Comments on: Peregrines hatching at Gulf Tower

By: John A. Burke

John A. Burke — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:51:52 +0000

Whoa! Good shot, Amy F.

By: Amy F

Amy F — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:38:05 +0000

As of this morning, both chicks are definitely still there - and wow, have they grown in 5 days!

By: JoAnne

JoAnne — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:51:06 +0000

Wait a minute—after thinking about what you said about Tasha2 moving the chicks, that seemed like a logical explanation, and especially when Amy reported what she has seen about the two eggs and one definite chick and another (possible) chick just behind Tashe2. However, if what I saw was her moving the chicks, how did the eggs show up in the new site? Have I misunderstood the sequence of events, or something?
I’m confused. Perhaps we just have to wait, as you said, until we can visually confirm the number of viable chicks.

By: JoAnne

JoAnne — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:58:09 +0000

Wow! That really is good news! Who knew they moved them like mother cats do? Perhaps, just like kittens do, baby birds become limp when held by the nape of the neck. I think it was a lucky moment to have logged on (is this the right terminology?) to have caught this activity! Thanks for the info.

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:48:32 +0000

JoAnne, I have a shot from the webcam yesterday that shows one chick clearly, and another white object just behind Tasha2 that I think is too large to be an empty shell, plus the two unhatched eggs. I'm hoping you did catch her in the process of moving her little ones.

By: Kate StJ

Kate StJ — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:00:19 +0000

I don’t think there are any permanent records from the Gulf camera. The best way to know how many chicks there are is to see them. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, there’s good news in this: Tasha moved the chicks from the scrape they were originally born in (on the right) to the one on the left where she is today. Perhaps you saw her transporting a chick to the new location.

By: JoAnne

JoAnne — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:54:37 +0000

So sorry…it was clearly a big chick. I saw a definite head, eye, beak wings, etc. She held it by the nape of the neck and was “caught” by the camera half-way between the other chick/eggs and the edge of the platform. It’s head was twisted to her left and it looked dead (limp, bedraggled, not as plumped up as the other chick I see). I was amazed that I had been able to catch this at the right moment that this occurred. Are there any permanent recordings of that webcam that can be accessed?

By: Kate StJ

Kate StJ — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:32:59 +0000

Actually you probably saw Tasha take away an egg shell – at least I hope so. The inside of the shell is white and is confusing on camera when the chicks are so small and white too.

By: JoAnne

JoAnne — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:10:06 +0000

So glad I found your blog…am compelled to watch these birds every day, several times a day, and was becoming concerned because I never see them feeding the chicks! I did observe Tasha 2 carrying away a dead chick in her beak several days ago. Anyone else see that? And I also saw the “incubation switch ” with Dorothy and Erie. That was a bit confusing, as I hadn’t known that they shared that duty. Thanks for all this new info!

By: Kate StJ

Kate StJ — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:13:18 +0000

Peregrine eggs normally hatch within a day or two of each other. The fact that the remaining two eggs have not hatched means they probably won’t.

I haven’t been able to see them when Tasha is not covering them, so I am assuming there are still two unhatched. In a few days Tasha will give up on them and move them away from the chicks.