Miscellaneous peregrines

[Nora in IA]

Three for Evanston, IL 

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[DotK]

Nora, that is wonderful news.  Kodak is like the mother-lode of falcons.  It is so good to hear Mariah's offspring are doing well.  That church is magnificant - what a glorious home for them.

[AlisonL]

I had just seen the information on Imprints when I read your post. It's always the best news when one of the offspring from previous years is located! With Freedom and his mate in Ontario, Rhea Mae and Tiago in Toronto, and Linn also in Ontario, it's great news to hear about Ihteram!

[Linda M]

Some news about the Macomb County falcons from the Detroit paper; there doesn't seem to be a live cam available yet.  Linda

"It had all the elements of a fine-feathered courtship.

Bird lovers reveled in the romance between Horus and Hathor, a pair of peregrine falcons perched atop the Macomb County Building in Mt. Clemens for the past three years.

Even after five failed attempts to raise surviving chicks, the pair stuck together. They seemed inseparable, as most falcons are.

But it's over now.

"A lot of people are going to be sad," said Kariann Anderson, a peregrine observer for the Department of Natural Resources who identified the birds by bands on their feet. "Everyone knew Horus and Hathor as a couple."

Hathor, 6, found a new mate this spring named Nick, a 2-year-old falcon who until recently lived atop the Whittier Apartments in Detroit. Nick moved into Hathor's nest on the County Building after chasing off Horus.

The new couple are caring for four eggs that are expected to hatch in mid-May.

Horus, 4, is with a new mate on a balcony of the historic Old Main at Wayne State University in Detroit.

"There's no point in staying in a relationship if you're incompatible," Macomb County spokesman Phil Frame said.

[AlisonL]

Very interesting information, Linda. I have been checking for a live cam regularly, but so far nothing. I hope Horus and Hathor will have a very successful season with their respective new mates.

[Nora in IA]

We've found another Excel kid, she's in Fargo!  There were two Miracles that year, but the other one wasn't an Excel bird.  This is the Miracle I think is with Dakota Ace:

2004
Falcon Name:  Miracle
FWS Band:  987-40174
Color Band:  28/D
Hatch Site:  NSP Sherco, Becker
Hatch Date:  05/20/04
Male Parent FWS Band:   
Female Parent FWS Band:  1807-69783
 
Archive for April, 2008
Update #2
Friday, April 4th, 2008

Once again a pair of peregrine falcons has returned to the nest box on the Bank of the West building in downtown Fargo.  However, it is not the same pair that successfully nested at this site from 2003 through 2007.

The male is the same.  Dakota Ace returned on or about March 15, right on schedule.  This marks the beginning of his ninth season inFargo, and he will soon be 11 years old.  Dakota Ace is proving to be a very competent and prolific bird.  He has fathered every peregrinefalcon raised in Fargo, starting with the first nesting in 2001.  He has also attracted a succession of mates.  His mate from 2002 through last season was named Frieda.

Frieda did not return this spring, and is now long overdue.  Most likely she did not survive the winter.  Peregrines are highly territorial, and almost always return to a site where they have successfully nested.

On March 25 a different female peregrine did arrive.  Her name is Miracle.  She hatched in 2004 in a nest box maintained by Xcel Energy at a plant it operates in central Minnesota.  Miracle seems to be well established, and she and Dakota Ace have been displaying the typical courtship behavior.  In recent days, Miracle has been spending much time in or around the nest box.  This also covers info about the Fargo cam!

In general, new pairs are not as predictable as established pairs.  However, we have a very experienced male.  His new mate is no kid.  They seem to be doing all the right things.  Therefore, the prospects for another nesting are good.

Posted in Falcon | No Comments ?

Update
Friday, April 4th, 2008

Due to program changes, Prairie Public Broadcasting will no longer be hosting this website.  Arrangements are underway to move the site to a new location.  It will be updated and expanded as part of this process.  Towards that end, the web camera has been taken down for upgrading.  Unfortunately, it can not be reinstalled now as that would involve disturbing the adult peregrines at a time when such disturbance could cause abandonment of the nest box or damage to any eggs it may contain.  Assuming the peregrines do nest this year (see update above), we will reinstall the camera as part of the banding activities (probably in mid June).  We are sorry for this temporary interruption, but trust all viewers agree the welfare of the peregrines must come first.

[AlisonL]

A note on the Hartford, Connecticut website:

"2008 April 18 - Unfortunately, no falcons decided to nest on the Travelers Tower this year. If biologists determine the whereabouts of previous nesters, we'll post the information on this Web site."

I wonder why there isn't a pair of peregrines there this year. I have only seen one, one time only (posted on this thread) this year.

[Nora in IA]

The Atlanta chicks will soon be ready to leave the nest:

The pictures are great and if you've never heard a baby, be sure to check out the audio...

Here's an article in today's paper
about the ones in Atlanta, along with photos.

http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2008/05/14/peregrines_0515.html

Click under 'related links' for photos and audio.

[AlisonL]

That is a cute article, Nora, and the photos are excellent. I like the fact that the chicks have a lot of space to run around in before they fledge - I didn't realize there was so much space for them outside their planter. I do have one reservation, though. These babies seem to me to be too old to band safely. I'm glad there were no problems, but I wonder why they were not banded when they were a little younger.

