Right On Schedule

The 4th egg arrived Wednesday night (3/26/14).  Big thanks to the faithful viewers that provided us with this picture of the clutch.  Most likely we won't see any more eggs but never say never.  We can expect to see continued mating activity at least for a few days but that behavior doesn't necessarily mean another egg will be laid.

And Then There Were...THREE!

This morning about 10 a.m. Durand laid egg number 3!!!  Unlike the first two eggs that were laid during the night, this one appeared in "almost" full view.  I say "almost" because Durand unfortunately had her back to the camera in this video of the third egg so you have to pay close attention to figure out what is happening. 

Karen is out of the office today and I was in a meeting so I missed it--thank you very much to the many calls and emails to let me know and to the dedicated viewers recording and saving photos!

The normal size clutch is 4 eggs.  Even though another egg will likely be laid in a couple of days, the adults should begin to incubate at this point in time.  Durand will handle the majority of the incubation duty, while Spark will bring her food and take his turn covering the eggs while she takes a break to eat.  Incubation generally takes about  33 days...so sit back and get comfortable.  Hatch will be expected the 4th week of April. 

Egg Number TWO!

We're now up to TWO eggs in the nest - the second one laid sometime during the night.  Evidently, Durand's reproductive system is in "nocturnal mode" with both of the first two eggs this season laid under the cover of darkness.  Here is the clutch of two barely visible at first light this morning:

And, a better view after sunrise with both adults in the box: 



While it is certainly exciting to tune in first thing and see an egg, hopefully, the next egg(s) will be laid during daylight hours giving anxious viewers an opportunity to witness it!!!

Happy 1st Egg on the 1st Day of Spring!

After many days of watching and waiting, dedicated viewers finally are seeing the first egg of the 2014 Columbus peregrine nesting season!!!  Technically, Durand laid the egg last evening, March 19, at about 9:43 p.m. but we can all celebrate the first day of Spring today with the first egg!  Interestingly, she laid the first egg last season on the same day of March!

Eggs are laid every 2-3 days but she won't begin to actually incubate the eggs until the majority of the clutch (usually 4 eggs) is laid.  She will stay close to the nest during this period. 

Will Winter Ever End?!

Well, it's been a l-o-n-g, cold winter and it seems to be hanging on still with single digit lows during this first week of March!  Despite the weather the ledge has been fairly active the past couple of weeks.  Spark and Durand have been bonding and courting.  There have food exchanges, scraping, vocalizing and even matings!  A sure sign that spring is coming, even if it doesn't really feel like it yet!

Here are links to check out some action you may have missed:
Bonding in the nestbox, March 1
Spark presenting food to Durand, March 1
Mating, March 3
Special thanks to MaryAnne for saving the video clips! ;-)
And a photo of Spark working on the scrape:

As a recap, a peregrine's nest is called a "scrape."  Basically, peregrines do not build a nest by bringing in nesting materials (sticks, mud, grass, etc.) like many birds do.  Rather, they simply scrape/dig out a depression in the substrate in which to lay their eggs.  In the case of man-made nestboxes, the substrate is usually pea gravel placed into a shallow tray or box.  Both the male and female falcons "scrape" by lying on their belly and pushing out with a foot to dig the depression.  They will use their wings for balance as seen in the photo above.  There are 2 main scrapes currently in the nestbox on the Rhodes Tower in Columbus.  One, that Spark is working on in the photo, and the second in the back right corner of the box.  Which scrape the eggs will ultimately be laid in is up to Durand. 

Speaking of eggs...here is Durand's timeline/history with laying the first egg of the season:
2011-April 3
2012-March 26
2013-March 19
I have noted with watching the Columbus nesting pairs over the years, as females mature they generally lay a few days earlier each year as is evident in Durand's case.  Therefore, we could expect to see eggs this year anytime around/after ~March 15! 

If you haven't noticed yet, the Division of Wildlife recently updated its website and we now offer both the ledge and nestbox live video views streaming at the same time on the same page without a timeout!  Stay tuned - spring is just around the corner and peregrine nesting season will be underway before we know it!