The area around the nest box has been very crazy this week. Wouldn't you know it would be during one of my crazier work weeks so I can't watch as much as I would like to. The good thing is that we have a new employee on my floor that has a birds eye view of the nest box and emails me updates throughout the day. According to my source (HA), the falcons spent a lot of the day playing tag with one another. Basically one would leave the nest and the other would take its place. Now they do this a few times a day but the activity has been increasing and I was able to confirm this with my own two eyes. One thing of concern that I have is sometimes one is on the corner of the building where the nest box is while the other is across the street. I thought the falcons would never leave their eggs unattended?
Anyhow, something is up and I am hoping it's almost time. From what I understand incubation is between 32 to 34 days normally and it has been close to 30 days since I have seen the two of them together which means one of them has always been in the box while the other is out hunting or watching guard. One interesting note is that my co-worker saw the female chase after a hawk today who was unfortunate enough to attempt to fly over the building. The picture above was taken today. This is the male (notice the green bands on its feet).
For comparison here is the female with my pictures from last week (notice the silver bands on her feet). If you want to see more pictures of the female you can do so under the peregrine falcon link on the right side of my blog.
While it has been a little crazier the past couple of days, it didn't stop the male from making a brief stop on top of the 446 Main Street building in Worcester. Here he is preening (not pruning ;o) himself). Look at those gorgeous feathers.
Of course I will be working in Boston tomorrow and offsite on Friday which means I can't check up on them until next Monday. To be continued as always.Here is a cool link on the peregrines from 2 years ago which includes a video if you would like to see it. http://wbztv.com/local/Falcons.Worcester.Peregrine.2.587736.html?detectflash=false
Peace all and get out there and bird!
20 comments:
...great new shots! I can't wait to see the babies. I guess we will all have to wait until Monday! It will be a big surprise of they hatch over the weekend.
Wonderful pictures. Those feathers are amazing. If you get a chance to check my "walking stick" blog in the next few days, you might want one for birding.
I wish you a very Happy Mother's Day.
Great shots Kim!! The more I look at these birds, the more it looks like the one that swooped down in my yard one day and got a BlueJay. He had those same eyes. I never got a photo but that bird looked right at me. Neat!! Hope to see young ones soon!!
Happy Mother's Day!!
Great shots Kim...So nice you have an source to help with your reporting..tee hee.
Cant wait to see what happens...I hope you don't miss anything to exciting while you are off location.
I just LOVE those Falcons. Thanks for bringing us updates on how they are doing :-)
This is my dream Raptor that I have been wanting to photograph for a long time. You are so lucky to photograph them this close. I m still hoping to get my first shot sometime soon.
holy cow, Kim, you have peregrines right on your doorstep? that is incredible. they have such a powerful presence!
Dale
http://alpinebirds.blogspot.com
The second photo looks like a pose from an gyrfalcon Audubon print that I have.
It is very nice to see these birds up close like this. I hope the nest works out.
Oh, so much anticipation of their nestlings! Can't wait to see!
Hi Kallen,
So lucky to get that close to them. So close that you can see it has a ring on its legs, isn't it?
Wonderful shots, I kind of hope I will get some like this one day.
Great shots! Hope you see little ones soon.
Thanks for the continuing update Kim plus the lovely close-ups.
How exciting! It wil be great to see the new arrivals! And, I forgot - how many eggs, or do we know??
Beautiful photos Kim! The television station should do a piece on you and The Falcons...
"Falcon Lady keeps track of Peregrine Falcons in Worcester... more at 11!"
Happy Mother's Day!!
I love that second picture. It reminds me of some of the poses they draw in ancient pictures of falcons.
Beautiful!
The 3rd photo down is really amazing.
I love when you post the updates on your falcon friends! I'm excited for the babies- I know they are going to be the cutest things ever!
Kim,
Great post..you really caught some nice pictures..esp being able to see the bands..cool. Wouldn't it be so neat to be able to read the ID on those bands..you would be able to find out when and where..
Your post made me think of the book I just finished...Marie Winn, Red-Tails in Love..it is about the hawks who live in NYC. If you haven't read it yet..it is pretty neat!
I really like the way that the shots with the houses in the background obviously lower than the bird, tell of its habitat. Good job!
Post a Comment