One Week Old

What a difference a week makes!  The chicks have really grown!  It is truly amazing how quickly they develop!  Now during feeding all the chicks are sitting up and actively reaching for food vs. opening their mouths and waiting for the adult to put food in.  At this point in time it is unlikely that the 4th egg will hatch.  Overall, Ohio has about a ~70% hatch rate so 3 out of 4 falls right in line with that statistic.  The last egg is still being kept within the group for now--at least as long as the chicks are staying together to be brooded.  As they continue to grow and will be brooded less that remaining egg will be cast aside and pretty much ignored.

Banding has been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday morning, May 20.  As in past years we hope to live stream the event on our website - more information on that when the date is closer.

Besides the Columbus FalconCam being just plain interesting, it is also an important and effective teaching tool.  Each year since 1996 we have held a contest with a local school to name the Columbus falcon nestlings.  This year Griffith Thomas Elementary School in Dublin has the honor to host the contest.  One of the reasons for the contest is to encourage students to learn about wildlife conservation and biology. As they discover specific characteristics about peregrines, they use that knowledge to help them select a name that reflects the power, agility and majesty of this raptor. Other guidelines we require of the entries is that the name not be a human name, is not gender specific and has not been used in Columbus in the past 5 years. 

All of the submissions from the students will be reviewed by a panel of wildlife partners and representatives from the local media later this week.  That group will narrow the names down to six finalists and those selections will be put on a web poll on the Division of Wildlife's website so that every falcon fan out there has the chance to vote for the name they like.   We will post a link to the web poll when it goes up.

Finally, if you think the video stream has been jerky or freezing up, it isn't your imagination!  We have noticed that also and are troubleshooting!  Hopefully, we'll be into smoother operation soon!