State Capitol - 2010 / 19K & Alley

[kittenface]

NAME THE CHICKS CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCED
June 25, 2010 - Joan Darling of Lincoln, Nebraska is the winner of the Game and Parks "Name the Chicks" contest. Her winning entries were Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka after the three stars on the belt of the constellation Orion, the Hunter. Game and Parks recieved more than 350 entries from 12 states for the annual contest. One male chick is Alnitak, one male is Alnilam and the female is Mintaka.

"These are the three stars in Orion, the Hunter's belt, which is such a dominant feature of the Nebraska night sky," Darling wrote in her entry. "Like Orion, peregrine falcons are mighty hunters in the sky. These chicks also are webcam 'stars'." The three stars of the belt were prominent in ancient timekeeping because they mark the northern night sky when the sun is at its lowest point.
For her winning entry, Darling will receive, among other prizes, a stuffed toy peregrine falcon and a one-year subscription to NEBRASKAland Magazine



Here is the report and a few more interesting things to read about the nest

http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/wildlife/webcam/peregrine/peregrine_news.asp

[Doreen]

Do these chicks have their names yet?

[Kinderchick]

Just have to say that picture of the 3 of them marching over that roof just cracks me up! 

Cracks me up too, irenkl! Looks like they might be singing either "The Bear Went Over the Mountain" or "The Ants Came Marching, One by One"! LOL!

[irenekl]

Just have to say that picture of the 3 of them marching over that roof just cracks me up!  Ellie did you try that bar above the image when you first open the page that says "Open the Pop Up Window for LIve Stream" ?  If thats a stupid question than I'm nuts cause it took me awhile this spring before I realized I could do that. 

Anyway, just checked on them now and they are all back in the nest sound asleep.  Wish I had seen them jumping back in.  Suppose there will be alot more of this action now.  I swear last years chicks never did this, not once did I see it.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Ok I know that camera lens is distorted ... but they look like 'gigantor falcons' in comparison to the buildings!! 

I'm not sure there is a lens distortion ... 

[carly]

Ok I know that camera lens is distorted ... but they look like 'gigantor falcons' in comparison to the buildings!! 

[kittenface]

 

[RCF]

They are a brave bunch.

[Ellie]

For some reason I do not get the streaming picture but I do see them on the roof.  They seem to have too many fluffy feathers to be ready to be hopping up there and figuring they are ready to fly.   Chicks will be chicks!!

[irenekl]

Hi folks, wondering if anyone is observing this nest lately??  This evening 2 of the chicks have hopped off the roof of the nest, onto the building roof and one is currently completely out of sight.  Is this normal for this nest?  They are much too young to fledge so it looks awfully scary to me. 

[The Peregrine Chick]

ooooooo, that is one miffed chick!!!  We are much nicer to our little darlings 

[Alison]

The three chicks were banded yesterday as planned:

Capitol's baby falcons receive ID bands; naming contest begins

Three little birds who live on the 18th floor of the Capitol had a scary experience Friday morning.

They were stolen from their nest and carried in a box down to the 14th floor.

There, two women from Raptors Recovery drew blood from their wings to collect DNA as part of a study that started 20 years ago, when the first peregrine falcons were bred in captivity and released in urban settings, said Betsy Finch, executive director of Raptor Recovery Nebraska.

Next, Joel Jorgensen from the Game and Parks Commission put ID bands on their legs.

He also determined their gender: two males and one female. She's the one with the bigger feet.

Now the naming contest can begin.

People can offer ideas online by clicking HERE, or put name ideas in a box at the Capitol.

The chicks, now 18 days old, are the fifth generation of falcons to hatch and survive in the Capitol nest.

http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_eb29670a-702d-11df-b39e-001cc4c03286.html

To submit names:

http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/wildlife/webcam/peregrine/namethechicks.asp

[jadoo]

Red and gray bands??

Lots of birds down in the states, could be they have had to add another colour combination.  When I started 20 years ago, there were only red and black bands out there .... sigh  ( )

...hopefully, a sigh of happiness...

