Hey, Gary.... neat link! Hate to admit I get a little vertigo watching it, tho. For anyone else interested, it's the state capitol building in Lincoln,
Nebraska.... 18th floor.....
...to me, anyway. I was just looking at a nighttime view and it looks as if the adult falcon (probably a female, but I don't know) is shielding the
youngsters with her/his wing. It's a little cool here tonight, not bad, but around 57 degrees at last look. Low expected to be around 50. I don't spend
a lot of time looking, but I would guess the male probably goes hunting for food and shares the nesting box, but I don't know. I've never seen what
looked like two adults in the nesting box at the same time. -- Gary
...but it looks like maybe there are two adults in the nesting box right now. The picture isn't the greatest, but I'm not complaining. It's fun to
look at the activity of the brood. I can't tell how many there are. Maybe three chicks? Anybody have a guess?
PS -- It's Thursday, and I can see four "chicks," who are getting bigger and more active as "momma" seems to be out having some fun.
These chicks still face a tough road ahead. Eventually they'll have to jump out of that nest box and find out if they can soar on the wings of the Nebraska
winds. I'm trying to remember. Seems like they say the mortality rate for peregrin falcon chicks is pretty darn high, so let's wish them luck. -- Gary
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Re: Night View... I think the camera switches to IR (infrared) after dark.
Definitely counted 4 chicks. I dropped in yesterday just in time to see the male arrive with 'lunch'. Handed 'it' off to female who plucked at
it and fed to the chicks. Well, to two of the chicks, I hope they take turns!
...I've watched the nest quite a bit and have never seen the male bring back food. It does seem that the female is spending more time away from
"home," as I noted before. Perhaps she's also hunting. The kids may need more food now that they're getting bigger. -- Gary
PS -- It's 8 p.m. Lincoln time, and mama falcon looks as if she just came back to the nesting box and is feeding her brood. This is sort of fun for me, and
for at least a few of you. Makes you hope the chicks make it to adulthood. It's money well-spent by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
PPS -- It's around 8:45 p.m. and the chicks are being fed again. Mama and papa are being kept busy because birds have a high metabolism rate and have to
eat a lot of food to survive, and, in this case, grow.
PPPS -- Friday, 12:45 p.m., Mama and dad appear to be spending more time away from the nesting box. "Weaning" the kids, perhaps?
PPPSS(?) -- It's Sunday, 3 p.m. our time. Adults are gone most of the time now, probably being kept busy hunting for food, which apparently is mainly birds
snatched out of mid-air. Just saw one of the adults return to the nest with dinner. The "chicks" (who are rapidly growing) surrounded the returning
adult and made short work of their meal. I wonder how many of them will survive leaving the nest and being on their own.
It's around 8:45 p.m. on Sunday. One of the adults brought back what looks to be a pigeon. The "chicks" are lined up, waiting for their shares.
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June 8th, just back from a short vacation. The falcon "chicks" are getting pretty darn big. I'm interested in seeing, if I'm lucky, how
the adults handle the "empty nest" sydrome, specifically, how do they get the nest empty? Hold your breath, ma, I'm gonna go flying! -- Gary
....it's 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday. I just "tuned in" and all four of the "chicks" are moving around a lot. They don't look as if
they're ready to fly, however. But they are getting big. The local paper had a story the other day about the Game and Parks Commission going into the
nesting box and tagging the young birds. I wonder if they'll shut off the camera's when they feel the chicks are ready to try to fly. As I sort of
joked about the other day, what if one of the chicks hopped out of the box and fell 18 floors? -- Gary
PS -- It's 5:30 p.m., just tuned back in. One of the chicks is balanced on the edge of the nesting box, sort of looks like he/she wants to fly. I
haven't noticed any adults around today. Are the chicks ready to fly? Doesn't look like it to me. But if momma wanted them out on their own, not
feeding them would encourage them to take off and look for food. I guess their natural instinct would tell them what to do...maybe.
PPS -- About 12:30 a.m. on Thursday. Still don't see any adult birds around. They obviously aren't around nearly as much as they used to be. The chicks
still seem too "downy" to fly to me, but we'll see.
PPSS -- Just was looking at an Omaha TV station. They were reporting on a peregrine nesting box on the Woodman's Insurance building in that city. Seems
like it also has four "chicks" in it. I don't know if it has a live camera shot on it. Since my sales are so slow, I might try to Google it and
see it's available to look at. Will report back if I can find it. I found it, but it's not nearly as good as the one in Lincoln. Appears to be some
type of time-lapse cam shots, in other words still shots. They do supply some interesting stuff about the parents, which apparently have returned to the same
nesting box for a number of years.
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...getting close. It's around 6:25 a.m. on Saturday and two of the "chicks" have hopped out of the nesting box. They went up on the ledge behind
the box and now they appear to have disappeared behind that ledge. I'm guessing they aren't flying yet, but three of the four birds are really
"stretching" their wings, as if getting exercise for coming flights. Here's hoping everything goes well. -- Gary
...yet, but as near as I can tell, there are three birds in the nesting box. The fourth one may be behind the concrete ledge, let's hope so. Maybe I should
get in my car and drive around the State Capitol building?! LOL, although I wouldn't be amused if something did happen that that fourth bird.
