14 July 2010

We hope you enjoy the slide show that now replaces the video image on the falconcam page. Many thanks to the local photographers who have kindly shared photographs of the fledglings and their parents in downtown Boise. We plan to update the slide show from time to time, so if you have a photo you would like to submit, please send it to tpf@peregrinefund.org and include your name and phone number.

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9 July 2010

From Idaho Fish and Game Biologist Bruce Haak--This morning, a young male Peregrine (red) was found trapped behind an ornamental sheet metal screen on the outside of the Banner Bank Building in downtown Boise. Our three observers--Carmel, Ken, and Beth--spotted the young falcon peaking out from under the metal wall, and sounded the alert.

Marva Schwager (The Christensen Corp.) graciously took us to the roof of the building where we found two more young falcons lounging in the sun. It required a full arm's reach down the side of the building to grasp the trapped falcon and pull it up and out to safety. We gave it a good spraying, with a cool drink thrown in for good measure, before releasing it on a shady part of the roof.

Curiously, not only were the adults defending against us during this rescue operation, but some of the juveniles joined in for good measure.

We had a similar experience four years ago when another newly fledged Peregrine slipped and fell down behind an adjacent length of this sheet metal exterior. It too was extracted safely and released.

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6 July 2010

All four chicks have now taken their first flights successfully. As they often do, the smaller males fledged first but the female soon followed. The parents are staying close. They will continue to supply food to the young birds as they practice their flying and hunting skills around downtown Boise. Volunteers also are keeping close track of the fledglings and are prepared to summon help from Fish and Game if any youngsters are injured or in trouble.

Have you got a good photo of the Boise fledglings and their parents? Please send it to us at tpf@peregrinefund.org along with your name and phone number.

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2 July 2010

We would like to document the adventures of the new fledglings around downtown Boise with photographs. We invite anyone with a good photo of the chicks to email it to us. We will select the best to feature in a slide show on this page. Send no more than five images per day to tpf@peregrinefund.org and include your full name (so we can give you credit) and your phone number. Please send them in a jpg format, no smaller than 800 pixels on the shortest dimension.

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1 July 2010

The first chick fledged today! This afternoon, observers saw one of the young birds about a half-block from the nest box. This occurred several days earlier than expected, proving once again that wild birds are not entirely predictable. So far, the youngster appears to have had a safe first flight.

Are you interested in being a fledge watcher? Once again, a corps of volunteers is needed to assist the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in tracking the movements of the fledglings as they explore the city. IDFG needs people who can devote part of a day to monitoring these falcons from early- to late-July.

Like last year, individuals are being asked to sign up for one of three 4-5 hour shifts (morning, afternoon and evening). We want to have at least two people per shift and we’ll supply orange safety vests that identify our volunteers as the peregrine police. Michael Young and Mary Dudley (IDFG Volunteer Coordinators) will schedule individuals who wish to participate. Michael can be reached at 327-7095 or michael.young@idfg.idaho.gov Mary can be reached at: 327-7099 or mary.dudley@idfg.idaho.gov

Bruce Haak will oversee the project, provide training, and be on hand to handle falcons that need assistance. He can be reached at: 989-6815 or bruce.haak@idfg.idaho.gov

An informal orientation to falcon-watching will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 3, at the Piper Pub, 8th and Main streets. Bring your binoculars!

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29 June 2010

To enhance viewing opportunities, biologists put colored identification bands on each of the chicks. The female’s band is yellow; the males’ are red, green and blue. The band numbers are put into a database that contains information on each bird’s age, sex, and hometown. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service compiles information from bands collected in North America, which scientists use to study such things as survival rates, migration routes, and the effects of environmental pollutants and disease.

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25 June 2010

All four chicks are spending more time outside the nest box, often resting at the far end of the ledge in the cool shade. As a result, they are now harder to see at times. There are two cameras installed at the nest box, but only one can be broadcast at a time. Fiberpipe is manually switching between the camera inside the box and the one outside the box as needed but often the birds cannot be seen well by either camera. Also, switching between cameras is a manual task and Fiberpipe may not always have someone available to make the change immediately as the youngsters move about.