[The Peregrine Chick]

Red and gray bands??

Lots of birds down in the states, could be they have had to add another colour combination.  When I started 20 years ago, there were only red and black bands out there .... sigh  ( )

[Alison]

From another short article on the banding:

It's the sixth straight year that the same falcon pair have produced chicks at the Capitol.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/c38363a6c96142e1b55261d6556e498e/NE--Capitol_Falcons/

[Alison]

The three chicks will be banded tomorrow:

The three Peregrine Falcon chicks will be banded at the Capitol at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 4. Each chick receives two bands, one with a 10 digit number that can only be read on close examination. The other band is bi-colored (red and gray this year) and has a letter and number and can be read from a distance. Both bands are used to identify birds (similar bands are used to identify the adults at the Capitol each year). Blood is also collected from each chick as part of an ongoing genetic study conducted by the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota.

http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/story/1275463266j3ju9u7m9sk

Red and gray bands??

[bcbird]

Kinda neat to see the view from the nestbox ...

I've often thought the same.  
It is quite interesting to see the different horizons across the continent, as viewed from the nest boxes.  Not surprisingly, for a born and raised bcbird, a lot of the landscapes seem very flat, and there is a lot of sky!

[Kinderchick]

OMG, Alison, those last photos are beautiful, especially the last one! Thanks for posting them!

[The Peregrine Chick]

Kinda neat to see the view from the nestbox ...

[Alison]

Well, now I know - there are three chicks.

An article on the Lincoln falcons:

Three falcon eggs hatch at Nebraska Capitol

Three of the four peregrine falcon eggs at the State Capitol hatched last week, and it appeared there were three chicks in the nest box.

The fourth egg did not hatch, said Joel Jorgensen, nongame bird program manager with the Game and Parks Commission.

Occasionally birds lay infertile eggs, Jorgensen said.

In the first days after hatching, the chicks are nearly blind and unable to regulate their body temperature, so the adult birds cover the chicks almost continuously, according to a news release from Game and Parks.

The chicks double in size during the first five days and the adults begin to leave the nest to hunt food.

The chicks will not be able to fly until they are more than 40 days old.

You can watch the falcon nest videos at the Game and Parks website, www.ngpc.state.ne.us.

This is the fifth year the peregrine pair has successfully hatched eggs.

A name-the-chick contest, held in previous years, will continue this year if the chicks survive.

Peregrine falcons almost disappeared in the lower 48 states after World War II because of eggshell thinning caused by the pesticide DDT, according to the release.

The falcon was listed as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act in 1970.

It was removed from the endangered species list in 1999, after successful recovery efforts that included the release of falcons at tall buildings in urban areas.

http://journalstar.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_5842faae-68ef-11df-96df-001cc4c03286.html

Photos from the article:



 

[Alison]

I think there are at least three chicks in the nest, maybe even four:

 

 

[Alison]

At least two chicks now for Alley and 19/K, maybe three:

 

[carly]

Yay!!  It's so hard to tell with this cam!  Thanks Alison 

[Alison]

First hatch at the Lincoln State Capitol!

[Kinderchick]

That sure is an interesting looking nestbox.

[Alison]

According to the site, the eggs were expected to hatch during the second week of May. It's hard to tell what is happening in this nest.

 

[Alison]

I think the falcons are still Alley and 19/K . . . I've been watching them since they raised Pioneer.

Incubation is continuing:

[The Peregrine Chick]

Hmmm, haven't heard from my contact yet (may need to email again) but that sure does sound like it could be Alley and 19/K doesn't it ...

[Alison]

An article on the Lincoln falcons today, but no indication of who the parents are:

Capitol falcons produce eggs
By David Hendee

LINCOLN --- A pair of peregrine falcons has produced eggs in a nest box outside the 18th floor of the State Capitol for the sixth consecutive year.

FalconCam, a video camera mounted atop the capitol provides streaming video of the nest box and may be viewed at OutdoorNebraska.org. Streaming video also is available on a television in the capitol rotunda at the peregrine falcon display.

