Alexa's short life

This short note from Richard broke the sad news:

Sorry to inform you that Alexa, M62, was hit by a car while chasing a Pigeon and both were killed. This happened on N. Meridian Street. I retrieved her remains this morning, Friday, July 7th.

--Richard

Calm down!

This is Tetsuko, being startled by one of her siblings.



I saw her a few minutes later and got a better look at the leg band.

Bye, see ya later

No, not me. KathyQ.

Over the Edge

Off the perch and onto the ledge!

The transformation is almost complete

It is just astounding to look at pictures from only a week ago and compare to today. Banding was two weeks ago and at that time these guys and gals were balls of white fluff.

Such a Poser

Just a great view of one of the 'kids'. Still, I can't read the band.

Getting used to heights

Or maybe just relaxing...


OK, let's stretch...

Meet the Falcons

Here's a guide to identifying this year's family.

Kinney

Band: 7 / *3

KathyQ/Chantal

Band:*B/*C

Morley

Band: E / 70

Tetsuko

Band: M / 63

Alexa

Band: M/62

Three Amigos

Obviously, the interior view has degraded. There's a film of, well, 'whatever' on the window. I was not able to read the tags, but "head Falconhead" Richard has looked at this one and tells me we have (left to right) Tetsuko, Morley and Alexa)

Banding Photos now online

I finally resolved an issue with my photo gallery and have gotten the photos from Banding Day 2006 online. I also captured 3 bits of audio, from banding room (chicks) and on the roof top (adults).

The gallery is here



(Oh, and the photos from 2005 are here)

Getting bolder

Uh, oh. Looks like they figured out the perch! Steady, steady!



Y'all just gonna sit there?

Banding Day

Today was the big day. A lot of squawking and squirming but it's done. Here's a quick look at one of them. I have other pictures to sort through and will be putting some of them up here over the weekend.

Where's the nest, Part 2

As Banding Day (and fledging) approaches, this seemed like a good time to take another look at the nest site. The photo below shows an aerial view of the Circle, and each of the neaby buildings are labelled (thanks to Richard Kinnett).

These names are important, if anyone needs to report seeing any of the young falcons in distress. Accurately informing the DNR about the building is critical to ensuring someone can get there quickly to rescue them.

If you click on the picture, it will open in a larger view. Otherwise, the names are too tiny to read.

Hungry, hungry

"Mom, that's not a very big bite."



So I'll just help myself, OK?

Growing by leaps and bounds

Check the feet on these guys.


"What's he trying to do, fly away?"



Here is some information about the Growth and Development of Peregrine Falcon Chicks

It's been almost 3 weeks since the first egg hatched. Anita, One of the Falconheads here in Indy (who has contributed some photos to this blog) noticed early this morning that their 'real' feathers are starting to show. These look a bit like a comb at this stage - almost like exposed, thin, bones. The link above has a good description of the early growth and development and the emergence of these feathers is right on schedule.

What do bored peregine chicks do to amuse themselves?

The "Wave", of course!

Tucked in for the night

Ever watchful, mom perches on the ledge as the sun goes down.

Just watching them grow

And are they ever. At least twice their size in a week? That's my guess.

I got the following shots over the weekend. A couple showing the wings and tail spread. Richard got the first one either just before or just after I got the second one.

Number 3 is a bit strange, but I thought it was worthy of including. As you can see, being a small eating machine does have another, er, side effect. Don't be surprised if the camera window gets splattered before long. They clearly have 'range' - just not accuracy. It's only a matter of time.

Dinnertime

Growing fast

One week later, and they have grown a lot.

The decision

It appears KathyQ has decided the 4th egg will no longer be incubated. This morning, it is off to the side.

What do you make of this?

So hard to tell. To me, it looks like the shell is breached and it even seems to expose a tiny beak (notice the 'v'). While I want to remain optimistic, this doesn't look encouraging. I had speculated on a cracked shell in my comments on my previous blog entry. This seems to only reinforce my worst suspicions.



Now, having said that - I just grabbed another frame. There are several minutes between the first (right half) and second (left half). As you can see, the shell is in the identical position. But (big BUT) the opening and the 'beak' shape are much different. Could it be hatching? Let's hope so.



[edit] I keep looking at these two views and now I think the 'hole' I was trying to see as part of the egg is gravel or something behind the egg. It's really hard to tell. But, I think I do see the curvature of the egg IN FRONT of the 'hole'. I just don't know for sure WHAT I'm seeing.

Still no idea about #4

Is egg #4 even there with the siblings? They have been huddled around the remaining egg, but during feedings it was usually possible to get a glimpse of the egg. I have not seen any hint of it since yesterday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Kinney is displaying 'expensive' taste in food. This time, it looks like a female Cardinal, going by the color of the feathers (although the tail feathers seem rather long for a Cardinal). Come on Kinney, pigeons and starlings are plentiful and a nuisance!

Still nothing to report

As of 8:24am, the egg is still there and no signs of hatching.

Waiting for Number 4

Mixed feelings abound, as everyone waits for #4 to hatch. Some are tense. Others are, well, relaxed.

Who's Who?

We all know that Kinney is smaller, KathyQ is larger. Here's a good size comparison as a meal is transferred from one to the other:

Feeding all those mouths

A series of frames from one of yesterday's feedings:

And Now it's THREE

Still Two

As of 9:45am today. But feeding these two is keeping Kinney and KathyQ very busy.