Comments on: Feeding baby peregrines

By: Kate StJ

Kate StJ — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:35:08 +0000

Tasha’s chicks are about 10 days older than Dorothy’s. When the chicks are about 7-8 days old, they don’t need to be brooded any more (kept warm). At this stage, one of the parents usually perches nearby to guard them but doesn’t need to be on them. At this point you won’t see the adult in the camera. The field of view is amazingly small for a peregrine’s universe.

By: JoAnne

JoAnne — Mon, 05 May 2008 13:24:59 +0000

Tasha 2′s chicks seem to be alone often, while Dorothy’s chicks are usually with a parent. Does this mean that Tasha 2 must do much of her own hunting? Or, does the ages of the bigger chicks mean that they can be left alone for longer periods of time?
And, yes, watching these webcams can become addicting!

By: Kate StJ

Kate StJ — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:48:45 +0000

We don’t know what food is in his beak but it is 99% certain it’s a dead bird as that is what peregrines eat.

By: John A. Burke

John A. Burke — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:28:02 +0000

I like those two fotos that Barbara Simon captured. Do we know what the food is that Louie has in his beak? Just curious.

John B.

By: Kate StJ

Kate StJ — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:09:45 +0000

As some of you have noticed, Dorothy pushes the eggshells aside after the chicks have hatched.

Regarding viability: Birds with non-viable eggs – such as the two non-viable eggs at Gulf Tower – continue to treat them as if they’ll hatch until it is long beyond hatch time. The bird eventually stops incubating and gives up. I think the extra time is biological “insurance” so that viable but late eggs are not accidentally abandoned.
Regarding the red-tails: E2 doesn’t like them. I wrote about him attacking them in one of my first blogs http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2007/11/20/clash-of-the-titans/. That was back when I didn’t realize that Erie, the previous male peregrine at Pitt, had been replaced by E2 so I mention “Erie” in the blog. In fact, Erie tolerated red-tails unless they approached the Cathedral of Learning so E2′s dislike of them is one of the things that made me notice that something new was going on. I discuss this in my blog about E2:
http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2008/04/02/who-is-he-new-male-peregrine-at-univ-of-pittsburgh/

By: Mary

Mary — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:27:48 +0000

How do the peregrines in Oakland interact with the red tailed hawks? I watch the hawks out my window at Carnegie Mellon.

By: Libby Strizzi

Libby Strizzi — Thu, 01 May 2008 13:06:21 +0000

Looking at the webcam again later, I realize that those are pieces of eggs, not whole eggs. And I see Kate has written that THREE have hatched. So exciting. I did see an item about this on Channel 4 this morning.

By: Libby Strizzi

Libby Strizzi — Thu, 01 May 2008 11:39:05 +0000

Today, I spot 2 of the eggs pushed out to the side, in the Cathedral of Learning nest. Looks like Dorothy thinks they are no longer viable. How does a peregrine (or any bird) know this?

By: Shannon Platt

Shannon Platt — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:27:47 +0000

WOW! Today is definately a busy day at the Pitt nest with three eggs hatching on the same day. Talk about an instant family! LOL!