After observing mating and apparent egg-laying via the webcam, Joel Jorgensen, nongame bird manager with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, checked the nest box Monday and counted four eggs. The pair had four eggs each of the last two years. The eggs are expected to hatch about the second week of May.

In 2005, the pair raised one chick that was named Pioneer via a contest. In 2006, Willa, Bess and Sterling, named for Nebraskans Willa Cather, Bess Streeter Aldrich and J. Sterling Morton, fledged. In 2007, Boreas, Notus, Eurus, and Zephyrus, named for the four wind gods from Greek mythology, fledged. The pair laid eggs in 2008 but was unsuccessful in raising young. Last year, Nemaha, Niobrara, Calamus, and Platte, named for Nebraska rivers, fledged. If the pair raises young again this year, the naming contest will be renewed.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100421/NEWS01/100429901

[The Peregrine Chick]

I'll see if I can perhaps find my old contact for this site, maybe I can get them to divulge the identities if they have them ...

[Alison]

I don't know for sure who the falcons are this year, but from what I have seen they look like Alley and 19/K. It isn't possible to read bands at this site.

They are definitely incubating:

[The Peregrine Chick]

Is it because this year there is not yet a confirmation of Alley, that this thread is in the US rather than Manitoba Peregrine section?

Exactly right!  There are lots of members who don't follow all the threads but who like to track Manitoba chicks regardless of where they are ... when/if we get a confirmation of Radisson in Alberta I will move that board to the Manitoba Peregrines as well ... along with any other of our birds that should appear.

Also, you can see in the subject line that there are ? where the names of the resident pair should be.

Still trying to decide if grand and great-grand kids qualify as Manitoba birds if they weren't hatched in Manitoba ... Doorly is the offspring of Winnie and Zeus (Woodman Tower, Omaha, Nebraska) as is Husker.  Doorly is in Topeka, Kansas and Husker is in Red Wing, Minnesota ....

[bcbird]

After reading the updated introduction on the Manitoba Forum page I came here and had to reread a bit.  
Alley is a daughter of Trey and Princess, as are Radisson (UofA) and Hurricane (Brandon-last year), but all from different years, right?
Is it because this year there is not yet a confirmation of Alley, that this thread is in the US rather than Manitoba Peregrine section?

[carly]

Just peeked in here and someone is sitting in the nest box...looking like she might be on an egg or preparing for one    Or she's just tired..lol 

[irenekl]

Happy St. Patricks Day & warm greetings from my monitor to all of yours.   I'm back excitedly watching along with all of you for Princess & Trey's return, as well as all our other usual haunts where we watch peregrine falcons.  I have really enjoyed all your posts over the winter as I snooped in from time to time.

Currently there is a rather large falcon at the nest of the state capitol building.  Looks huge to me!

C'om little birdies.....

From TPC:  Just moved a piece to the Radisson Board in order to avoid confusion here 

[Alison]

Back at the nest again today for a few minutes:

 

[Alison]

Bird looks quite large, perhaps Alley is back  

It's hard to tell -- this is the adult with a solid dark hood, and I think it may be 19/K.

Back again today                                                                         Gone after this pic
 

Here is a pic from last year, showing both together. The one on top of the nest box looks larger, so I think this is Alley. Also this bird has a pronounced malar stripe.

[The Peregrine Chick]

I hope Alley and 19/K like the new nest box -- I thought it was going to be in a different location.

One of them was at the nest for a while today, looking fairly well fed:

Bird looks quite large, perhaps Alley is back  

[carly]

That's how I understood it too.  That has to be the cadillac model of all nestboxes 

[Alison]

the new box looks good - certainly has easier access for the chicks to fledge or just go a wandering!

I hope Alley and 19/K like the new nest box -- I thought it was going to be in a different location.

One of them was at the nest for a while today, looking fairly well fed:

 

[The Peregrine Chick]

the new box looks good - certainly has easier access for the chicks to fledge or just go a wandering!

[Alison]

One of the adults spent some time visiting the nest box today. It's been a while since I've seen a falcon here:

 

http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife/webcam/peregrine/default.asp