2nd Egg Right On Schedule!

As mentioned in my previous post today, the 2nd egg was laid this afternoon at approximately 4:11 p.m.!

2nd Egg Due Anytime

A 2nd egg is expected today...in the meantime, here is a video of the pair mating (fast forward to about :50).

The male delivered a food item today about 11:25 a.m. but not close enough to the camera to tell what kind of unsuspecting songbird met its demise... Peregrines prey almost exclusively on other birds they catch in flight. Using its great speed, the falcon delivers a powerful blow to its target with a half-closed foot. It retrieves the dead bird either in mid-air or after it falls to the ground. Some of the bird species the Columbus peregrines have consumed include chimney swifts, meadowlarks, flicker, red-winged blackbirds, pigeons, starlings and woodcock. There is a great diversity of bird species in and around the downtown area!

1st Egg!!

The first egg of the 2012 clutch was laid this morning, Monday, March 26th! Here's a picture from 7:25 a.m. Looks like Durand has chosen a scrape right in the front of the box.

The normal sized clutch for peregrines is four. Eggs are laid every 2-3 days and incubation doesn't usually begin until the last (or next to the last) egg is laid. In the meantime, the eggs may sit alone and can withstand a wide range of temperature during this period of "limbo." The eggs do not begin to develop until they are kept consistently at the proper temperature.

Durand will usually be close by the nest during the egg-laying period. The male is usually nearby as well, although he may not been seen. His main duty is to provide food.

Nestbox Cam Up and Running!

Late today our crew replaced the faulty connections on the cable and the nestbox cam views are now operational again!
Happy viewing!

Update on Nestbox Camera

Well, we were certainly excited to get the ledge view back up and running, both the still images and the live streaming. However, now we are having technical problems with the nestbox camera! This is very frustrating for all of you and us, too!

I can report for sure that the camera is working fine. The issue seems to be with the cable that transfers the video from the camera on the 41st floor to the computer on the 40th floor. Troubleshooting continues!

Without the aid of the camera I will be doing site visits to check for eggs at least weekly and more frequently towards the end of March which is the soonest I would expect eggs.

Decoy Scrape, Progress on Live Streaming

A quick visit to the ledge this morning yielded great views of both Durand and the unbanded, adult male. Both birds were present and defensive of "their" nestbox allowing District One's new Wildlife Communications Specialist Karen Norris to take these photos. Durand, in particular, was very cooperative spending part of the time flying by and part of the time perched on the ledge. While it is impossible to know for sure, I believe the male this year to probably be the same as was here last year. Hopefully since both adults have another year of maturity, instincts will kick in strong and we will have a successful nest.

One of the objectives for the trip today was to smooth out the gravel in the nestbox. I then made a prominent "decoy" scrape in an attempt to lure Durand to lay eggs in a good location for viewing. We'll see if she takes the hint!
We are making progress on the camera views. Refreshed still images and streaming video is now working for the ledge camera! However, a new problem has caused a temporary discontinuation of the nestbox views. We do hope to have all views up and running early next week.

Elsewhere in Ohio, peregrines have begun egg laying. Peregrine nesting season is underway!