Bell laid four eggs between 3/22 and 3/28 (we will provide specific times in a later "Field Notes" update), and now both birds are attending to incubation duties. Although Stewart, as usual, began covering the eggs almost as soon as the first one was laid, Bell has done the vast majority of incubation since laying her third egg. Females normally incubate more than males, but the first week of incubation has been more lopsided than usual for this pair. This may be because of the cold, windy, and wet weather that we've had for the last couple of weeks. While Bell and Stewart have a well-drained nest box, many peregrines nesting on cliff ledges are not so lucky and will have nest failures because of chilled eggs resting in water.
It will be interesting to see how Bell and Stewart split incubation duties as the season progresses. Last year, they split incubation roughly 55/45, Bell/Stewart. Prior years have ranged from 60/40 to 80/20. Meanwhile, she's spending a lot of time on the eggs, and he has lots of time to hunt for her and for himself.