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24 June 2010

Curious about the world outside their nest box, the fast-growing youngsters have recently begun leaving the box for walks on the ledge, which is wider than can be seen on the camera. Many viewers are worried about the chicks’ safety, but this is all part of the normal process of preparing to leave the nest. The birds will vigorously flap their wings and take short hops to prepare for their first flight, which will occur in about two weeks.

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17 June 2010

Now 23 and 24 days old, the chicks are taking on characteristics of adult birds. The darker tips of tail and wing feathers are showing through the chick’s thick white down and soon body feathers will emerge. The chicks are strong enough to stand all the way up, which allows them to feed themselves by holding large pieces of food with their feet and tearing off small pieces. Soon the parents will be free of beak-to-beak feeding duty.

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15 June 2010

This morning Idaho Department of Fish and Game representatives banded the four young Peregrines. Each of the chicks received a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service band on their right leg and each of the bands was color-coded to make identification easier for viewers. There are three males and one female this year. Despite reports of lack of feeding, all four of the young Peregrines are in great condition and have been very well cared for by the parents. Representatives from Fiberpipe were also on hand to install a microphone, which is providing exceptional sound. Thank you Fiberpipe. A second camera was also installed above the box to provide a secondary view when the young birds begin exploring outside the box. The adult female was very protective of the chicks and defended aggressively throughout the process. A variety of prey remains were collected and included pigeons, meadowlarks, and mourning doves. In all, it was a very successful morning and we hope you enjoy the addition of sound to the camera.

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11 June 2010, 4:00 p.m.

It appears that the young falcons have moved to the corner of the box directly under the camera where they are out of viewing range. Parts of the young birds occasionally appear at the bottom of the video screen. As they continue to increase in mobility, they likely will move around in the box a lot more than earlier.

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11 June 2010

Every piece of down on a baby falcon marks the spot where a growing flight or body feather will emerge. As the feathers grow in the young are constantly going through preening motions to remove the tiny pieces of down clinging to the tip of each emerging feather. This is a conscious and normal behavior.

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10 June 2010

Now more than two weeks old, the chicks have experienced phenomenal growth. They weighed a mere 35 grams at hatching. When full-grown, females (which are larger than males) weigh about 1,000 grams. They go from just over one ounce to more than 2 pounds in six weeks! Peregrine Falcon chicks typically take their first flight from the nest 41-45 days after hatching.

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9 June 2010

We have received many emails asking about the amount of food each chick is given by the parents. In a normal situation each chick will generally get the same amount of food per day, but sometimes more aggressive or older chicks get more. Often two or three young will get more at one meal than the others, which makes the ones that did not get as much earlier appear to be hungrier during later feedings. It may not always be the same chick that appears to get less food. As the young falcons become increasingly mobile, it can be difficult to keep track of individual chicks. In extreme circumstances chicks not getting enough food, or ones that are unhealthy, will end up dying. If that happens, the dead young often disappear in a matter of hours.

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8 June 2010

Some viewers have wondered whether one adult could care for four chicks if something should happen to the other one. The answer is yes, but the chicks would be more vulnerable with only one adult protecting and providing for them. Keeping these young birds well-fed is a big job, even with two adults bringing food to the nest.

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4 June 2010

The female has done much of the feeding so far but the male has not been sitting idly by. He is busy hunting for food, which he caches near the nest where the female can easily find it. As the chicks grow larger and their demand for food increases, the male parent can help feed the chicks.

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2 June 2010

With warmer temperatures, the adults are able to leave the week-old chicks for longer periods of time while out hunting for food. Immediately after hatching, the young ones’ bodies were unable to regulate body temperatures, so they depended on the adults for warmth. Now the chicks can huddle together to stay warm, if needed. Though they appear unattended at times, you can be sure that an adult is nearby keeping a close watch on the nest.

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1 June 2010

Many viewers have asked how to tell the female and male apart. Increased activity at the nest makes this is a good time to look for differences. The first thing to notice is size: the female is larger. In the raptor world, females are larger than males by up to a third. Also look for differences in coloration. For example, this male has more white on his cheeks, while the female’s head is more solidly colored. Generally, markings on adult males are more distinct and often a little brighter than those on females.