...to keep track of the birds now. As far as I can tell, at 6:39 p.m. Lincoln time, there's one bird in the box, which obviously means three must be on the
ledge behind the box or behind that ledge. I can only see two of the birds right by the ledge. -- Gary
LINCOLN, Neb. - Two male and two female peregrine falcon chicks from the nest box near the top of the Nebraska State Capitol building were banded and
given a checkup Tuesday, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. "The banding went very well and the chicks appear to be in very
good shape," said Joel Jorgensen, the Commission's nongame bird program manager. "They have everything they need to be
successful."
(c) NGPC
Workers from Raptor Recovery Nebraska hold down a young peregrine falcon as blood is drawn. Officials from Raptor Recovery
Nebraska and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission banded and assessed the health of the four peregrine chicks that hatched this spring from a nest
box high atop the state Capitol building in Lincoln.
Tuesday's banding also marked the start of the "name the chicks" contest. Participants may either submit their
suggestions for the four chicks beginning June 3 by visiting OutdoorNebraska.org or in person at the peregrine display near the first-floor
information desk at the Capitol. Votes will be accepted through June 23, with the winner announced June 25. Each person may vote once.
Falcon fans may continue to watch the chicks grow over the next few weeks, via streaming video, on the Commission's popular
FalconCam at ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife/webcam/peregrine/default.asp.
The banding was performed by Jorgensen and the Commission's Melissa Santiago, as well as Betsy Finch and Janet Stander of Raptor
Recovery Nebraska.
Peregrine female A/*Y laid four eggs about the second week of April and, with the help of her mate, 19/K, hatched the eggs between May
12 and May 14. The same pair has been present at the Capitol since 2005.
The 20-day-old chicks hatched in the nest box located on the 18th floor. Biologists placed unique bands on both legs, took blood
samples, checked for diseases and parasites before returning the youngsters to the nest box.
This is the fourth year that the peregrine pair successfully hatched eggs. In 2005, the pair successfully raised a chick that, through
the "name the chick" contest, was named Pioneer. In 2006, three chicks fledged and were given the names Willa, Bess and Sterling after
famous Nebraskans Willa Cather, Bess Streeter Aldrich and J. Sterling Morton. In 2007, four chicks fledged that were named Boreas, Notus, Eurus, and
Zephyrus after the four wind gods from Greek mythology that are ascribed to the cardinal directions North, South, East, and West. Last year's
nesting attempt failed. (The female got hurt in a fight with another female falcon and spent recovery time in raptor rehab.)
Peregrine falcons were first observed at the State Capitol when a lone male was seen in August 1990.
Peregrine falcons almost disappeared from the lower 48 states following World War II because of eggshell thinning caused by the
pesticide DDT. The falcon was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1970. Recovery efforts, including the release of falcons at
tall buildings in urban areas, were successful. By the late 1990s, peregrine falcon numbers recovered and the species was removed from the list of
endangered species in 1999.
__________________
"Next to a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside a dog, it's too
dark to read." --Groucho
....and, as usual, no sales to process. As you fellow bird-brains know, it's fun watching the four "chicks," although they are now looking more
and more like the falcons they are. I wonder how they learn how to hunt. By intinct? I read where eagles teach their young how to hunt, but I don't know
how they'd do that. Obviously they must. I've "tuned into" the youngsters during recent rain storms. They just huddle up in the corner,
obviously the corner which affords them the most shelter. The adults spend less and less time with them these days, as you fellow bird-brains have observed.
Hopefully the Game and Parks Commission will keep the cams focused on the nesting box as long as there are any "chicks" around using it....I'd
even enjoy just watching the two adults, but I don't know if they hang around or just come back by instinct when it's mating time. -- Gary
PS -- Around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday. It's obvious the young birds are close to leaving the "nesting box." At this time I can only see three of
them, but that doesn't mean anything. Two of the birds are sitting on the edge of the nesting box, looking like they're thinking about taking off. The
video camera was off for a brief period this morning. What that means, if anything, I don't know.
PPS -- It's around 9:45 p.m. on Thursday. I can still only see three of the youngsters, but that doesn't mean one has flown the coop, so to speak.
It's sort of fun to watch them. Just now one of the birds was perched on the edge of the nesting box, occasionally flapping his (or her) wings. Obviously
the bird wanted to take off, but just wasn't sure enough to risk it. Someday soon he, or she, will.
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It's been a full day since I've last seen all four of the youngsters. I know one of them may be hidden behind the ledge, but this morning the video
camera was off for awhile. Maybe I'm borrowing trouble, and I hope I am. I'd hate to think something happened to one of the kids and the Game and Parks
Commission had to send somebody out to clean up the nesting box. Oh, well, I'll keep looking. Hopefully the fourth bird will show itself. -- Gary
PS -- There's something, or somethings, flitting around the nesting box tonight. That one young falcon sure looks like he'd like to take off and make a
grab at whatever it is.
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06/18/09 20:57:36.
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