[AlisonL]

Back on May 10 I posted pics of the adults and chicks at the Lincoln, Nebraska nest. Today I found this information on the site:

Summary

The 2008 nesting attempt by the Capitol Peregrines is unsuccessful and reasons for the failure, and what happened to the eggs/chicks is not clear.

5.16.08
Biologists check nestbox and find no adults present. Remaining egg, which is likely infertile, is removed in hope the birds may renest.

5.15.08
Adults not present at nestbox.

5.14.08
Adult observed incubating remaining egg.

5.12.08
Biologists check nestbox expecting to see newly-hatched chicks but inexplicably find only one egg present.

This is very sad - there were definitely several chicks in the nest - I think three, with one unhatched egg. I wonder what happened? 

[DotK]

Unfortunately, no pictures are available - unless you're checked into the Mayo Clinic - but the two resident peregrines are now proud parents of four adorable chicks.  There is a cam in the lobby, and also in the patient rooms - but they don't broadcast to the internet.  The eggs must have hatched over the weekend because when I last saw the cam on Thursday, the female was siting tight - but this morning eyasses - I was watching on my way in and saw her arrive with breakfast for them.

[Nora in IA]

Super Dot!  I thought of them one day this weekend when I was outside and forget to get hold of you when I came in.

[AlisonL]

From the Macomb County site:

Salacious! A new mate, four new eggs signal fresh start in 2008 for Macomb County?s Peregrine falcons

Turnovers are a bad thing in basketball and football, but a change of possession may be just the ticket for Macomb County?s Peregrine falcons.

We?ve followed the nesting foibles of Horus and Hathor since 2005 ? five tries at having chicks and nothing to show for it.

But now there?s a new male in Hathor?s world, high atop the Macomb County Building in downtown Mount Clemens: He?s Nick, a 2-year-old who hails from the Whittier Towers on the Detroit Riverfront.
Yes. Horus is history, replaced by a male half his age.

Nick and Hathor are busily incubating four healthy-looking eggs, a fact confirmed on Tuesday, April 15, by Kariann Anderson, a Peregrine specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Should Nick and Hathor?s parenting prowess pay off, the new chicks should hatch around mid-May.
 
The county Web cam that's been used in past years to show the nest live on the Internet will be activated around the first week of June when a chick, or chicks, are banded by the DNR. We hope to show the banding live on the Internet. Then the camera will be installed so everyone can see the young develop over the next month, when they should be ready to take their first flight.
 
Anderson is hopeful for Hathor and her new beau because the emergence of healthy chicks would mark the end of a long and so far fruitless journey for Hathor.
 
Her most heartbreaking moments were losing a chick in 2007 that died just a few days after being hatched and the loss of Alexa in 2005. Alexa grew large enough to fly but was killed the next day when struck by a car.
 
The nest is located in a ledge box off the northeast corner of the County Building?s 11th Floor ? high above the intersection of Cass Avenue and North Gratiot.

As for Horus, he has decided to go back to school and has settled into a new nest at Wayne State University.
----------------------

I wonder if the eggs have hatched yet - no webcam until banding day if they do! Hoping for success for Hathor and Nick.
 

[Nora in IA]

Another update on Fargo.  Fargo is where one of the MN Excel females took over this year.....

Here's an update that was in the Fargo paper yesterday:
 
Wick Corwin, Fargo, Letter: Here is the latest on Fargo?s falcons

Published Sunday, May 18, 2008
This will answer the questions asked by Marjie Klockman (and many others) about Fargo?s peregrine falcons (letter, May 14).
Although we have a new female this year, adults are back. They appear to have eggs, and we expect babies around the end of the month. Assuming everything goes as anticipated, banding has been tentatively scheduled for June 20.

For the first time, peregrines are also nesting in Grand Forks. The Grand Forks male hatched in Fargo in 2005. The mother of the Grand Forks female was raised here in 2003. Therefore, there is much news, and it is good.

The temporary glitches involve our ability to convey this news. The original host Web site has been shut down, and we are in the process of establishing a new and updated site at www.far

gofalcons.net. The webcam was taken down in March as part of the upgrading process.

Unfortunately that took longer than expected, and we did not have the camera back in place when the birds returned. Because the female is new to this site, the experts recommended that we avoid any disturbance during the pairing and incubating periods. There is some risk that could scare her away. We currently plan to reinstall the camera at the time of banding. By then the young will be old enough to tolerate temporary removal, and there will be no potential for abandonment by the adults.

In the interim, thanks to everyone for your continued interest and understanding.

[AlisonL]

Peregrines have returned to breed in Suffolk, England for the first time in 200 years:

Link to the article, part of which is quoted below:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-564307/Peregrine-falcons-return-breed-time-200-years.html

"Peregrine falcons are breeding in Suffolk again - for the first time in a staggering 200 years.

The sensational birds of prey, which can hit 200mph in a dive, last thrived in the East Anglian county when King George III was on the throne and Napoleon was rampaging across Europe.

Now a peregrine is sitting on four precious eggs under the Orwell Bridge - just feet away from an endless stream of lorries and cars thundering along the A14.

The fastest living creature on earth last bred in Suffolk in the steeple of the parish church at Corton, near Lowestoft, in the early 1800s as Beethoven finished his first symphony."

A pic of the bridge where the birds are nesting: