We have had confirmation today from two different people, Andrea Warner and Vaughne Sprowls, that there are now four peregrine eggs in the nest box at WAMU, as suspected.
Both observers saw the four eggs during two different shift changes by the adults, one at 3:50 PM (Vaughne) and the other at 6:56 PM (Andrea).
Thanks very much for clarifying this for all of us.
April 13, 2009
Anyone Seeing Four Eggs?
The adults are now "sitting tight" and have moved into full time incubation behavior. We should have four eggs in the nest box, but I, for one, am having a difficult time seeing the shift changes. As a result, I cannot confirm the number of eggs at this time.
We did get confirmation of three eggs on the box yesterday morning from Jannice Mull, a peregrine fan. Thanks Jannice!
Ruth Taylor also adds this observation:
"I spent about 3 hours at P1 (WAMU) yesterday afternoon, watching the female incubate in the rain. She had a crop and would put over it and then shift position. I had only been there about 5 minutes when I was able to see 3 eggs – one noticeably darker than the other two, which had more white mixed with the red. This makes sense in terms of the quick glimpses I had last week and a friend’s report of a glimpse of 2 reddish eggs last week.
What I couldn’t confirm because she wouldn’t move far enough away that her feathers weren’t partially over the scrape was whether there could have been a 4th egg.
I suspect this is the same female from last year; she laid 3 eggs, and 1 was noticeably darker than the others."
Most viewers have noticed by now that we are limiting the online viewing time this year to three minutes due to bandwidth issues. Because of this new approach, I have not been able to time my visits to catch a "shift change". When the adults do change position, it is usually easy to count the eggs. No luck for me thus far! But then, that is their job....keep those eggs covered up and warm.
Can any of our viewers let me know if you have any better luck? If so, e-mail me at bud@frg.org.
Thanks.
We did get confirmation of three eggs on the box yesterday morning from Jannice Mull, a peregrine fan. Thanks Jannice!
Ruth Taylor also adds this observation:
"I spent about 3 hours at P1 (WAMU) yesterday afternoon, watching the female incubate in the rain. She had a crop and would put over it and then shift position. I had only been there about 5 minutes when I was able to see 3 eggs – one noticeably darker than the other two, which had more white mixed with the red. This makes sense in terms of the quick glimpses I had last week and a friend’s report of a glimpse of 2 reddish eggs last week.
What I couldn’t confirm because she wouldn’t move far enough away that her feathers weren’t partially over the scrape was whether there could have been a 4th egg.
I suspect this is the same female from last year; she laid 3 eggs, and 1 was noticeably darker than the others."
Most viewers have noticed by now that we are limiting the online viewing time this year to three minutes due to bandwidth issues. Because of this new approach, I have not been able to time my visits to catch a "shift change". When the adults do change position, it is usually easy to count the eggs. No luck for me thus far! But then, that is their job....keep those eggs covered up and warm.
Can any of our viewers let me know if you have any better luck? If so, e-mail me at bud@frg.org.
Thanks.
April 11, 2009
Third Egg?
Yesterday, I went to WAMU in Seattle and took the elevator up to the 56th floor. We have a special "operational area" set up there by our friends at Wright Runstad within a large maintenance and storage room.
They have kindly provided a table and chairs where we usually place the Internet connection equipment, a TV monitor, zoom and focus controls and a phone each year. In the corner of this room, there is a small locked door leading through the exterior wall and out into a "tunnel" about 30' long. The tunnel is formed by a large steel frame that supports the exterior stone slabs of the building. We crawl inside this convenient tunnel to the camera. The custom mount is installed at the end of this tunnel, protected from the weather. Many years ago, we were allowed to drill a "viewing port" 4 inches in diameter through the stone fascia. This port provides a "window" onto the outer ledge where we placed the nest box.
Now that there are eggs in the box, Mark Prostor and I had decided to zoom the camera in further so we could all see more details in the nest. As we talked on the phone, I zoomed the camera in to the correct distance while he advised me on the dimensions shown online. The image you see on the web is slightly different in dimension than what we see on the building monitor so we had to get this right. After zooming, we had to change the focus. Once that was completed, I went down the tunnel to re-align the camera.
So that is why you are all seeing a different image today.
You may have noticed that the adults are pretty much on the eggs all the time now. That is normal behavior as the number of eggs increase. They should now be actively engaged in incubation duties for the next 33-35 days or so. It is never certain precisely how long they will incubate as it is more of an art than science.
Because the birds are on the eggs farily constantly, I have not had the time to see if there is now a third egg or not. If you are reading this blog and have seen a thrid egg, please drop me a line at bud@frg.org.
The fourth egg is due tomorrow.
They have kindly provided a table and chairs where we usually place the Internet connection equipment, a TV monitor, zoom and focus controls and a phone each year. In the corner of this room, there is a small locked door leading through the exterior wall and out into a "tunnel" about 30' long. The tunnel is formed by a large steel frame that supports the exterior stone slabs of the building. We crawl inside this convenient tunnel to the camera. The custom mount is installed at the end of this tunnel, protected from the weather. Many years ago, we were allowed to drill a "viewing port" 4 inches in diameter through the stone fascia. This port provides a "window" onto the outer ledge where we placed the nest box.
Now that there are eggs in the box, Mark Prostor and I had decided to zoom the camera in further so we could all see more details in the nest. As we talked on the phone, I zoomed the camera in to the correct distance while he advised me on the dimensions shown online. The image you see on the web is slightly different in dimension than what we see on the building monitor so we had to get this right. After zooming, we had to change the focus. Once that was completed, I went down the tunnel to re-align the camera.
So that is why you are all seeing a different image today.
You may have noticed that the adults are pretty much on the eggs all the time now. That is normal behavior as the number of eggs increase. They should now be actively engaged in incubation duties for the next 33-35 days or so. It is never certain precisely how long they will incubate as it is more of an art than science.
Because the birds are on the eggs farily constantly, I have not had the time to see if there is now a third egg or not. If you are reading this blog and have seen a thrid egg, please drop me a line at bud@frg.org.
The fourth egg is due tomorrow.
April 9, 2009
Second Egg In Box
If you have looked closely at the box when the adults are not there, you will have seen the new egg, the second of the season.
If this is your first year looking at a peregrine nest, you may not know that their eggs are a gorgeous, richly colored reddish-brown. They are one of the most beautiful of all bird eggs and were highly sought after by egg collectors in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
The normal sized "clutch" for peregrines is four eggs. There are often fewer and very rarely more. We have seen five eggs only once in Washington at the Tacoma site several years ago.
However, two years ago, we observed 8 eggs in the WAMU nestbox, a record for peregrines. We suspect that two different females each laid a separate clutch in the box, most likely after the first falcon had died. Unfortunately we can only speculate about this incident as we had no camera at the time.
If this is your first year looking at a peregrine nest, you may not know that their eggs are a gorgeous, richly colored reddish-brown. They are one of the most beautiful of all bird eggs and were highly sought after by egg collectors in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
The normal sized "clutch" for peregrines is four eggs. There are often fewer and very rarely more. We have seen five eggs only once in Washington at the Tacoma site several years ago.
However, two years ago, we observed 8 eggs in the WAMU nestbox, a record for peregrines. We suspect that two different females each laid a separate clutch in the box, most likely after the first falcon had died. Unfortunately we can only speculate about this incident as we had no camera at the time.
April 7, 2009
First Egg Confirmed
I received a call last night from Joe Lipka, building engineer at the Washington Mutual Tower confirming that there is indeed a single egg in the box. This is the official start of the season at WAMU.
Special thanks to Joe for making the extra effort to let us all know what is happening and establishing the first egg date (6 April).
Expect the next egg sometime tomorrow.
