OH / Dayton - Boonshoft - 2009-16

[Alison]

Dayton is standing over her chick(s), possibly two. I see eggshells and one egg. Not sure yet. Alison, pictures, please...?  

Here are pictures for you, gemcitygemini! It is very dark in the nest, and the resolution is low. These pics are enhanced as far as I can push them, and cropped to show what is happening a little better. There definitely is at least one hatch.

 

[GCG]

Dayton is standing over her chick(s), possibly two. I see eggshells and one egg. Not sure yet. Alison, pictures, please...? 

[GCG]

  After a couple of days watching Dayton doing her shuggle, I can now see a little ball of fluff. One down, three to go? So many nests, so many eggs. And now, so many chicks. 

[GCG]

April 8, 2015

March 23 is the estimated start date of incubation of the falcon eggs. There were only two eggs in the nest on this date but there was a cold snap with snow and Dayton started sitting tightly on her eggs to warm them. By calculating 32 days out from the date we can get an estimated hatching date of April 25, almost identical to the dates of last year's incubation. As the date for possible hatching draws closer we can expect to see the female arranging the stones around the scrape as she prepares for hatching. Just prior to hatching she may hear the chicks inside the eggs and seem more alert. The eggs must have a strong enough shell to support the weight of the falcons resting on them but still permit the chick to use its egg tooth (a sharp tip on their beak) to pip out of the shell. In the 1960s the peregrine falcon population declined and later was listed as an endangered species in 1970 when its eggs were affected by a poison called DDT. DDT was sprayed by farmers to keep insects away from their crops. DDT thinned the shells of the eggs causing them to break when the falcons tried to incubate them. Luckily DDT was banned in the United States in 1972 and it's likely these eggs won't break until the chicks use their egg tooth to pip out of their shells when they hatch.

For now the falcons continue to sit and incubate the eggs:

Thought I would share some information from the Boonshoft blog. Will watch for sure. Dayton is my hometown.

[GCG]

http://www.boonshoftmuseum.org/images/stories/falcon13/03-27-2015FourthEgg.JPG

[GCG]

I'm certain there are four eggs now.

[Alison]

Thank you for the information, gemcitygemini! I liked your comments about the "blizzard". 

So you think we still have Daniel and Dayton at the nest? I hope so. There really is no way to see bands on the cam.

I found both at home with the three eggs on March 24:



Today I could not catch a glimpse of the eggs; the birds were not moving. There could be four eggs by now.

[GCG]

We have a third egg in the nest! A third egg was discovered in the nest during the afternoon of March 23. Last night it snowed and in the image below snow can be seen in the nest box. The female sits tightly on her eggs to keep them warm. It has snowed before during incubation and should not cause any harm to the eggs.


This was posted on the Boonshoft blog. Yes, they had snow too! Not as much as here. But if you heard my relatives complaining on FB, you would think theirs was a blizzard.  The falcons are nesting in a very high building in downtown Dayton. The male, Daniel is banded. The female not banded is Dayton!

[GCG]

Thanks Alison  for the wonderful photos. As of yesterday, there is still only two eggs.

[Alison]

Had to wait for a while to see the eggs:

 

Two eggs!

[GCG]

Still only one egg. By tomorrow, who knows how many?

[GCG]

Thanks for this Alison. On my way to Baltimore site. I saw some scraping by Mom.

[Alison]

OK! I must have missed something. It appears that Mom is sitting atop an egg!!! If you blink, you miss it. Must wait to see how many egg(s) when timing is right. Dayton had a worse winter than us here in Winnipeg which is a total shock to me. You see, I was born and raised in Dayton. Upon marriage, moved to Winnipeg. Hope to connect with Lauren @ Boonshoft for updates.

You didn't miss a thing, gemcitygemini! Yesterday there was no egg:

 

This morning, a brand new egg!

 

[allikat]

Just checked the site, and it is one egg!

[GCG]

  OK! I must have missed something. It appears that Mom is sitting atop an egg!!! If you blink, you miss it. Must wait to see how many egg(s) when timing is right. Dayton had a worse winter than us here in Winnipeg which is a total shock to me. You see, I was born and raised in Dayton. Upon marriage, moved to Winnipeg. Hope to connect with Lauren @ Boonshoft for updates.