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De Mortel: bonding in the new nestbox

Today we watched the first visit Pa and S2 made to the new nestbox.
And they sure seemed to like it a lot.
It was a very beautiful sunny wintersday in the Netherlands today. Nature immediately reacts on the sunshine.
Pa and S2 decided to go to the new nestbox for serious bonding. They were ee-chupping and displayed some head-bow-low.

We are very happy with the new webcams. Just look at the amazing colors.!! Imagine what kind of awesome stream we will have next season!!

Derby Cathedral

Quests travels

Pic by John Kaar



A look at the map shows Quest returning to some of her favorite haunts on the Cape, including Wellfleet Bay and Monomoy Island. But the timestamps tell a different story.

Quest usually takes her trips to Monomoy during the day, but our most recent data inhttp://rfalconcam.com/imprints/dicates that she has actually been spending her nights on the tidal flat. We didn’t receive any good data for the 3rd but the data for the 29th, 2nd and 4th places her there in the early morning and late evening. On at least one occasion we were fortunate to get consecutive good data passes at hourly intervals indicating that she is indeed spending the night on the northern end of Monomoy Island.



The data points are so closely spaced that it appears she’s found a particular area she likes. The satellite image doesn’t show any structures nearby, so it’s not clear where she’s staying, but something on the island seems to appeal to her.

read more on Imprints

http://rfalconcam.com/imprints/

Rochester nestbox and Quest

As mentioned before the nestbox from Mariah and Kaver of Rochester has been removed from the Kodakbuilding. It was relocated on the Powers Building in Rochester back in October. Now 3 cams have been installed at the nestbox, so if Mariah decides to lay her eggs in 2009 in this nestbox we all will be able to watch it !





Watch this awesome photoshoot of Carol:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=171aim5l.46pyc70h&x=0&y=-xo1zqk&localeid=en_US

And read all about it on Imprints:

http://rfalconcam.com/imprints/


Quest in the meantime has been staying away from Monomoy, choosing instead to go into Chatham Port. In fact, the three data points in the Chatham area place her very close to the Middle School where she spent a few days back in September. Her night time destination continues to be Nickerson State Park.

Alcoa Anglesea: 2008 Season Video

You can also download the video from my website:

http://www.falcoperegrinus.nl/films/Alcoa_2008_end.wmv

Alcoa Anglesea: bonding behaviour

After the youngsters have left the nestsite we always see the adults, especially the male come back to the scrape. He is spending many hours over there standing in the entrance, perching. He will eventually go inside and start scraping bowles.

Many people have asked me, is there gonna be a new clutch. No way! Starting a clutch has everything to do with androgens, and the production of these is being influencend by the increasing amount of daylight hours in the spring. Now that summer is blooming, the daylight hours are not increasing anymore. The androgenlevels are dropping.





This behaviour of the male is all about bonding to the site. And to his partner. After the juvies have left the nestsite is his again. This is the site he picked for his female, it is his choice, his estate in a way and he is taking it back. He leaves his footprint. He is marking it again with bowles.





The female will enter as well and they will display in courtship behaviour: head-bow-low, eechupping. This is bonding behaviour, a conformation to eachother of the bond they have. Like a renewal of the vows in a way. It may even envolve copulations when the juvi's are still around.

So no second clutches but a very special bonding behaviour: we belong together. We have raised and fledged yet another healthy couple of juveniles. And we will do that together the next time at this nestsite.





Although copulations are only with the purpose of reproduction in the avian world, here it has a second function. The one of bonding, of confirming the pairbond. We see copulations as well during territorial disputes, With the same function: I belong to you, you belong to me. You'll make me strong I will fight for you.
And that makes these exeptional beings even more special.

Alcoa Anglesea: they have fledged!

They have left! All three juveniles have finally left the nestbox. Very early this morning, even before 6 the one juv that had spent the night in the nestbox flew off. Probably to join his brothers who were calling him to join them in the air. To play talon tag and chase eachother. For the 3 juvs the fun is really starting now. They can do at last what they were born for: to fly. To get stronger, to built up there flightmuscles. To learn how to fly, how to slip the bonds of the earth. How to chase the winds, how to climb the clouds.

In the upcoming weeks they will learn all the skills they need to know to be able to manage on their own. It are wonderful weeks of play, of talontag, chasing eachother, tumbling and turning, to tease pasing birds, to scare the hell out of small preybirds. It is exciting to watch them, and formost to listen to heir extatic laughter when they are having fun. The parents will always be near, and protect and guide them. They will be fed by them for many more weeks. They are stil dependant on them. And have to learn a lot.

For our 3 juvs, life has only just begun. The time in the nestbox is just a matter of growing until they can finally stretch their wings.

Of course I will keep on autocapturing the cam images, so if one lands on the nestledge I will have him! And I will tell you more about their weeks of training ahead.