State Capitol - 2017 / 19K & Alley

[Alison]

Alley and 19/K bonding at the nest this afternoon:

 

[The Peregrine Chick]

In 2015 and 2016, one of Alley and 19/K's sons, Clark, nested at the North Omaha Power Plant. In 2015, He and his mate raised three chicks, and in 2016 they raised two chicks. The 2016 chicks were named Captain Falcon and Birdy McBirdface.

https://stormandoutage.com/2016/07/22/falcon-chicks-get-tongue-cheek-names/

I have been unable so far to find any information for 2017. Are Clark and his mate still there? Is the nest box still there? Did the humans or the birds lose interest?

Have you heard anything about this site, TPC?

Last I heard was back in April I think that there was a bird (or birds?) defending the site and that they thought there were eggs ... but I can't remember having heard anything else ...

[Alison]

In 2015 and 2016, one of Alley and 19/K's sons, Clark, nested at the North Omaha Power Plant. In 2015, He and his mate raised three chicks, and in 2016 they raised two chicks. The 2016 chicks were named Captain Falcon and Birdy McBirdface.

https://stormandoutage.com/2016/07/22/falcon-chicks-get-tongue-cheek-names/

I have been unable so far to find any information for 2017. Are Clark and his mate still there? Is the nest box still there? Did the humans or the birds lose interest?

Have you heard anything about this site, TPC?

[The Peregrine Chick]

No miracles – Peregrine nesting unsuccessful
Joel Jorgensen / June 8, 2017   / Nongame Bird Blog

Unfortunately, it is safe to conclude the 2017 nesting attempt by the Capitol’s Peregrine Falcons is unsuccessful.  This is not an unexpected outcome after the pair abandoned their eggs for 2-3 days in late April.  The pair has experienced reduced egg fertility in recent years and this may have also contributed to the lack of hatching success this year  Unlike the 2016 attempt, there are no last minute surprises or miracles whereby at least one egg hatches.

The Peregrine Falcons are currently down to one egg.  Two were lost when they got stuck to the female’s breast feathers and were inadvertently carried out of the nest box.  Two of the remaining eggs were consumed by the adults over the weekend of 3-4 June.  The final egg is likely infertile since we are well past the normal incubation period of about 33-36 days.



These birds have produced a lot of drama and excitement over the past thirteen nesting seasons – and especially within the last year.  As is regularly noted on this blog, both birds are getting up there in age.  The male is sixteen years old and the female is thirteen years old.   Furthermore, the male was injured last year and spent several months in rehab before being released in October.  It is reasonable to wonder whether this will be the last ride on the merry-go-round for this pair and whether the same two birds will return next year.  We will have to wait to find out that answer next spring.  Until then, good birding!

http://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/2017/06/no-miracles-peregrine-nesting-unsuccessful/

[RCF]

Skeptical, but letting things play out


As most falcon-watchers know, the Peregrine Falcons have resumed incubating their eggs after abandoning them for about two days at the end of April.  The two days or so the eggs were left exposed to the elements were rainy and chilly.  At the time, when the birds were gone, that appeared to be it – the end of the 2017 nesting cycle.   Is that still the case?

My understanding is that the falcons more or less commenced incubation on 24 April after the third egg was laid.  They then abandoned the eggs on the morning of the 29 April after the fifth egg was laid.  About two days later they resumed sitting on the eggs.  These have been unusual events and my opinion is that I am very skeptical anything will come of this resumption of incubation, but I’ll also admit that I am also uncertain about the final outcome.  I’ve reached out and chatted with a couple of raptor experts and they’ve voiced similar opinions of skepticism and uncertainty.  It may also be valuable to recognize (again) that this falcon pair has also experienced very low hatching success of individual eggs the past two years.  Only one egg of four hatched in 2015 and one egg out of five hatched in 2016.  Even without the irregularities that have occurred this year, some or even all of the eggs could have already been infertile.

Everyone will just have to let events play out and the answers will present themselves before too long.  If you want to watch events play out, visit our Falconcam by clicking http://outdoornebraska.gov/falconcam/.   Additional Peregrine Falcon news and discussion can be found at the Peregrine Falcons Lincoln NE Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/groups/376667965721280/.  Finally, thanks to Jeanne Hibbert for filling in some of the details regarding the timeline.

Good birding!


http://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/2017/05/skeptical-letting-things-play/

[RCF]

Another shocker: eggs abandoned

In another unexpected twist, the Capitol’s Peregrine Falcons appear to have abandoned their five eggs shortly after they completed their clutch.  The pair had just welcomed their fifth and final egg late on 27 April or early on 28 April. Events seemed to be playing out as expected as the birds’ commenced the month-long incubation period.  Then, inexplicably, the falcons left the eggs unattended Sunday (30 April) morning in the cold and rainy weather.  Both birds have essentially been away ever since.  The only reasonable conclusion is that the birds have now abandoned their clutch.

http://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/2017/05/another-shocker-eggs-abandoned/


They both came back to the eggs and started incubating again on May 2nd , so eggs may or may not hatch. I guess time will tell.     According to FB  there had been an intruder around April 28th.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/376667965721280/

[The Peregrine Chick]

Joel Jorgensen  /  March 22, 2017  /  Nongame Bird Blog

Egg Watch - 2017

So here we are once again at the beginning of what should be another nesting season for our Peregrine Falcons.  Both the female, Alley, and the male, 19/K, are still present at the Capitol.  This is not only notable since both birds are getting up there in age (Alley hatched in 2004, 19/K in 2001), but more so because 19/K spent much of last year at Fontenelle Forest’s Raptor Recovery after getting injured in early June.   He was released at the Capitol in October 2016 and apparently has been doing just fine during the intervening months.  These two falcons have been present since 2005 and they are the only pair that has successfully fledged young from the Nebraska State Capitol.

Now that we are getting into the latter part of March, it is time to be on the lookout for the first egg.  The Peregrine Falcons at the Woodmenlife Tower in Omaha welcomed their first egg on 20 March (Monday), which is about a week earlier than last year.   Last year, the Capitol’s Peregrine Falcons had their first egg about a week after the Woodmenlife’s birds.  So, my best guess is our Peregrine Falcon should lay her first egg on 27 March.  I’ll stress, this is just wild speculation.    But while I’m speculating, I think we go into this nesting season with some big questions.  Perhaps at the top of my list is whether this pair will produce any viable eggs this year.    Last year, the pair had five eggs, but only one successfully hatched.  The 2016 results increasingly seem to be more of a consistent pattern as the birds get older.

So, will the birds lay any eggs?  If so, how many?  And will any of them hatch?   These are great questions and fortunately, you can discover the answers by checking out our Falconcam.  Go HERE  now to see what is happening at the next box.    Also, if you want to keep up on the latest Peregrine happenings, consider joining the Facebook group Peregrine Falcons Lincoln NE.