Incubation Going Well!

Incubation of the 4 eggs in the nest is going very well and we expect hatching to begin on or about April 27th.  It is typical for the female to handle most of the incubation duty while the main job of the male during this phase is to provide food for Durand and to incubate while she takes a rest from the eggs to eat.  However, there have been several times (mornings especially) where he is the one on the eggs for a few hours in a row.  Even in this, his first nesting attempt, he seems to have excellent instincts and is doing a rather good job of incubating AND providing food!

Who's Who?  Because of their similar appearance it can be quite challenging to tell which falcon is on the eggs.  I've worked up a diagram to help take some of the mystery out of distinguishing the male from the female.  I saved two photos in similar light with the birds in a similar position and pointed out differences.  Some of the differences are pretty subtle but the more you watch, the more you should get to know one from the other.