We did observe a fair amount of incubation yesterday which is always nice to see on that first egg.
Here we go....
Special thanks to Joe for making the extra effort to let us all know what is happening and establishing the first egg date (6 April).
Expect the next egg sometime tomorrow.
We did observe a fair amount of incubation yesterday which is always nice to see on that first egg.
Here we go....
April 5, 2009
Pair at Tower; Courtship but no eggs as yet (5 April)
As the breeding season begins, we are watching two adult peregrines at the nest box on the Washington Mutual Tower in downtown Seattle. They are obviously a mated pair and thought to be the same birds from last year. However, without bands on their legs, we cannot be certain if they actually are the same individuals.
We are expecting the first egg to be laid at any time. Some of us are thinking that this spate of warm spring weather with sunshine happening this weekend might kick the female into producing her first egg of the season, but of course, that is totally up to her.
She appeared to be in "egg lethargy" yesterday, sleeping during the day, feathers fluffed out, walking around in the box, etc. but still no egg as yet today.
Ruth Taylor reports that three other established pairs of peregrines are already on eggs right now at other nest sites in Seattle so can the two WAMU falcons be far behind?
What usually happens is that a new pair will be later than normal in their first year, sometimes up to two weeks behind the norm. It takes them time to get to know one another, synchronize copulation with laying, work things out and essentially get together as a pair.
In their second year, the egg dates usually advance by a week or two but after that, laying generally takes place near the same date each spring, severe weather notwithstanding.
So at this time, all we can do is check the website several times a day in anticipation of egg production.
Keep in mind, however, that in some rare cases, one of the adults may be infertile. In these cases, courtship and incubation can still occur, but no young will be produced.
Finally, as some of you may remember from last year, the three eyasses (chicks) died early on from a bacterial infection at the nest box. We have consulted with Dr. Lindsay Oaks, veterinarian and raptor specialist at Washington State University, regarding another potential bacteria situation this year. He related that this type of organism is unlikely to survive and remain at the nest site over the winter and suggests that we need not worry about this eventuality.
However, just in case, we completely replaced the old nest box with an entirely new one (built and donated by Martin Muller) and placed onsite by Denise Kolb of Wright Runstad, the building managers at the tower. Thanks to them both and especially to Wright Runstad for their continuing support.
We are expecting the first egg to be laid at any time. Some of us are thinking that this spate of warm spring weather with sunshine happening this weekend might kick the female into producing her first egg of the season, but of course, that is totally up to her.
She appeared to be in "egg lethargy" yesterday, sleeping during the day, feathers fluffed out, walking around in the box, etc. but still no egg as yet today.
Ruth Taylor reports that three other established pairs of peregrines are already on eggs right now at other nest sites in Seattle so can the two WAMU falcons be far behind?
What usually happens is that a new pair will be later than normal in their first year, sometimes up to two weeks behind the norm. It takes them time to get to know one another, synchronize copulation with laying, work things out and essentially get together as a pair.
In their second year, the egg dates usually advance by a week or two but after that, laying generally takes place near the same date each spring, severe weather notwithstanding.
So at this time, all we can do is check the website several times a day in anticipation of egg production.
Keep in mind, however, that in some rare cases, one of the adults may be infertile. In these cases, courtship and incubation can still occur, but no young will be produced.
Finally, as some of you may remember from last year, the three eyasses (chicks) died early on from a bacterial infection at the nest box. We have consulted with Dr. Lindsay Oaks, veterinarian and raptor specialist at Washington State University, regarding another potential bacteria situation this year. He related that this type of organism is unlikely to survive and remain at the nest site over the winter and suggests that we need not worry about this eventuality.
However, just in case, we completely replaced the old nest box with an entirely new one (built and donated by Martin Muller) and placed onsite by Denise Kolb of Wright Runstad, the building managers at the tower. Thanks to them both and especially to Wright Runstad for their continuing support.
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