Hamilton Peregrine Falcons 2011
 

Well we are off with the new Season! MadameX and Surge (unofficially) are back at the site..(actually they stay all yr round!) but more activity in the past 2 weeks on the nest ledge. They have dug down deep this year...hard to see eggs at certain views.

We have a new camera installed that can pan the whole city area around the nest and we can now peak on rooftops etc to see the family! its actually an awesome camera now!

So needless to say here is the link to the cam! hope you all enjoy it as much as I do !

Today Madame X layed her first egg of the season..for those not familiar with the falcon she will generally lay an egg ever other day until about 4-5..they get lower numbers as they age. A nice viable egg is burgundy brown color...they also say as the falcon gets older the eggs get lighter??

Anyway enjoy!
[url]http://falcons.hamiltonnature.org/[/url]

Cindy

Winston, thanks for posting this again this year. :thumbs up

Looks like Madame X is pretty much right on schedule once again. I checked back at last year's thread and last year she laid her first egg on March 29th so two days late. Still pretty close.

I missed watching most of last year's activities. Will have to keep a better eye on this thread and the website this time.

Mikischo there are falcons near you too! check out this site...they are amazing to watch....I find it amazing that within 37 days they are full grown?? enjoy

[url]http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/features/falcon/[/url]

Cindy

Very cool, Winston!!!

[QUOTE=Winston;999165]Mikischo there are falcons near you too! check out this site...they are amazing to watch....I find it amazing that within 37 days they are full grown?? enjoy

[url]http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/features/falcon/[/url]

Cindy[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the link, Cindy. Although I've know for years that we had peregrines here as well, it never occurred to me to check the internet for a website.:headslap: Apparently there were two pairs in Winnipeg last year and the first sighting this year was on March 15. Needless to say they don't stay in "Winter"peg over the winter. I don't want to hijack your thread. Maybe I could start one of my own to represent my area of the country.

I always love your links Cindy. I need to hunt down that honkin' big list you posted one year of similar links all over the world.

yay! I love watching them grow up! :lovestruck:

Winston, I just took a look and I see a second egg was laid this morning. Nice to see dad takes his turn tending the eggs. :thumbs up

Winston,sorry I missed this,I thought it would be to early for egg-laying..
Thank you for doing this again this year,LOVE watching them:thumbs up

Update!

THR-EEE EGGS!!!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011 - sometime between 13:00 and 14:00 today one of the adults took a break and revealed a third egg in the nest. The photo at left, taken with our AMAZING new camera, was captured at 14:33 this afternoon. Madame X is shown having a look at the clutch just before Surge arrived to do some more incubating. Way to go guys!!!

Althought the site isnt update I clearly see 4 eggs!!! :thumbs up

Omg Winston,what a beautiful picture:thumbs up

Chico isnt that awesome! they installed a new camera at the nest site and it really makes a big difference!!! What a good Dad eh! he is always on the eggs! (either that or he is really lazy!)

I dont know if I ever mentioned this before but there is a T.O nest site where the male Kack takes care of 2 different nests...yes 2 girls and lots of babies to feed! I think this is his 3rd yr doing it...he is a real stud! :laughing::laughing:

I thought he was the dad,but did not want to assume,he is just stunning:lovestruck:

Wow, and look at the size of the eggs!!! Awesome!

Here is a real good pic of falcon eggs...these are not from our nest but at least you can see how they look...as the falcon ages the eggs are not as bright color.

That's a great pic! Hard to believe they don't break on the gravel! :eek:

So you're saying the older the mother the duller the eggs? Is that a reliable way to age a fem?

Yes Hazel its a good indicator....they usually start to lay less eggs too!
I think about the eggs on the gravell all the time too and the fact that they sit on them...Madame X turns them very carefully as well....

If it helps to tell the difference between who is in the nest..Madame X has the black markings all the way up her chest to her neck and Surge has alot of white in this area...he still has the dots but no where near what she has...

I guess I was wrong only 3 eggs..heres an update.

HALF-WAY TO HATCHING.....

Thursday, April 21, 2011 - This is the quiet time on the Sheraton Hamilton Hotel nest, as the two adult Peregrines, Madame X and Surge, take turns incubating their three eggs. The eggs were laid over a six day period from March 31st to April 5th, but the adults did not begin incubating the eggs full-time until after the last one was laid. This little trick will cause the eggs to develop together and (hopefully) hatch within a few days of each other. This should happen the first week of May. The chicks will grow with amazing rapidity, and by mid-June will be taking their first flights!

Cindy

Winston,I was reading about the Toronto ones and it says they don't think the eggs will survive,they are sitting directly on cold concrete,not much gravel,like in Hamilton and it's been so darn cold:yell:
If this keeps up,I think a lot of baby-birds,Squirrel-babies will die.

Chico there are a few new sites in TO and the Canadian Peregrine Foundation will usually install a nest tray if they show interest in a site, however it also depends on the falcons too..sometimes they dont take to the nest tray either. After a failed clutch they usually move on to find a more successful nest site.

Did you hear about Quest? the transmitter falcon and her new beau Kendal? She has been wondering for a couple of years and finally settled on a mate and a nest ledge across from the Harlequin Romance office! its the talk of the town rightn now. She is fixed with a gps type transmitter when she was a young baby and I have been following her travels since 2008! :thumbs up

Yes,I read about them,I think they were the ones they are concerned about,but lik you say,if one clutch does not make it,they'll try for another,but I hope they make it:pray:

Chico they are pretty strong rapters that keep trying. There are many sites in TO. If they were to install a nest tray it wouldnt be until next year and they would likely install more than one just in case they dont like their location now. I understand there are another pair that have layed eggs and abandoned them on several floorso f a highrise but that is not Quest.

Quest started out in Rochester and then spent a year almost down near Cape Cod and then moved on to the Bruce Nuke Plant and now has settled down! She is so popular there is a team coming from Rochester where she origionally is from to visit the site. :thumbs up

Here is a pic of their nest that they have taken too the fear is that the eggs of babies will fall off the ledge.

They seem to do okay on cliff edges so :fingerscr they'll do okay on the flat concrete ledge, too!

Well judging from madame X's behaviour we should have a hatch today! You will see from the pics from the camera taken in the last 1/2 hour that one of the eggs has the chick starting to come out....woohoo she is right on schedule! Madame X always has her chicks on Mothers Day weekend! :thumbs up

:goodvibes:

I can't tell from the live cam site if it's hatched, yet. She won't get up. :D How long does a hatch usually take? Think it's out, yet?

Winston I love the shots from this new camera,you can really see how beautiful she is,hope for a healthy,hatchling:pray:

Right on Schedule
 

Madame X & Surge welcome their first chick forn 2011 into the world about a 1/2 hour ago.....I am soo happy for them...check out these great shots of it!

a couple more shots

last ones