All pictures are courtesy Chad and Chris Saladin ©
Chris and Chad Saladin will cover fledging of the 4 Terminal Tower Juveniles. Here are some more amazing photo's they made of the Fab Four. Fledging is expected any day now.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Terminal Tower Cleveland
All pictures are courtesy Chad and Chris Saladin ©
Chris and Chad Saladin will cover fledging of the 4 Terminal Tower Juveniles. Here are some more amazing photo's they made of the Fab Four. Fledging is expected any day now.
Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project
The eldest 2 eyases are 30 days old now. Look how beautiful the feathers shine through the white down. The remiges and retrices are growuing real fast now.
The eyases where looking real round and fat but now their shape is changing as well. You can see the difference between the stages very well by comparing the eldest with the youngest. As I was watching the feeding of 5 oçlock I noticed how the youngest was waiting his turn. In the other box. He did not come forward untill the others where finished eating. Remarkable. Can hardly believe he was really waiting, have to observe this one.
After eating they always start hopflapping. Beautiful wings showing!
http://derbyperegrines.blogspot.com/
Peregrine Falcon FAQ
Q. How much food does a peregrine eat in a day?
A. A peregrine eats the equivalent of one quail-sized bird per day or more. We have documented the remains of more than 200 different species of prey in peregrine falcon nests in California. On a given day a peregrine falcon might eat most of a pigeon, or part of a duck, or two or more sparrow sized birds to meet its nutritional needs. The chicks eat considerably more than this daily as they quickly grow.
Q. Where do peregrines get their water?
A. Peregrines get all the water they need for survival directly from the food they eat. However, they do like to drink water and bathe in it if it's available in a safe and secure location.
Q. Do Peregrine falcons have any predators?
A. In non-urban settings great horned owls, golden eagles, and large mammals may prey on young falcons in the nest or at fledging. However, in urban areas Peregrines have relatively few predators. They will battle with any intruding peregrines.
Q. What do Peregrine falcons eat? How do they obtain food?
A. Peregrines primarily eat birds they catch in the air. A peregrine will typically fly above its prey, then fold its wings and dive or "stoop" at the other bird and grab it or strike it in the air, then retrieving the stunned or dead bird in mid-air. Urban peregrines tend to eat a lot of pigeons, and this pair is no exception, but they eat a variety of the species available.
Q. Why do some eggs not hatch? Is this because of DDT, or a clumsy parent, or temperature related?
A. Not all eggs are necessarily fertile, and some fertile eggs just don't hatch, much as some human pregnancies aren't carried to term. If any eggs remain intact when we band chicks, we'll collect them for pesticide analysis, and we'll be able to tell if they were fertile. "Urban" peregrines tend to be relatively "clean" of pesticides compared to those in "wilder" environments. This is probably because they eat more pigeons and starlings, which are lower on the food chain, so accumulate fewer pesticides than, say, wading birds that eat invertebrates in a marsh.
Q. If some of the eggs won’t hatch, why do the adults continue to incubate them?
A. Eventually, they do stop incubating. When we used to remove thin-shelled eggs from wild nests for captive incubation, and replace them with artificial eggs, we knew we had to replace the latter with chicks at or near the "due date", or the adults would have abandoned the nest and not accepted the fostered chicks.
Q. What happens after fledging? How long does it take for a youngster to learn to hunt successfully? Do both parents stay around for that process?
A. It takes most young peregrines about six weeks to learn to hunt, and become independent. At first they are tentative, but within a few days, when a chick becomes more proficient at flying, the adults will begin passing food in the air, which will provide training in agility in addition to lunch. Normally there are siblings to "crab" with (play with in the air using talons and etc., honing flight skills), but if the nest only contained a single chick, it may turn most of its attention, as all young peregrines do, to easy targets such as dragonflies, or large birds to "tag", etc. Gradually they turn to more appropriate prey. The adults will continue to feed them as necessary until they have the skill to confidently feed themselves, at which point they will leave the territory and strike out on their own.
A. A peregrine eats the equivalent of one quail-sized bird per day or more. We have documented the remains of more than 200 different species of prey in peregrine falcon nests in California. On a given day a peregrine falcon might eat most of a pigeon, or part of a duck, or two or more sparrow sized birds to meet its nutritional needs. The chicks eat considerably more than this daily as they quickly grow.
Q. Where do peregrines get their water?
A. Peregrines get all the water they need for survival directly from the food they eat. However, they do like to drink water and bathe in it if it's available in a safe and secure location.
Q. Do Peregrine falcons have any predators?
A. In non-urban settings great horned owls, golden eagles, and large mammals may prey on young falcons in the nest or at fledging. However, in urban areas Peregrines have relatively few predators. They will battle with any intruding peregrines.
Q. What do Peregrine falcons eat? How do they obtain food?
A. Peregrines primarily eat birds they catch in the air. A peregrine will typically fly above its prey, then fold its wings and dive or "stoop" at the other bird and grab it or strike it in the air, then retrieving the stunned or dead bird in mid-air. Urban peregrines tend to eat a lot of pigeons, and this pair is no exception, but they eat a variety of the species available.
