Friday, April 25, 2008
De Mortel : 4 eyases
For the past days we have been wondering and counting and watching and not knowing if we have 3 or 4 eyases. Today S2 finally let us in on her secret. This formidable falcon made her whole first clutch hatch. And that is quite a job!
But on the other hand, she and Pa did practise an awful lot to get pregnant. For weeks, several times a day. And our SuperPa well he did it again!
Both peregrines are excellent parents; S2 prooved last year in being a stepmother to Hope and Faith that she is very well capable of raising eyases. These 4 are being stuffed. And as usual she is making an enormous mess out of the nestbox. Already. Keeping left over prey items right beside her. Cuddling the eyases up in pigeonwings, leaving a headless bird nest to the eyases. She is quite messy lady. But we all love her dearly for it!
Zwolle: we have a hatch!
Two days ago the female was very excited, ruffling with the eggs, listening to the, screaming to her male. And tonight at 19:10 the first ever eyas for this couple hatched!
It is great event not only for this peregrine couple, but for the Werkgroep Slechtvalken Nederland and their sponsor Electrabel as well! The webcam in the nestbox is livestreaming, so we can watch the growing up of the eyases.
James River Bridge: they are so beautiful
The 3 beauties are growing so fast. They are getting their flight feathers. It it very well visible in some of the pics. And they are turning from lovely adorable eyases into little birds, very great ones that is. No bird, or better creature is so magical and phenomenal as the Peregrine falcon.
Richmond: a tragedy!
Last night around 6 o'clock in Richmond the first egg of Harriet and Ozzie hatched. We saw great pics on the cams which zoomed in so close we could see the little thing crawl out of the egg and being pushed onder the feathers by Harriet. So sweet. But the eyas did not look good. It was blue-black around the belly region.
Harriet took the shell and put her beak in it, got something of the allantois and seemed not satisfied with what she tasted.
When morning brooke we saw the eyas dead in the nestbox covered with flies. What had happened? The second egg had a pip and Harriet appeared to be all stressed out. She was watching the pipped egg, and then we saw how she started to pick in to the hole, and broke off pieces of shell, picked once more. Then she grabbed the eyas in the egg, got up and flew away with the eyas in the egg. When she came back she got the corps of the other dead eyas and brought that one away as well.
Ozzie took over and he started brooding the leftover eggs, and there was a pip in one of them. Or did she pick the shell open herself. It did not look like a pip of an eyas. What was in it did not look healthy at all. Blackish, not pink. And the pip was not in the right place. Harriet was stressed out, and was panting. Poor thing
Nothing is so upsetting for peregrines as the death of an eyas or a broken egg, let alone 3 in less than 24 hours.
First of all this is in no way confused behaviour of the female. She is not killing her eyases just like that. She is doing a very great job. The eyases in the egg are very ill. She has to kill them because they are to ill to survive. That is extremely stressfull for this female.
What can be wrong? It is dangerous to engage in all kinds of speculation. But it is obvious something is very wrong. What can it be. The first thing that comes to mind is an infection that has made the whole clutch ill. There are a lot of micro organisms that can be transferred to the egg by the mother and become deadly for the embryo or make it very ill. The embryo however will develop or even hatch but will die very soon after. Or die while hatching.
A micro organism can be directly transferred from the mother to the egg in the ovary,this is called transovarian infection. The micro organisms are added to the egg just before the shell is formed in the shellgland.
Another possibility is an infection by micro organisms and fungi after the eggs are laid and not being brooded yet. These micro organanism grow explosively under normal room temperature.
These are known for their deadly effect: Salmonella, Chlamidya, Coli, and Herpes are possibilities.
I do hope it will be possible for the biologists to do a necropsy to figure out what has happenend.
For Harriet and Ozzie this is a tragedy. It is however still early in the season, they may start a second clutch.
Harriet took the shell and put her beak in it, got something of the allantois and seemed not satisfied with what she tasted.
When morning brooke we saw the eyas dead in the nestbox covered with flies. What had happened? The second egg had a pip and Harriet appeared to be all stressed out. She was watching the pipped egg, and then we saw how she started to pick in to the hole, and broke off pieces of shell, picked once more. Then she grabbed the eyas in the egg, got up and flew away with the eyas in the egg. When she came back she got the corps of the other dead eyas and brought that one away as well.
