Radisson - 2013 / Ivy & Princess

[The Peregrine Chick]

I know this may sound unbelievable, but I still have some difficulty telling Princess & Ivy apart, even though I have studied the birds in Dennis's photo allbums. I do know that Princess is larger than Ivy but lately I have still managed to confuse the two birds. Maybe it's all this rain that makes them look different to me? Well, that's the excuse I'm using for now. Is there any rhyme or reason to the schedule that the two parents take when incubating the eggs, TPC?

If you can't tell the birds apart by size Kinderchick, look at their heads.  Ivy's head is all black, Princess' has a crown and on this camera, it usually is easy to see.  Not when they look like drowned rats however, that's when size is really the only way to tell.

As for the schedule ... well last week the schedule would have been easier to describe, but with the rain, Princess has been doing most of the incubating just because she is bigger.  Must admit that Ivy is getting better at stuff 4 eggs under him but in times of poor weather Princess has usually take over most of the duties.  As we get closer to hatching, Princess usually won't give up her spot on the eggs as often.  These two tend to have longer shifts than the Brandon birds - Hurricane and Brooklyn seem to trade-off a lot but that's not a bad thing, just their routine.  Once the chicks hatch, Princess will spend a lot of time with them over the first week, then she hands over the tweens and teenagers to her mate's care ... it used to be in the nestbox if the chicks were 10+ days old and it rained, Ivy was in there with them and you didn't see feather or talon of Princess.  Ivy seems to be a bit more hands on with the chicks as they get older - more so than Princess or even St Trey    More like his grandfather T-Rex who was always nearby the eggs/chicks when he wasn't chasing people off rooftops of course ...

[Kinderchick]

I know this may sound unbelievable, but I still have some difficulty telling Princess & Ivy apart, even though I have studied the birds in Dennis's photo allbums. I do know that Princess is larger than Ivy but lately I have still managed to confuse the two birds. Maybe it's all this rain that makes them look different to me? Well, that's the excuse I'm using for now. Is there any rhyme or reason to the schedule that the two parents take when incubating the eggs, TPC?

[The Peregrine Chick]

Don't know when but it looks like sometime in the o-dark-thirties Ivy took over for Princess on egg duty.  Princess took over again at 0518h and Ivy replaced her just over an hour ago at 0837h.  Everyone and egg-rything looks fine on the nestledge.

Forecast for today in Winnipeg

Day - Overcast with a chance of rain. High of 19C. Windy. Winds from the NE at 20 to 30 km/h.
Night - Partly cloudy in the evening, then clear. Low of 7C. Winds from the NE at 10 to 15 km/h.

[susha]

Thanks TPC.  Fingers are crossed for a dryer, calmer day tomorrow

[The Peregrine Chick]

I'm trying not to be worried about our soggy princess...after all, the eggs are fine and moms sitting on eggs go through this all the time.  Princess has certainly been through lots of stormy, cold, wet weather...but she seems to be breathing more heavily than usual...  Or am I just imagining things, TPC

She may be holding herself more above the eggs than on them, sometimes that can make a bird look like they are breathing heavier.  Or it could be that you can see it more because her feathers are plastered to her body - dry feathers can hide alot.  She's been through lots of wet weather before, both on eggs and not eggs.  She's also been covered over in snow, caked in ice, pretty much everything possible she's been through in her 9/10 years here.  I don't think the breathing is a cause for worry, we've seen other birds do it, some dry, some wet.   

The sun has just set (2115h) but will rise in 8 hours at just after 0530h ... tomorrow is another day ....

[susha]

I'm trying not to be worried about our soggy princess...after all, the eggs are fine and moms sitting on eggs go through this all the time.  Princess has certainly been through lots of stormy, cold, wet weather...but she seems to be breathing more heavily than usual...  Or am I just imagining things, TPC

[The Peregrine Chick]

Princess is the "poor wet bird" for the second time today.  She hasn't gotten off the eggs all day ....

Does Ivy bring her food, or does she wait it out in rainy conditions?

