Peregrine Falcon Project Observation Log 5

4/20 Temperatures were not as cold over night ~ low of 46.9° F at 10:00 PM and by 11:00 PM it had jumped to 64° F. Temperatures stayed in the 60s all night, and reached a high of 78.1° F for 5 hours. then the temperature dropped to 55°F in one hour and heavy rain and lightening filled the sky. Buckeye was on the eggs when the camera came up this morning and stayed there until10:26 AM. He seemed to be sitting fairly quietly in 1 or 2 positions, not shifting around as much as they have been. SW was on the nest the rest of the day except for a time between 3:45 PM and 6:00 PM when Buckeye was back. She too sat in one position for 30-45 minutes at a time. They also seemed to check the eggs more frequently today. Maybe it is wishful thinking, but it seemed like there heads were cocked and they were listening (pictured below) ... wonder if they are hearing peeps (squawks?) yet?

4/21 Temperatures remained cool to mild today ranging from low of 40° F and high of 63° F. the parents are still sitting on the nest non stop as the countdown to hatch day begins. We are going to go out on a limb (no pun intended) and predict we will be seeing our first eyas on Friday 4/25. Still wondering about those gray rock-like lumps in the nest ... stay tuned ...
4/22 The temperature was in the 40s overnight, dropped to 39° F in the morning, then bounced back and forth between upper 30s and low 40s all day with light rain off and on. Both parents, SW mostly, stayed on the eggs 100% of the time keeping them dry and not changing their position frequently. If you are wondering about all the rain, it really doesn't bother them. Like most birds, falcons are equipped with a waterproofing feature ~ a special oil glad on the backs near their tail which produces an oil that they use to spread oil on their feathers when they are preening. That helps them stay dryer in wet weather. Three days and counting ...
4/23 Upper 30s and low 40s over night and all day today. The skies were clear so our nesting falcons did not have to deal with bad weather, other than cold (by San Diego standards) temperatures. Both parents again kept the eggs protected 100% of the day. The past few days the parents seemed quieter on the eggs, not shifting around much, however today we are noticing they are beginning to lift up off the nest more, giving us a glimpse of the eggs and they seem restless ~ pre-hatch jitters. They should be hearing the babies by now and may be sensing movement as we get closer to hatch date. The pictures below were all taken throughout today, and more are on picture page 2.
SW 8:56 AM		"Hey - quiet down." SW 9:57 AM
10:05 AM SW - slightly raised up - listening		4:00 PM The egg in front under Buckeye's beak looked like it had a hairline crack to us .....
4/24 Upper 30s to low 40s overnight; low today of 35.1° F, high of 48° F ~ too cold for babies! The eggs were protected 100% of the day today except for brief peeks during shift changes. The parents seemed to switch on and off the nest about every hour today ~ very restless. We learned on the discussion board from Mr. Wright what to watch for ... 1) the parents cocking their heads to listen ... they can hear the babies inside the shell; 2) the parent's back to be arched or curved upward to give the babies room; 3) broken shell ... which the mother will eat to replace the calcium she lost when the eggs were laid; 4) a baby ~ which will be covered in white fuzzy down after they dry out. There were so many great shots on the cam today - see below.
10:21 AM - SW - "This is going to be a long day..."		12:45 PM - SW - back arched
2:19 Buckeye - "Do you hear it?"		2:54 PM SW - "Yep, I hear it too."
6:55 PM SW - "Well, not today - go home!"		"Say grace and eat, and prey for a good hatch."
This series of shots was captured 1 minute apart from 8:28 to 8:31 PM 4/24. the first 2 are Buckeye - notice back is arched - in the third shot it looks like the birds are awfully interested in something - SW is on the eggs in the last picture. Is something happening or is this just a shift change? Time will tell.... (This series turned out to big the big moment we were all waiting for ... Mrs. H wins a cool T-shirt for posting the first hatch photo!)

Who is on the nest when the cameras goes down and comes back up in the morning? Did that bird stay on the nest all night???
DATE	AM - cameras up	PM - cameras down
4/15	-	SW
4/16	Buckeye - until 10:58 AM	At 8:21 PM - SW
4/17	Buckeye - until 6:36 AM (Thanks Heidi for idea to add picture)	Buckeye
4/18	SW	SW
4/19	Buckeye until 7:45 AM	SW
4/20	Buckeye until 10:26 AM	SW
4/21	Buckeye until 10:56 AM	Buckeye
422	Buckeye until 9:14 AM	Buckeye
4/23	SW	SW - ruffled feathers and all
4/24	SW ... off a few minutes later No hatch ... yet.	SW
4/24 Conclusions so far: 6 out of 10 mornings Buckeye was on the eggs ... Buckeye is not a morning bird ... he prefers to be on the nest in the early hour(s), or possibly he realizes SW needs a break after a long night ~ stretch wings, morning constitutional, etc. It is difficult to tell when they switch since it is dark. 7 out of 10 SW was on the nest at night.