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28 May 2010

It is hard to see exactly what the adults are feeding the chicks, but you can be sure it is some kind of bird. Peregrine Falcons strictly eat other birds. With plenty of pigeons and other birds to hunt in downtown Boise, there will be no shortage of food available for these growing chicks.

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27 May 2010

The adults are feeding the chicks small amounts of food several times a day. The begging instinct in the chicks kicks in right away even though prior to hatching, the yolk was absorbed into their body cavities to provide nourishment for a few days. When learning to raise falcons in captivity back in the 1970s, Peregrine Fund biologists learned that it was easy to overfeed chicks because of their constant begging. In nature, the adults know exactly how much food each chick needs from day to day.

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26 May 2010

The fourth egg hatched just before 12:30 p.m.

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25 May 2010

Hatching has begun! Two chicks could be seen in the nest early this morning. The tiny birds are covered with white downy feathers. They are unable to regulate their body temperatures for up to two weeks, so they will stay under the adults for warmth. See our Facebook page for pictures of the chicks.

Update: A third chick hatched about 12:36 p.m.

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21 May 2010

To prepare for hatching next week, the chicks are starting to develop temporary biological tools that allow them to break out of their shells. One of these is the egg tooth, a sharp structure on the top of the beak that is used to punch a hole in the shell (called pipping) and cut off the top so the chick can emerge. A large muscle in the back of the neck also aids hatching. The pipping muscle gives the tiny chick strength to chip its way out. Hatching is hard work for tiny birds! The adults will know the pipping process has begun when they hear the chicks vocalizing from inside the eggs.

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17 May 2010

A lot has been going on inside the eggs since they were laid more than three weeks ago, assuming they are fertile and progressing normally. By now, the fast-developing embryos look like birds and have all their internal organs, a circulatory system and skeleton. If we could peek inside, we would see a beating heart, feathers and a beak. Besides keeping them warm, the adults must rotate the eggs occasionally to prevent the embryos from sticking to the inner membrane, which prevents proper hatching. In another week or so, the chicks will start preparing to break out of their shells.

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13 May 2010

More from Fish and Game biologist Bruce Haak on Boise falcons: We don’t know what happens to the youngsters once they leave Boise, although we know that several have come back to the area in subsequent years. At least one female made the trip to southern California twice before being killed at the Los Angeles airport. Since about 75 percent of young Peregrine Falcons die their first year, the odds of their surviving are quite small. And considering how few bands are ever recovered, our learning curve is rather slow on birds in general. Satellite tracking is helping to speed up the time chart on many studies of bird behavior and movements.

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11 May 2010

Several viewers have asked whether these are the same birds from last year. The answer: maybe. Last year, the male did not have an identification band on his leg, and the female was banded but biologists were unable to read her number. Fish and Game biologist Bruce Haak reports that both birds have bands this year but there is no guarantee that anyone will get close enough to make a positive ID. People also have asked about last year’s chicks. They were banded but no telemetry equipment was attached so it is impossible to say for sure where they went. There are volunteer reports that at least one of them stayed in the area through the winter. The band numbers would be recorded if the chicks were trapped or found dead. Those numbers go to a central registry for research purposes.

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5 May 2010

The female generally sits on the eggs at night. The male assists during the day. The four eggs are kept warm with the aid of a brood patch, a special hot spot that develops on the chests of both adults for incubation. This leathery patch of skin keeps the eggs in close contact with the parents for maximum heat. The patch is also needed after hatching because chicks are unable to regulate their own body temperature for up to two weeks, depending on weather. The brood patch disappears as the young grow older.

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3 May 2010

Our spring weather has been cool, windy and rainy, even snowy, this year. The forecast calls for wind and more cold temperatures this week. The Peregrine Falcons are well-equipped to handle such weather. Like all birds, they have an insulating layer of soft, fluffy feathers close to their skin. This first layer, called down, holds in heat (their body temperature is 104 degrees F). The outer layer of feathers keeps out moisture, thanks to oil from a gland at the base of the tail. Using their beaks, the birds coat their feathers with this water-repelling oil. This is one reason Peregrines spend so much time preening, or grooming themselves.

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23 April 2010

The female laid her fourth egg at 3:18 p.m. She rested for about 45 minutes and then the male stopped by for a close look at the newest arrival. See more pictures on our Facebook page