Q. Why do some eggs not hatch? Is this because of DDT, or a clumsy parent, or temperature related?
A. Not all eggs are necessarily fertile, and some fertile eggs just don't hatch, much as some human pregnancies aren't carried to term. If any eggs remain intact when we band chicks, we'll collect them for pesticide analysis, and we'll be able to tell if they were fertile. "Urban" peregrines tend to be relatively "clean" of pesticides compared to those in "wilder" environments. This is probably because they eat more pigeons and starlings, which are lower on the food chain, so accumulate fewer pesticides than, say, wading birds that eat invertebrates in a marsh.
Q. If some of the eggs won’t hatch, why do the adults continue to incubate them?
A. Eventually, they do stop incubating. When we used to remove thin-shelled eggs from wild nests for captive incubation, and replace them with artificial eggs, we knew we had to replace the latter with chicks at or near the "due date", or the adults would have abandoned the nest and not accepted the fostered chicks.
Q. What happens after fledging? How long does it take for a youngster to learn to hunt successfully? Do both parents stay around for that process?
A. It takes most young peregrines about six weeks to learn to hunt, and become independent. At first they are tentative, but within a few days, when a chick becomes more proficient at flying, the adults will begin passing food in the air, which will provide training in agility in addition to lunch. Normally there are siblings to "crab" with (play with in the air using talons and etc., honing flight skills), but if the nest only contained a single chick, it may turn most of its attention, as all young peregrines do, to easy targets such as dragonflies, or large birds to "tag", etc. Gradually they turn to more appropriate prey. The adults will continue to feed them as necessary until they have the skill to confidently feed themselves, at which point they will leave the territory and strike out on their own.
Oberhausen: end of the season
And closing with the renewal of the bond between the Oberhausen couple.
We wish the 3 juvies a long and proper life: fly free...soar high
Be good and until next season in 2009!
Avian Muscle System
Avian Muscle System
A bird has some 175 different muscles controlling the movements of its wings, legs, feet, tongue, eyes, ears, neck, lungs, sound-producing organs, body wall and skin. Collectively, the muscles are concentrated near the bird's center of gravity.
Largest of all the muscles are the breast muscles, or pectorals. These muscles form the bulk of the fleshy mass in the breast and constitute about 15 to 20 percent of the bird's total body weight. They also provide the powerful downstroke of the wing and therefore bear most of the burden of supporting a bird in flight.
The supracoracoideus -- the muscle that raises the wing -- acts as the antagonist to the pectorals. This muscle is located below the pectoral muscles ventrally (on the front side). Together, these two muscles constitute about 25 to 35 percent of a bird's body weight. Besides the supracoracoideus there are numerous other small muscles of the wing that allow a bird to control flight.
Other muscles that play a critical role in flight are the skin muscles. The involuntary skin muscles, for example, which are attached to almost every feather follicle, can raise, lower, or move feathers sideways to assist a bird in its flight maneuvers.
The trunk and tail muscles are few, but extremely mobile and complex. One of these muscles, the pygostyle, supports the tail feathers and controls their entire range of movement.
"The thin, stringy muscles of the vertebral column control the elaborate lateral and ventral movements of the head and neck. Some of these muscles extend only from one vertebra to the next, and others link the movements of long series of vertebrae.
A bird has some 175 different muscles controlling the movements of its wings, legs, feet, tongue, eyes, ears, neck, lungs, sound-producing organs, body wall and skin. Collectively, the muscles are concentrated near the bird's center of gravity.
Largest of all the muscles are the breast muscles, or pectorals. These muscles form the bulk of the fleshy mass in the breast and constitute about 15 to 20 percent of the bird's total body weight. They also provide the powerful downstroke of the wing and therefore bear most of the burden of supporting a bird in flight.
The supracoracoideus -- the muscle that raises the wing -- acts as the antagonist to the pectorals. This muscle is located below the pectoral muscles ventrally (on the front side). Together, these two muscles constitute about 25 to 35 percent of a bird's body weight. Besides the supracoracoideus there are numerous other small muscles of the wing that allow a bird to control flight.
Other muscles that play a critical role in flight are the skin muscles. The involuntary skin muscles, for example, which are attached to almost every feather follicle, can raise, lower, or move feathers sideways to assist a bird in its flight maneuvers.
The trunk and tail muscles are few, but extremely mobile and complex. One of these muscles, the pygostyle, supports the tail feathers and controls their entire range of movement.
"The thin, stringy muscles of the vertebral column control the elaborate lateral and ventral movements of the head and neck. Some of these muscles extend only from one vertebra to the next, and others link the movements of long series of vertebrae.
Brighton Sussex Heights
The eyases don't show themselves anymore in front of the webcam, they are out on the ledge hop-flapping and exercising their flightmuscles.It won't be long now before the first one will fledge
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