State Capitol - 2008 / 19K & Alley

[Alison]

Hi Allison, yes you do have photos of chicks, and not very young chick either in that they seem to be able to sit more upright than chicks only a couple of days old.  If there was rain in Lincoln, and the chicks were less than 10 days old, then the rain probably killed them.  As to what happened to the bodies, I can try and find out.  Some projects don't like to advertise the deaths, some, like us, don't have a choice.  I'd be surprised if the Lincoln project removed the chicks and didn't admit to it since the nest is online and folks, like you, will have witnessed what happened.  I'll pass along your photos if you don't mind to my contact in the project and see if I can get a bit more information.  Since Alley is one of ours, they understand our interest in the nest outcome.  Looking at the size of the chicks and guessing at age, my opinion is that the lone egg in the box when the biologists went to look was probably non-viable and just hadn't been removed by the parents.  We are seeing alot of that this year, can't think of a nest where one egg didn't hatch come to think of it.

Thank you so much for your reply about the Lincoln, Nebraska nest. I would be very interested in anything you are able to find out about what happened. Three chicks hatched, one egg did not hatch, and everything seemed to be progressing normally. As you can see, they were being well fed. The cam lens was somewhat blurred, perhaps by rain, so some days it was difficult to see into the nest. Suddenly one day in mid-May the nest was completely empty, no chicks, no parents.

I also had the impression this year that there were a number of nests where at least one egg did not hatch. For instance: Dayton, 3 eggs, 2 hatched, 1 unhatched; Harrisburg, 5 eggs, 4 hatched, 1 unhatched; Albany, 5 eggs, 4 hatched, 1 unhatched; Great River, 4 eggs, 3 hatched, 1 unhatched; Red Wing, 4 eggs, 1 hatched, 3 unhatched; King Plant, 5 eggs, 2 hatched, 3 unhatched; Etobicoke, 4 eggs, 3 hatched, 1 unhatched; Port Colbourne, 3 eggs, 1 hatched, 1 unhatched, 1 eaten by female after disturbance by intruder; and those are not the only ones.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Hi Allison, yes you do have photos of chicks, and not very young chick either in that they seem to be able to sit more upright than chicks only a couple of days old.  If there was rain in Lincoln, and the chicks were less than 10 days old, then the rain probably killed them.  As to what happened to the bodies, I can try and find out.  Some projects don't like to advertise the deaths, some, like us, don't have a choice.  I'd be surprised if the Lincoln project removed the chicks and didn't admit to it since the nest is online and folks, like you, will have witnessed what happened.  I'll pass along your photos if you don't mind to my contact in the project and see if I can get a bit more information.  Since Alley is one of ours, they understand our interest in the nest outcome.  Looking at the size of the chicks and guessing at age, my opinion is that the lone egg in the box when the biologists went to look was probably non-viable and just hadn't been removed by the parents.  We are seeing alot of that this year, can't think of a nest where one egg didn't hatch come to think of it.

Thanks for this Allison, none of us saw the chicks before the failure was announced.  Will let you know what I hear.  Also, no problem posting photos so long as they are stored somewhere else (ie: photobucket or pbase.com) and there is just a link on this site.  Photos are a great addition, its just that this forum is new and I am still working out the resources (space, traffic rate) required before I start allowing the "extras".  So link away!

And welcome aboard!
The Peregrine Chick

[Alison]

I am curious about the Nebraska nest. There has not been an update posted on the site, but they seem unsure whether or not any of the eggs hatched.

Three of the eggs actually did hatch, and then suddenly the nest was empty. I wonder if perhaps weather played a part, since I remember that the camera lens seemed obliterated by rain for a few days.

I am new here, so I don't know if it is possible or permissible to post pics, but these are pics I saved on May 10.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Thanks SkyGirlBlue!  Have posted it on the blog as well so that it doesn't get lost!

[skygirlblue]

The following was taken from the Cam Web Page: 

Summary
The 2008 nesting attempt by the Capitol Peregrines is unsuccessful and reasons for the failure, and what happened to the eggs/chicks is not clear.

5.16.08
Biologists check nestbox and find no adults present. Remaining egg, which is likely infertile, is removed in hope the birds may renest.

5.15.08
Adults not present at nestbox.

5.14.08
Adult observed incubating remaining egg.

5.12.08
Biologists check nestbox expecting to see newly-hatched chicks but inexplicably find only one egg present.

4.15.08
4 eggs confirmed in nest box