Outside My Window

When you watch a feeding at the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest you’ll see just one baby now.

As early as Friday morning, only 12 hours after he hatched, I could tell something was wrong with Chick#2.  He was noticeably weaker and his movements were odd and uncoordinated.  He seemed to have a developmental problem that caused spasms.

The big clue was that he left the nest.  This is abnormal and life-threatening behavior in a chick so young.  Peregrine nestlings must be brooded by their parents during their first week of life because they can’t thermoregulate yet.

On Friday afternoon Chick#2 literally rolled in a ball out from under Dorothy’s tail.

And here he moved outside Dorothy’s wing in 41 degree weather on Saturday morning.  He must be twitching a lot considering the look on her face.

Midday Saturday he moved out of the nest scrape and did not return for feedings.  Here Dorothy and E2 seem to confer about him on Saturday afternoon.  (He is lying in the shade beyond them.)  There was nothing to be done. He was too handicapped to survive.

This leaves just one surviving baby out of five eggs.  Until this year Dorothy always raised three to five young per nesting season — but she is 14 years old now.

Her low hatch rate and handicapped chick are both normal outcomes considering her age.  Just as in humans, older mothers have fewer babies and are more likely to produce handicapped young.

I am sorry to see this happen because Dorothy is my very favorite peregrine.  But the reality is that Dorothy, like all of us, is aging.

(photos from the National Aviary falconcam at the University of Pittsburgh)

p.s. The good news is that Chick#1 is healthy and vigorous.  He will get lots of attention and education from his very experienced parents.

Thanks to @PittPeregines we have video of the first peregrine hatchling at the Cathedral of Learning

The video above shows the time from first pip (hole) in the shell until the chick hatches and dries out, white and fluffy beneath Dorothy’s breast.

The video below shows the first feeding and E2 arriving to meet the chick and spend some time with it.

Follow @KStJBirdblog (me) and @PittPeregrines (Dorothy & E2) on Twitter for updates.

(videos by @PittPeregrines constructed from National Aviary falconcam snapshots)

Dorothy and E2′s first egg has hatched at the Cathedral of Learning (approximately 6:25am).

Good morning, Dorothy and baby!

Watch for the first feeding and E2′s moment to meet his first hatchling of 2013.

Updates:

6:36am:  A peek at the tiny baby (white fluffy near the eggs; you can see his beak).  Also look at the dark egg with the white seam near Dorothy’s foot.  It’s getting ready to hatch.

(photos from the National Aviary falconcam at University of Pittsburgh)

Look at the big hole in the egg on the left (Wed, 7:10pm).  It won’t be long now.  That one may hatch tonight.

Hammer away, babies!

Update, Thursday April 25, 6:19am
Dorothy is covering all the eggs and I don’t see a discarded shell so the first one hasn’t hatched yet.  Except… what is she looking at below her?  It sure looks like a broken shell.

(photo from the National Aviary falconcam at University of Pittsburgh)

Yes, one of the chicks at the Cathedral of Learning has punched a hole in his egg.

How long until he hatches?

Mom and Dad are e-chupping to encourage their kids to make progress. “Hammer that egg, baby!”

(photo from the National Aviary falconcam at the University of Pittsburgh)

Look!  I think I see a pip in that second egg at Dorothy and E2′s nest.

If I’m right, hatching can’t be far behind!

(photo from the National Aviary falconcam at the University of Pittsburgh)

I’m counting the grandkids before they’ve hatched but here are three of Dorothy and E2′s grandchildren from Shaker Heights, Ohio.  They’ve been laid in a bowl of moss beneath two floodlights.

These eggs are especially sweet to me because I watched their father closely when he was young.

Perhaps you remember Henry, too, born at the Cathedral of Learning in 2011.  Shortly after his sister Yellow died when she flew into a window, Henry hit the same building.  Stunned and wobbly he flew home to recuperate.

Though he was old enough to start hunting on his own, he must have looked ill.  Dorothy and E2 brought him food and continued feeding him for weeks afterward.  He begged loudly when they “weaned” him later.

That fall Henry left town and was not heard of until April 29, 2012 when he appeared in Shaker Heights at a site abandoned by the previous peregrines because of human disturbance.  Henry was still a juvenile but he claimed Tower East as his own.

This spring Henry attracted an unbanded female and courtship ensued.  Pretty soon it looked like Dot and Henry were nesting, but where?

With help from building maintenance, Chis Saladin explored Tower East a week ago and found the nest with two very protective parents.  Here’s Dot in the foreground with Henry flying behind, shouting and swooping.

By now there may be more eggs and, if this improvised site works, baby peregrines next month.

Congratulations, Henry and Dot.  And congratulations to grandparents Dorothy and E2 who are expecting their own eggs to hatch any day now.

A big thank you goes to “Bobbytimewarp” and Chad+Chris Saladin for keeping an eye on Henry, Dot and their nest.

For more news of Henry and Dot see the Ohio Falcon Forum for Tower East.

(photos by Chad+Chris Saladin)

From March 18 until yesterday, April 21, there was almost nothing to report from the Downtown peregrines’ nest.  Without a camera at the site we have to rely on in-person observations but the birds were elusive and rarely seen.

Then yesterday Amanda McGuire emailed me this picture that her boyfriend, Mark Anderson, took at 8:17am.  It’s Louie plucking prey at the edge of Amanda’s balcony.  (Louie’s face is obscured by the railing.  Mark took the photo through a window so as not to disturb him.)

Peregrines don’t take food to their nests unless they’re feeding young.  The fact that Louie was preparing breakfast from a perch that overlooks his nest was new behavior and a hopeful sign that the eggs had hatched.

I stopped by the street late yesterday afternoon.  As I pulled up I saw Louie fly into the nest but I didn’t have my binoculars out (heck, I was driving) so I couldn’t be sure he was carrying prey.  I parked and waited to see what would happen next.

Louie left the nest but soon returned and walked into the nook.  I could hear him chirping as if he was having a conversation with Dori … and the kids?  After a few minutes he flew away.

He returned again!  Three visits in only 15 minutes!  Something really interesting was happening in the nest.

And then he flew away with the garbage.  I could see it clearly in his beak.

Woo hoo!  The eggs have hatched at the Downtown peregrines’ nest.

(photo by Mark W. Anderson)

p.s.  35 days elapsed from the last time Louie was active on the balcony.  Peregrine eggs hatch in 33-35 days.  Right on time!

Since Dorothy and E2′s eggs will hatch in the next few days, I’ve zoomed the snapshot camera so we can see better.

Good morning, Dorothy!

(photo from the National Aviary falconcam at the University of Pittsburgh)

p.s.  The streaming cam is blurry but you can listen for sounds of the baby birds and hear Dorothy and E2 talk to them on the audio here: http://www.aviary.org/cons/falconcam_cl.html
Watch less blurry snapshots here: http://www.aviary.org/cons/FalconCam/Cathedral_refreshCam.html

Whoa it is warm today!  Over 80 degrees in the sun!

Dorothy was panting at the nest so when E2 showed up for nest exchange Dorothy jumped at the chance.  Here he’s the one standing in the background as Dorothy leaves in a hurry.

Watch for their eggs to hatch around Earth Day (Monday 4/22) give-or-take a day or two.  I plan on zooming the snapshot camera during the hatch so we can see the babies better.  This year it’s the only webcam we have.  Will you miss the wide view?

(photo from the National Aviary falconcam at the University of Pittsburgh)