Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Rochester
10 more days to go for Mariah and Kaver and teh the first eyas will hatch. If everything goes well it will be a very full house indeed with 5 eyases. Kaver will be very busy catching prey for Mariah and his 5 eyases. But we all know what an excellente father this tiercel is. He knows how to provide for his mate and offspring.
This is the familytree of de Rochesters. Click to enlarge
Read more about the Rochesters on Imprints:
Oberhausen: so beautiful
Nightfall in Oberhausen Germany with magnificent colors
This keeps amazing me daily. The photo's are so awesome. These chicks are growing into real juvi's. The females are turning brown now as well. And all three are exploring the ledge. And excersing their wings frequently. You can see very well now, how the feathers are breaking through two kinds of down. The real one that will stay on and forms the warm and isolating underlayers on the skin. And the down that sticks to the top of the feathers and was pushed out of the feather follicle.
Feather anatomy
Feathers are made out of keratin, the same protein found in hair and nails. Feathers have a central shaft. The smooth, unpigmented base, which extends under the skin into the feather follicle, is called the calamus. The portion above the skin, from which the smaller barbs or branches extend, is termed the rachis or scapus. On each side of the rachis there is a set of filaments, called barbs, which come off at approximately a 45º angle. This portion of the feather that has barbs is called the vane. In the larger feathers, these barbs have two sets of microscopic filaments called barbules. Barbules from one barb cross the adjacent barbs at a 90º angle. Barbules, in turn, have hooklets, sometimes called hamuli or barbicels, which hook the barbules together, like a zipper, forming a tight, smooth surface. These maintain the shape of the feather. Without these strong linkages, the feather would not be able to withstand the air resistance during flight. The barbs or hooklets may become separated from each other; if this occurs, the bird can reattach them while preening. At the base of the feathers, there are often barbs that are not hooked together. These are called downy barbs.
Feathers with barbules and hooklets are termed "pennaceous," and one can think of them as the feathers that would be used for a quill pen. Feathers without barbules and hooklets, such as down feathers, are called "plumaceous" and have more the appearance of a plume. Some feathers have both pennaceous and plumaceous portions. Some feathers have what are called afterfeathers, or hypopenae, at the base of the vane in an area called the distal umbilicus. These, really, are barbs without hooks, which help trap air and offer some insulation.
Feathers are not arranged haphazardly on the bird, but in major distinct tracts called pterylae. The featherless areas between the pterylae are called apteria.
De Mortel: 10 days old
By day 10, the chicks have already grown visibly, but remain covered in white down with pink patches of skin still showing through in some areas.
James River Bridge: 3 weeks old
Around the three week point, the first juvenile feathers begin to poke through the down on the breast. The chicks continue to rest on their tarsi much of the time, rather than standing on their feet, but this balance shifts quickly in the days to follow.
Our three little darlings are becoming more and more fat. And they should. In this stage they seem to be nothing more that big bellies. Laying on top of eachother being very lazy. And least it looks like that. Babies need a lot of sleep, including these 3 babies. Sleep and food.
Look at the flightfeathers how they appear around the edges of the wings. The feathers are protected by the shafts they grow in. They will break off eventually.
Thfeathers that are growing are connecting by bloodvessels that feed them. They are very sensitive. Around every feather is a matrix of nervecells as well as musclecells. In this way it is possible for the bird to move each feather seperatively as well as specific ones together.
The primaries and the tailfeathers are the most important ones to be able to fly.
In this stage the feathers grow a few mm a day!!!
Sussex Heights Brighton: 4 hatchlings
The Sussex Heights Nestsite has 4 hatchlings. The last one hatched over night and participated in the feedings today. The male bird is often present at the ledge, keeping an eye on things. The little ones are offered every 2 hours.
There are 2 great video's on the Regency Brighton Site:
http://www.regencybrighton.com/birds/
De Mortel: very early
It's 6 o"clock in the morning and Pa brings breakfast for his S2 and the 4 eyases. Who are very hungry.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
De Mortel: S2 and Pa
Very early morning in a foggy spring morning in De Mortel near Gemert. Pa brings breakfast for his mate S2 and his 4 hatchlings in the nestbox. S2 has heard his arrival and gets out of the nestbox real fast. She takes over the meat to feed her hungry eyases. Pa is out hunting most of the day. De Alticom Tower in De Mortel near Gemert is standing in the middle of a great and beautiful nature area. Many passerines have their habitat here, together with small gamebirds, dear, foxes and so on. An awful lot of pigeons live here as well, flying round the tower in flocks. What more does can a peregrine falcon wish for: prey by the hundreds, height, a very luxerious nestbox and no competition. So Pa has his territory here for years now, for S2 everything is quite new. But I'm sure she never wants to leave again.
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