Peregrine Falcon update & other tidbits

I decided to check up on the Peregrine Falcons this morning as it was overdue considering I wasn't able to last week due to a hectic workload.  I do manage to get a quick look at them every morning at a red light where I whip out the binoculars to check if the male is around and like clock work he always is and on the ledge above.  This morning would be different so thought this would be a good time to see if anything had changed.  Checking on the falcons has turned into a stressful event due to all of the construction going on in conjunction with the demolition of the old Worcester Galleria so between that and the car and pedestrian traffic I can't hear or see much.  The picture above is typical of how close I've been able to get to the falcons this year.

I would be walking back toward the office and be astonished that I can now see Union Station from Front Street, it would be then that I'd look to the right of that and there on the ledge would be the female falcon

I'd get my bins on her and then hear a call I've missed so much which are the begging calls of the Peregrine Falcon chicks.  Unfortunately, I never did see them but know I heard one if not two calls (hard to tell with all of the urban noise!).  The begging calls must have awoken the male from his mini snooze on the other side of the building as I would see him fly over to the Front Street area.  What a guy, I'd think, coming to help mamma falcon with the hungry chicks.

But him being the male that I know and love he would do what he often does when the chicks need tending to and that is keep a vigilant watch for potential threats, but leave the woman's work to the queen mamma who has and always will wear the pants in the family.

As he had more important things to tend to which was finishing up the leftovers from breakfast.  I wonder if pigeon tastes anything like bacon?

While mamma tries to get in a break whenever she can.  The chicks would start squacking again so the female went to deal with them and it would be then that I'd see a lone little feather come from the ledge and float toward the road.  I'd try and follow it with my bins and then resort to naked eye where it would proceed to land in the middle of the road.  I'd watch as cars would run it over but once the coast was clear off I went to grab it for further study!  Don't know if its the feather from the chicks or the mother but thought it was cool and so soft!  A little memento of my favorite birds of all and one I will cherish.

While I'm sad they are no longer at the Unum building where I had better access, I am happy they are further away from all of the other sky scrapers where window strikes have happened in the past.  Hoping they decide to fly around Kelly Square instead of right in the heart of downtown Worcester. 

I've been doing some birding after work in nearby locations as I've created a block in eBird to keep me busy now that migration has just about ceased.  I have a couple of target birds here that I still have yet to get so that helps to keep me motivated as well, especially if one of them is the Yellow-billed Cuckoo I had a couple of years ago.

And while I never did get the cuckoo (been a pattern thus far), I did manage to get a good look at quite a few birds including these very tame Barn Swallows above.  I'd never really paid much attention to these birds before which is unfortunate as not only are the striking, but really gentle and inquisitive.  I'd only be about 15 feet away from the two of them and they didn't seem to mind me swooning over them and taking pictures in the drizzle.

And of course there's plenty in the back yard to keep me busy including the Cedar Waxwings who always seem to be around now that the mullberries are ripe!

And lastly a deer I spotted this evening while looking for the Orchard Oriole (once again a no go).  I'm really loving the loop I have near my home where I don't even have to get into my car but walk less than a quarter mile and then go into woods and powerlines that go on for miles which makes for some nice long walks.

Take care all