Ivy will bring her food but only if she asks for it.  In such rainy conditions she may be unwilling to get off the eggs at all.  Not that the rain should harm them even at this stage but its possible she knows her kids will be talking to her soon and she's not going to take the time.

Just as a note, it is 2057h now and going back through the recordings and except for an approximately 2 inch adjustment at 1659h and she has been in this same position since 1300h.  That is a) velcro, b) dedication, c) a waterproof seal and d) begging for a wicked cramp or two.  The camera is shaking in the wind, but she has herself tucked into a good location and seems to be pretty sheltered, not entirely out of the wind, but pretty good for an open ledge.

Rain is forecasted to stop about 3am then a 70% chance of rain next Saturday (25th) and a 90% chance of scattered showers on Friday (31st) but both those days are a long way off but at this point it does look as though this might be the last really wet weather Princess and Ivy could have for a week, maybe two.

[RCF]

Princess is the "poor wet bird" for the second time today.  She hasn't gotten off the eggs all day ....

[ballywing]

Wow that is one miserable looking bird - completely soaked and probably pretty cold..., come ON RAIN WILL YOU PLEASE FLIPPIN' WELL STOP ALREADY!!!! 

[bcbird]

Princess is the "poor wet bird" for the second time today.  She hasn't gotten off the eggs all day ....

Does Ivy bring her food, or does she wait it out in rainy conditions?

[The Peregrine Chick]

Weather Network extended forecast has changed for southern Manitoba - they are saying reduced chances for rain over the next week to two weeks ... good news for Princess, Ivy and their chicks if this is the case ...

[The Peregrine Chick]

Princess is the "poor wet bird" for the second time today.  She hasn't gotten off the eggs all day ....

[ballywing]

Thanks for the weather forecast TPC! Hopefully it doesn't change much and it does help to calm the nerves!     Black Friday is always niggling in the background for many who were 'there' that day - glad this rain has been more slow and steady rather than sudden downpour. Sending out positive vibes to the East Ledge for a great, successful, healthy family this summer!  

[The Peregrine Chick]

TPC, you know what I have been thinking. Thanks for this information. Princess/Mumbrella, Ivy, good parenting skills. 

You weren't the only one remembering 2008 so it seemed appropriate to look at the numbers again.  And don't forget 2009, all went well that year and Vesper, despite her crash landing after fledging, lived for two years until she had her accident and Ty is in the Selkirk area carrying on the family tradition.

[GCG]

Did a little digging for those who are concerned about the rain and are having visions of Black Friday (June 6, 2008)

According to the University of Winnipeg's weather station *

• June 5 - no precipitation
• June 6 - 58.2 mm  (the Forks reading was 46.8mm) - this is 1/4 of all precipitation in June but 2x more than any other rain event in the month - ALSO more than 25mm fell in one hour between 11am and 12noon.
• June 7 - less than 0.5mm

Yesterday's (May 19th) precipitation = 6.1mm  (5.8mm at the Forks)
Today's forecast is for for up to 18mm for the day ... on Saturday we were forecasted to get up to 13mm and we only got 6.3mm (6.2mm at the Forks)

So the rain might be annoying, but even if we get the max over the next 24 hours, it will still only be annoying for the birds.  Chance of more rain on Tuesday but they aren't giving possible amounts and Wednesday through Friday no rain, Saturday a chance again (but we are getting a few days out there so that will likely change) but much warmer into the 20s.  Extended forecasts (2 sources) are for drier and warmer days with reduce POPs (possibility of precipitation) for much if not all of the Radisson chicks first 10 days.  But yes, forecasts can change but it looks good so far ...


* I like using the U of Wpg's weather station because it too is surrounded by buildings, some lower, some higher.  There is nothing wrong with the weather station at the Forks, but it is more open there and I figure that has to have an influence on the numbers - just my impression and the numbers are close, so I'll stick with the U of Wpg site

TPC, you know what I have been thinking. Thanks for this information. Princess/Mumbrella, Ivy, good parenting skills.