazy. I now know why. No eggs yet, but I am hoping very soon.

    BTW: The male spends a lot of his time away from the nest. Does anyone know if this is normal with her being so close to laying the eggs?

    Thanks

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  29. I tuned in earlier and watched one parent on the nest. Went away from the computer for lunch and now there is an egg outside of the warmth of Mom/Dad. I hope this doesn't mean something is wrong with egg!

    Angie in Mass.

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  30. Never mind- he/she pulled the egg back under. It was out for at least 10 minutes so I was getting a little nervous. I'm not sure I can take this for another month!

    Angie in Mass.

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  31. S/he left nest around 6pm Fri. Four eggs, with one set off from other 3.

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  32. 3/27 6:12

    I can't stand watching this! I feel sorry for the unborn. Hopefully, one or two of them will survive. It's a learning experience for the next falcon cam as far as the nesting materials. I wonder if no eggs are viable, if they will try to have another brood.

    cathy h in mass

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  33. S/he returned soon after. Incubating 3 clustered eggs. Looked at 4th, but then dismissed it.

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  34. The reason that the eggs are not being incubated properly is not because of inexperience on the part of the birds. It's because this is a really crappy nestbox. The tray is too shallow and therefor cannot hold enough gravel. This is why the eggs are rolling around all of the time. Perhaps if this nest fails, there will be enough time to fix the issues with the box so the birds can lay another clutch this year.

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  35. 7:49 am Saturday March 26, 2009

    Got to see Mom and Dad switch places on the nest. Three eggs under and one off to the side.

    I would guess at this point that the three are okay and the one is not viable. I have seen other birds push a bad egg out of the nest, and I have seen one pair at the WMA across the street at my house abandon a nest full of eggs, find another nest, and start over.

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