Ozzie took over and he started brooding the leftover eggs, and there was a pip in one of them. Or did she pick the shell open herself. It did not look like a pip of an eyas. What was in it did not look healthy at all. Blackish, not pink. And the pip was not in the right place. Harriet was stressed out, and was panting. Poor thing
Nothing is so upsetting for peregrines as the death of an eyas or a broken egg, let alone 3 in less than 24 hours.
First of all this is in no way confused behaviour of the female. She is not killing her eyases just like that. She is doing a very great job. The eyases in the egg are very ill. She has to kill them because they are to ill to survive. That is extremely stressfull for this female.
What can be wrong? It is dangerous to engage in all kinds of speculation. But it is obvious something is very wrong. What can it be. The first thing that comes to mind is an infection that has made the whole clutch ill. There are a lot of micro organisms that can be transferred to the egg by the mother and become deadly for the embryo or make it very ill. The embryo however will develop or even hatch but will die very soon after. Or die while hatching.
A micro organism can be directly transferred from the mother to the egg in the ovary,this is called transovarian infection. The micro organisms are added to the egg just before the shell is formed in the shellgland.
Another possibility is an infection by micro organisms and fungi after the eggs are laid and not being brooded yet. These micro organanism grow explosively under normal room temperature.
These are known for their deadly effect: Salmonella, Chlamidya, Coli, and Herpes are possibilities.
I do hope it will be possible for the biologists to do a necropsy to figure out what has happenend.
For Harriet and Ozzie this is a tragedy. It is however still early in the season, they may start a second clutch.
Cobb Island: so sweet!
Three very cute eyases. One is the boss, it's obvious. The third egg has not hatched and will not either. Remember when the eggs where laid, one of them got droppings all over it. That means great danger of infection. And apparently it did get infected. The embryo will not develop and so the egg becomes not vaible.
Rome eyases banded!
Yesterday April 24 the Rome eyases where banded and named.
Tati:
Anello: colore verde n. CF 2213 / ring : colour green Code CF 2213
Peso: gr. 550 / weight gr 550
Ala: mm. 102 / wing mm 102
Ponentino:
Anello: colore argento n. CF 2214 / ring silver code CF 2214Peso: gr. 526 / weight gr 526
Ala: mm. 98 / wing mm 98
Tati:
Anello: colore verde n. CF 2213 / ring : colour green Code CF 2213
Peso: gr. 550 / weight gr 550
Ala: mm. 102 / wing mm 102
Ponentino:
Anello: colore argento n. CF 2214 / ring silver code CF 2214Peso: gr. 526 / weight gr 526
Ala: mm. 98 / wing mm 98
Florence: very special
These eyases are very special to me. I'm very honored I've been invited to give the eldest eyas of this nest a name.
I have choosen the name Ariosta or Ariosto. Because it has "air"in it and the name means skilled fighter. And a peregrine is a very skilled and courageous warrior.
An honorable creature I love very very dearly.
So dear Ariosta grow up to be a wonderful and strong peregrine falcon and conquer the sky.
What a day
When this day comes to an end we have seen many beautiful things, but sadly also things of sorrow.
In De Mortel we finally saw our 4th eyas, and we are overjoyed. In Zwolle the first eyas hatched. But in Eemsmond something is very wrong. There should have been a hatch 4 days ago.
In Cleveland things are going great with the three eyases, in James River Bridge the three eyases are growing up to big healthy chicks. The Cobb cuties are very sweet.
Italy doing fine, also the three sweeties in Indianapolis.
But big drama in Richmond. After 33 days of incubation the first chick hatched but was found dead the next morning. And I saw how the female killed the second one while it was hatching and did the same with the third. I saw the stress she was under.
A day with two faces.
In De Mortel we finally saw our 4th eyas, and we are overjoyed. In Zwolle the first eyas hatched. But in Eemsmond something is very wrong. There should have been a hatch 4 days ago.
In Cleveland things are going great with the three eyases, in James River Bridge the three eyases are growing up to big healthy chicks. The Cobb cuties are very sweet.
Italy doing fine, also the three sweeties in Indianapolis.
But big drama in Richmond. After 33 days of incubation the first chick hatched but was found dead the next morning. And I saw how the female killed the second one while it was hatching and did the same with the third. I saw the stress she was under.
A day with two faces.
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