Fargo - 2012 / Mr X & Miracle

[The Peregrine Chick]

From today ....

Fargo Falcon Project July 17th Update: 

After some early difficulty, this year’s baby has transitioned successfully to the world of flight.   He appears to be thriving and the high risk period is now well behind us.  Because return visits to the nest are at most occasional and sporadic, we will be turning off the web camera this week. 

We look forward to next year, and have plans in mind to make the viewing experience even better. This season, thanks to the efforts of volunteers, and financial support from the community, the Fargo Falcon Cam received nearly 70,000 hits, from all 50 states, and 15 different countries(Canada, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Czech Republic, South Africa, United Kingdom, Japan, France, United Arab Emirates, China, Poland, Finland and India). Perhaps one of the highlights of the year was being able to use the FalconCam as an educational instrument for inner city kids through interactive video conferencing sessions.

Our future plans include adding sound, a better, more clearer picture, and more. None of this is possible without the ongoing contributions of individuals and organizations. Thank you for your interest and support.

[The Peregrine Chick]

This was from this morning ...

At 6 AM this morning our wayward boy was back in the nest box.  As he got there on his own, assume his flight skills have improved and the high risk period is now behind us. 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Update from Fargo ....

Our one baby left the nest late yesterday, and has since led an adventuresome life.  He first landing on Broadway in front of the Alerus Bank.  He was recovered by police (animal control) and taken to the top of the parking ramp by the Bank of the West.  He was still there this morning.  As it was not a safe location, we moved him to the roof of the Wells Fargo building, our time honored release site for grounded fledglings.  He was there for only minutes, and rather quickly worked his way back down to a different portion of the parking ramp.  Just completed a repeat of a trip to the rooftop.  He appears to be in perfect health, and obviously can fly.  Landings seem to be the problem.  Based on the one observed incident I have heard about, he tends to come in too low, hit the top of the wall, and then flutter down to whatever is below that point.  He is not the first young peregrine to  have this problem.  Most seem to quickly figure it out.  Hopefully this guy will too.  The adults are keeping a close eye on everything.

[RCF]

Newest Fargo falcon banded
Article and video at this link  http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/64785/

They named the chick "National Champ".

[RCF]

[RCF]

One well fed chick   

http://youtu.be/eR501CSeWOY

[The Peregrine Chick]

A note from the Fargo Folks ... been a tough year for them again ...

2012 is proving to be much like 2011.  Lots of bad eggs, and only one baby.  This year we started with four eggs.  Two disappeared about 10 days ago.  The hatch date for the one good egg was May 19.  At this point the adults are still attempting to incubate the remaining egg, while simultaneously brooding an increasingly active and energetic youngster.  However, I can only conclude that egg is also not viable.

Not sure what is happening.  The female is very experienced and had a perfect record in her first three nestings.  We did have hard freezes both this year and last after the first eggs were laid but before full incubation started.  Suspect this is a big part of the explanation.  This year we also have a new male and a very short period (about a week) between his arrival and the arrival of the first egg.  Fertilization may also have been an issue. 

Speaking of the male, his identity is still a mystery due to a partially faded band.  It is b/r *X/?.  According to the database, there are 9 possibilities, including two males who hatched here in 2008.

For the first time, we have a reliable connection to the internet.  The camera has an infrared feature, so the video is streamed on a 24/7 basis.  Particular thanks are due to Marshall Johnson at Audubon Dakota for making this happen.  Again, the home site is dk.audubon.org.

Banding will probably be on June 8, but we are still working on the details. 

[The Peregrine Chick]

1300h

Shift change - Miracle has been "off" the eggs for the last couple of hours and when she came back he had a little think about letting her on the eggs.  I would guess by his calm behaviour during change-over that he has done this before - but that is just my impression.  But using that supposition, I would suspect he is more than three years old which could narrow the list of suspects somewhat.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Today might actually be a good day for watching band numbers on this camera - there doesn't appear to be any sunshine which can reflect badly, or rather not helpfully, on bands that are scratched in the way it appears the male's is here.  The trick will be to hope that he cooperates and parks his little button on one of the side rails and does some preening, that way his leg feathers will hike up and his band will be visible.  Or hope that he has just had a meal and needs to clean his toes - that will bring the leg up and frequently they like to stretch at the same time. 

Remember these birds have two bands - one may be entirely silver (I think Fargo uses silver instead of the anodized purple ones) but its the other one you want.  I haven't heard what leg his coloured band is on I'm afraid.  Best thing to do is try and get a screen capture, even if you can't clearly read the bands, it can help to narrow down the possibilities.

Good luck to everyone who decides to try ...

[The Peregrine Chick]

Note from the Fargo gang ...

We now have four eggs.  This should be it.  Expect hatching to start in mid May.  

The web camera seems to be very reliable, and our audience has been growing steadily.  I understand the existing service will provide up to 500 people with simultaneous access.  We have not exceeded that number yet, but the time may come when expanded service will be needed.  The basic address is dk.audubon.org.  A link to the falcon camera is at the bottom of the home page.

The male is proving to be hard to identify, but I have now seen enough to know he is someone new.  The band used for identification purposes was originally black and red.  The character in the black field is a sideways X.  Unfortunately, the red dye on this band has mostly worn off.  This leaves the bottom half of the band almost silver (bare aluminum).  It also makes the bottom character very hard to read as there is little contrast.  Until we get that deciphered, precise identification cannot be made.  If anyone has better success, please let me know.  The partial read matches 9 males in the database, including two who hatched here in 2008.  

Anyone getting a screenshot of the male's band can send it to me and I'll pass along to my contact in Fargo ...

[RCF]

Second egg for Fargo   

[RCF]

Miracle



The male who they think is Dakota Ace had a meal in the box today , a lot of the feathers from his prey gathered around the egg like a little nest.  

[RCF]

Caught these two in the nest box getting aquainted.  He watched her for a while before she came to the box.    

http://youtu.be/nFpN2Tdt7Tw

[The Peregrine Chick]

An update from Fargo ...

Things are looking up.  A male peregrine returned on or about April 3.  He wasted no time.  A first egg was in the box this morning.  Have positively identified the female as Miracle.  The male looks like Dakota Ace, but won’t know for sure until I get a good look at his bands. 

The new web camera is working well.  May still be a few glitches to work out, and we have not yet attempted to connect the sound.  The address is http://dk.audubon.org/fargo-peregrine-falcon-projectfalconcam.   Be sure to expand the image size so it fills the screen.  The best images are in the morning when the light is good and from the right direction.  

[RCF]

Looks like he forgot to wear his bib at lunch time, cause it's all on his front! 



Somebirdie on the egg.