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The Peregrine chicks are now left alone in the nest for long periods of time. But you can be sure that at least one parent keeps a close eye on the nest box at all times – most often from a perch on a nearby building. Yesterday the chicks moved themselves to the far corner of the box where all 3 stayed huddled close together. The afternoon sun was intense and that corner was the shadiest place to be, but now a day later they still remain in the same spot. The parents haven’t tried to move them, nor have they attempted to move the sterile egg. At least 2 feedings took place this morning that I know of. The fare for the 2nd feeding was a Black-billed Cuckoo. Obviously this bird was not caught in the City. Prey like the cuckoo and other non-urban songbirds tells us that during this nesting season the falcons are relying on every bit of their extended hunting territory. The territory of a pair of Peregrines is normally 3 to 5 miles.

Yesterday afternoon we began seeing the Peregrine chicks left by themselves for short periods. This is completely normal. The chicks are about a week old now and temperatures have been warm enough to keep them comfortable. There is also no longer any need to incubate the 4^th egg. While always keeping a watchful eye on the nest, both parents will now be spending more time hunting in order to meet the demands of the rapidly growing chicks. Last night I traveled Downtown to confirm what was happening with the adults. Astrid was just returning to the box when I arrived and Ares was perched nearby on Hotel Utica. There he was busy plucking the feathers off of some freshly caught prey. When he finished his task he took the meal straight over to the nest box – calling the whole way.

I checked the falcon cam at around 4:30 this morning and was a little surprised to see that a feeding was already in progress. It was still pretty dark in the box and so I could only just make out what was happening. Though it is possible that Astrid was feeding the chicks the remains of a meal that had been previously stored in the box, it is just as likely that this food was freshly rustled up by one of the parents in the pre-dawn hours. One of the advantages of being city dwelling falcons is that light pollution can be used to their advantage. Certainly the amount of time these birds can devote to hunting in a 24 hour period is much greater than what their mountain dwelling counterparts can manage.

Ares gets a rare chance to feed the chicks

It’s now safe to say now that the 4th egg is not going to hatch. It’s not at all unusual for Peregrines to have a single infertile egg in with the clutch. Interestingly, the parents will likely continue to protect the egg and even incubate it for a while yet. Ultimately though they will push it over to the side of the box. While it remains together with the chicks, we can use it to measure just how fast they are growing. The growth rate of these birds is amazing; they almost visibly grow before our eyes. Brooding them is literally getting to be a bigger and bigger job for the parents.

There is still a possibility that the 4^th egg will hatch, but obviously as the days go by that possibility becomes less likely. It was thought that a pip was seen on that egg 3 days ago, but it may have been just a stain or something else. Could it still hatch? Yes, but today may be the last realistic chance. Meanwhile we’ve seen some interesting diversity in the prey species being brought back to the nest. It has not just been Pigeons and other urban dwelling species. For instance, yesterday an Eastern Kingbird was brought in and early this morning a Black-billed Cuckoo was the breakfast fare. Obviously the parents are leaving the immediate Downtown area in order to hunt for these species. I suspect the Utica Marsh and other parts of the Mohawk River Floodplain are being visited.