Connie and Clive have first egg of 2024 season…Tuesday in Bird World
19 November 2024
Hello Everyone,
Because of the latest news, Tuesdays posting will be going out late afternoon Monday. I will be back with you on Wednesday unless there is a brief announcement about new eggs or Yira.
Latest News: Connie and Clive have their first egg at Captiva! Clive was in attendance giving support to Connie during the labour.
It was 7 C on the Canadian Prairies. The sky was ice-grey. There were several deer crossing the roads in the country on the way home from our walk. There is also a huge Buck that has been photographed in our neighbourhood along with some other deer. They come up from the river. I think they are hungry. There are areas of our City where people feed the deer regularly in the winter. There is too much traffic here and I wish they would move on down the river where it is safer.
‘The Girls’ and, in particular, Hugo Yugo and Missey have been ‘interested’ in the pine cones and boughs being added to the table. I am interested in having some quiet time. The wood is crackling, the spiced tea is in the cup, and Ronald Blythe’s books have arrived. Hoping to get half an hour. Wish me luck.
We all have our favourites, but Mum at Port Lincoln is so beautiful and so talented. There are few females who get off the nest and bring fish to their chicks. Mum has been showing us just how good she is at catching fish off that barge for several days. It is awesome. I hope that Wilko and Kasse are watching and imprinting this behaviour.
On the 18th, she delivered 3 fish. Dad came in with 6 and the Fish Fairies arrived. Thank goodness for those supplementary fish. These kids are growing. They are standing and soon they will be walking all over that nest. Isn’t it wonderful?!
It really was a fish bonanza on Monday.
Today is the 19th in Orange Australia. There has been no positive sighting of Yira since the 15th on a posted video. There is, however, a video of a bird flying past the tower that Cilla Kinross posted. There are questions about the identity of the bird. There is no firm confirmation that it was Yira. https://youtu.be/VV__2Ut4AsY?
Both Diamond and Xavier had huge crops Tuesday morning. There is nothing in the behaviour of Diamond and Xavier that gives me confidence that Yira is still alive. No flying demonstrations, no prey drops between parents, no alerting. Nothing. She needs food – we would see, someone would see Diamond and/or Xavier alerting and delivering. Instead, they are eating and getting full crops. I would like very much to be wrong. I will place Yira on the Memorial Wall tomorrow and will remove her if we get a sighting.
I really wish we knew. Diamond and Xavier worked so hard and gave these two eyases such a wonderful life in the scrape.
Xavier’s crop bursting. He is the cutest little falcon. We all adore him. He loves his eggies and is such a good dad.
Diamond sleeping on ledge of scrape with a popping crop.
Diamond looking down from the scrape watching for Yira???????
I wondered about the survival rate between rural versus urban peregrine falcons. This is an AI generated response to that search:
Urban peregrine falcons may have a higher survival rate and breeding success than rural peregrine falcons:
Survival rate: Adult peregrine falcons have an annual survival rate of 80–85%.
Breeding success: Urban peregrine falcons have a higher probability of successful nesting attempts (94% vs. 78% in rural areas) and produce more chicks that fledge.
Urban peregrines may have a higher survival rate and breeding success due to the availability of suitable nesting sites and prey in urban environments. However, some populations may breed in suboptimal locations and become trapped by their environment.
Peregrine falcons are apex predators that live in mountain ranges, river valleys, and along coastlines. They were once near-extinct in North America due to the widespread use of pesticides like DDT after World War II. However, the species has made a comeback in recent years. In Canada, the peregrine falcon is endangered and there are an estimated 5,000–50,000 adult peregrine falcons.
A very short, but good blog read on first-year peregrine falcon survival rates:
Another really good look at Peregrine Falcon return from near extinction from DDT to the present. Written by a librarian in Georgia, there are some good references and notes.
There have been no reports from Judy Harrington or anyone near the Olympic Park forest regarding the status of SE 33 who is in care today.
Gabby and Beau have no eggs yet. I must check the other nests, including Pa and Missey Berry in Georgia. Gosh, we could see some more soon. I understand Blaze and Abby have had their nest trees by the recent hurricanes, but are working on restoring it. There is, I believe, an issue with the camera. Please feel free to correct me!
No eagles at Dulles-Greenway.
I wonder if the Majestics are going to get that storm that is churning in Kansas set to hit us? I bet they will. Both eagles there on Monday.
Sharon Dunne brings us Ranger Sharyn’s latest report:
Jackie and Shadow are always putting smiles on our face! Always. I am trying to imagine them picking paint colours or furniture. https://youtu.be/YEo8K9ATXsQ?
I am going to close and be back with you Wednesday morning. The news of Connie and Clive is too good to wait! Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to put together my post today: Window to Wildlife, NestFlix Memories, Falcon Cam Project, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Bart M and PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, AI Generated, Outside My Window, ResearchGate, NYC Peregrine Falcon Program, Terrain.org, Dulles-Greenway, Denton Homes, Sharon Dunne.
I went to the UK as a Commonwealth Scholar in 1990 and received my PhD from the University of Leicester in 1993. After three decades of university teaching, I retired to devote my time to the study of raptor behaviour. I am particularly interested in Ospreys and am working on a long term project on third hatch survival and siblicide in these raptors. My blog is a result of a fascination with my local wildlife and the desire to encourage others to love and care for birds! I live on the Canadian Prairies and prior to the pandemic travelled a lot. I am questioning the use of aviation fuel at the moment as we all strive to help our planet. My early research was in politics and art including British public statues exported to Southeast Asia and Vietnam Resistors that contributed much to Canadian ceramics. Books and articles were published on those subjects over a period of 3 decades. Now I am working on books for children so they can learn about the challenges our raptors face.
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