Rochester

Click this photo of Maria and be dazzled by her beauty...

Making more eggs

More intimate moments

Four treasures

Well I caught Kaver and Mariah mating! So there are more eggs to come. And that is great! We will just to wait and see, will the clutch be 5 or 6?

Nijmegen: territorial battle!

In the afternoon of this sunday we saw on the webcams an intruding female on the ledge and coming into the nestbox. The male peregrine was there immediately, but stayed on the ledge.

The 2 females where fighting in the box. And it was some fierce battle. Our female had all her feathers stucked up to frighten off the intruder. Just watch the video and you can see what happened. The video was made by Arjen Rodenhuis.

http://www.youtube.com/user/arjenmax

Later that evening one of the members of our DenkTank was there in Nijmegen and saw a second battle in which our female gave the intruder quite a beating with her wings. The intruder fell of the ledge. Good riddance that was indeed. Way to go girl!

http://slechtvalken.blogspot.com/search/label/Nijmegen

Columbus Ohio

Still the same. 1 Egg, and 2 very confused peregrines.

In the pic below it looks like she is laying, but she was not.

Maybe there is an egg on it's way afterall?

Zwolle

Sussex Heights: winterwonderland

Oberhausen

Well..... I'm afraid this is all we have been seeing all day. The cams where stuck again, so no eyases. No idea how they are. How the little one is doing. We all do hope things are working again tomorrow!

Terminal Tower Cleveland

Zurich

The male is keeping an eye on things while the female is breeding inside the alcove on the left.

And he's preening, of course. It's a matter of life and death. It really is. Preening, keeping the feathers well looked after is no vanity. It's serious business. The feathers have to be waterproof, they have to be impregnated with oil from the preening gland. The featherbarbs must be zipped together again. So it is waterproof as well as airtight to keep the isolationfunction optimal. So peregrine falcons spend a great deal of time on preening.

De Mortel

Breeding, changing guards, we are so happy that we can watch the images again. And be there with our so beloved S2 and Pa. Thanks to Alticom who is the new owner of the tower and InterNl.net our new sponsors.

We expect the eyases to hatch in 2 weeks at the 19th. So exciting!!

Rome

The final days before hatching.

Expected hatchdate: April 8, so it won't be long before we can welcome the first eyas overhere!

Richmond

Hatching here: not for 3 weeks. Expected hatchday: April 24

Derby: egg turning

James River Bridge

I won't take very long now. The little eyases are preparing to hatch. That will probably be the day after tomorrow when the first one will make it's escape.

Because of the fact that the space inside the egg is getting very thight the chick has to take care to move it's head into the right position in time.

About 3 days before hatching it moves it's head under it's right wing with his beak towards the expanding aircell. The head should along the longside of the egg, only then the eyas will be able to cut and break the eggshell in half.

The last couple of days before hatching are of rest, of getting enough energy to make the escape. All the eggwhite has been consumed, there is however yolk left. This is being sucked up into the abdomen via the cloaca. This yolk contains enough nutrients to feed the eyas during the first 24-48 hours after hatching.

And then there is that important moment when the chorion-allantoide membranes can no longer supply the eyas with enough oxygen anymore. Suffocation leads to contraction of the hatchmuscle in the neck and this makes the eggtooth to pipp through the aircellmembrane. For the first time the chick breathes through it's lungs. And screams.......

The parents react immediately to this soft screaming from within the egg.

It will take another 24 hours before the oxygen depletes in the aircell and again suffocation makes the hatchmuscle to contract and the eyas pipps the eggshell.

It will keep on pipping and turning, pipping and turning untill it has broken the eggshell in two halves before it finally hatches. It is really something else. A very exhausting job for such a dear little fragile creature to get out!

Harrisburg

Dad having trouble with a feather in his beak. He can't get it off. Some prey taking revenge....

Bologna eyases

Florence

Video of the installation of the webcam. This has been done after it was discovered that peregrines have been nesting in an alcove for a long time.

Eemsmond

Breeding goni on in Eemsmond in The North part of the Nerherlands. The nestbox is on a chimney of the Dutch electricity company Electrabel. The peregrines have a great view over the sea.

Expected hatchdate: April 19

Cobb Island

A glimps of the 4 eggs, and both male and female. Expected hatchdate: 21-4. A long way to go!

Sussex Heights: snow

Snow in the nestbox. Must be very cold up there in the snow and the wind. Dear falcon hold on, it won't last that long. Wheather forecast fro Brighton see picture!