ME / BRI - 2009-16

[RCF]

As of March 23rd there have been four eggs laid.  

[bccs]

I love this cam, one of my first introductions to peregrines on line.

It's so nice to see that 3 years later, nature is still filling us with awe.

[Moonstar]

Thanks for the update on how many eggs.  Everytime I go there it is just one of them incubating the eggs.  
Little Sumo was so cute.  I loved how Mom/Dad would always come back at night to sleep with Sumo.

[bccs]

3 eggs    Mum looking quite relaxed with the whole thing.
A far cry from two years ago with our little Sumo

[The Peregrine Chick]

This update arrived today ...

Biodiversity Research Institute's Live Webcam Captures

Peregrine Falcons Laying Eggs

Gorham, ME - Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) announced today that its webcam has captured a Peregrine Falcon laying its first egg of the season; the egg was dropped in the early morning on Friday, March 16.

Visitors to BRI's website, http://www.briloon.org/oae/webcams/peregrinecam, can watch the daily nesting activities of this pair of falcons in a 24-hour live feed that is offered to the public free of charge in partnership with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW), the Maine Department of Transportation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"Members of BRI's online community (http://www.briloon.ning.com) have been eagerly awaiting this first egg and were the first to document it," says Patrick Keenan, BRI's outreach director and coordinator of the webcam program. "We can expect additional eggs over the coming days and then expect eggs to hatch in about 34 days." This is the fourth year of Peregrine Falcons nesting with nesting activities documented by BRI's webcam.

Two cameras, remotely deployed and equipped with low light color vision, provide two different perspectives of the nest-called a scrape because the falcon does not actually build a nest, but rather digs a depression in the gravel found on a high ledge, usually a cliff. These birds have adapted to human development by taking advantage of tall man-made structures such as skyscrapers, water towers, or bridges for nesting spots.

"The peregrine falcon is the poster child for raptor conservation," says wildlife research biologist Christopher DeSorbo, director of BRI's raptor program. "Peregrine populations nationwide plummeted due to environmental contaminants like DDT. Through the banning of DDT and reintroduction efforts, these birds are again breeding throughout the New England region. Peregrines helped us detect a crisis that had serious implications on both wildlife and human health. This is one of the reasons it is important to monitor raptor populations. Because they sit at the top of the food web, raptors serve as key indicators that can be used to detect environmental and ecological imbalance."

The federal government removed the Peregrine Falcon from its endangered species list in 1999. Although this species has successfully responded to national conservation efforts, peregrine falcons remain on Maine's endangered species list; there are only 24 known pairs of peregrine falcons in the state, according to the MDIFW.

Peregrine Falcons, known for their aerial acrobatics, are the fastest flying birds in the world; they can dive and catch prey in midair at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour. The male, who prepares the nest for roosting, also courts its mate with elaborate aerial displays around the nesting site. These falcons breed in the same territory each year. An average clutch of four eggs is laid in early spring, hatching about a month later. Peregrines have been known to live up to 20 years.

BRI's webcam program began in 2003 as a research tool to monitor the nest of the Common Loon, which at the time was one of the primary bird species being studied at the Institute. Since then, BRI has installed additional webcams to monitor the nesting activities of ospreys, eagles, and falcons.

[Moonstar]

2012 NESTING SEASON

Just went to the Bio-Diversity web cam in Maine and there is a bird sitting there.  Do not know who it is tho.

[Linder]

News on the 3 chicks from May 17:

Things went very smoothly. Based on leg size it appears that we have a female and two males...notably one of the birds...deemed a male was intermediate in size. 

Checked in on the live streaming and there was one preening in the box. Mostly dark feathers now and very little white showing. The other two weren't in camera view at the time.

[carly]

Egg 3 hatched today 

[carly]

Morning check and I see two little heads coming up for food as mom arrives with breakfast 

[carly]

We have a hatch!!!  One so far from what I can make out!! 

[Kinderchick]

What a wonderful story of Feisty's life, both before her injury and after her recovery & release. Brought tears to my eyes. And the photos were fabulous! Thanks for posting the link, rcf.

[Ellie]

What a wonderfully written and illustrated report!  The pictures were terrific.  Feisty sure is one strong willed and self reliant peregrine!

[Moonstar]

WOW...what a nice report, it was done so well with pictures and all.  Just loved it 

[RCF]

I got this link to Feisty's story or Little Sumo from BCAW forum.  

http://avianhaven.org/ahs2011_feistys_story.pdf

[carly]

Little Sumo has been released and is flying free!!   

From the BRI site:

After the updates of the last week, it will come as no surprise that Feisty is to be released!  Marc and I talked at length this afternoon with Charlie Todd (Maine’s endangered species and eagle biologist) about possible locations.  He was emphatic about the bird NOT going back to the Portland area, where he would most likely be attacked by a resident pair.  In fact, “nowhere near an active nest” was Charlie’s primary criterion for a release site, and after discussing several possibilities, the Belfast area seemed a good choice, as no peregrines have been reported there, it is about halfway between two active peregrine nests (Camden and Bucksport), has a bridge that could potentially host a new nest, plus offers a large population of pigeons.  The other advantage to Belfast is that it is relatively close to us, so this now extremely restless and active bird would have to be confined for transport for only about a half hour.  The disadvantage from your points of view is that it is not so close by.  But nevertheless, I’m sure you would all agree that what’s best for the bird is most important.  As Charlie said, this bird is coming into his prime; and though it is late in the season for starting a family, it’s a good time for him to be claiming his own turf.   We are looking more specifically at Moose Point State Park, which is just north of Belfast.  Sometime in the next week is our time frame.

He was released yesterday at 12:30

Patrick et al – we were hoping we could wait a few more days in order to plan for something that others could attend.  But yesterday and this morning, the bird is literally flinging himself against the flyway walls, and we are afraid that a delay of even another day could compromise all he has achieved so far.  He needs to get out now, before he starts breaking flight feathers, and fortunately, the weather is on our side (for a change!).   So with our most sincere apologies to all who might have wanted to be there, we are aiming for Moose Point State Park