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Update for Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Today, the first hatch of the season occurred between 12:38 and 12:45 PM, unveiling a freshly hatched, damp, rosy chick at precisely 12:45 PM. Astrid shielded the hatchling from view by promptly tucking it beneath her. Subsequently, she retrieved the fractured eggshell from beneath her and intermittently nibbled on it throughout the afternoon. Around 2:50 PM, Ares arrived at the nest and insisted on having a turn with the clutch. Witnessing the hatchling for the first time, he looked a bit confounded. He then took on the role of babysitter briefly. Later in the day, he brought in food, which Astrid duly accepted. After having a share she proceeded to conduct the first feeding of the chick. Despite its unsteady footing, the hatchling persevered and between tumbles, managing to partake in a few bites. Notably, there appears to be a potential pip on one of the remaining three eggs, although confirmation is pending.

Update for Monday, April 29, 2024

Astrid began shuffling the eggs at about 6:30 PM this evening. This is something she does to induce hatching. Possibly she was hearing a chick calling from inside an egg and perhaps feeling it move. At one point when she came off the clutch to dig in the corner of the box, we noticed what appeared to be a pip in one of the eggs. This means we may have a hatch as early as tonight or as late as tomorrow night. If it happens tonight, it would be the earliest hatch we’ve ever had at this nest.  

The 30^th Day on Continuous Incubation – No Pip and No Hatch Yet

So, according to the Falcon Etiquette Handbook, Chapter 3, Section 7, Subsection B, Clause 4, it’s written in bold font: “Male Peregrines shall not, under any circumstances, take nighttime incubation shifts.” But guess who missed that memo? Ares, the maverick falcon who prefers winging it over reading dry ornithological textbooks. Last night, when Astrid took her unscheduled break from nest duty at the fashionably late hour of 12:30 AM, Ares swooped, ready to play Mr. Mom. When Astrid returned 2 1/2 hours later, Ares, dug in his talons and refused to budge for 7 minutes. Some impatient chirping finally convinced him to skedaddle. One can only imagine Ares flying off into the night, muttering about needing to catch up on his Falcon Code of Conduct reading.

Well, today’s egg report is in, and alas, no pips, or cracks, or peeps, or chicks – not yet anyhow.  But fear not, dear egg enthusiasts, for as we’ve hinted before, the grand hatching will most likely start happening on Tuesday or Wednesday. Nevertheless, our egg-watch duties continue unabated, with each egg receiving its fair share of scrutiny whenever we manage to glimpse them during changeovers.

Update for Saturday, April 27, 2024

We tried to get good looks at the eggs during each changeover today to see if any were pipped or had hatched. We saw nothing of the kind. Also, there were no audible sounds emanating from the eggs, and Astrid refrained from shuffling them, a behavior she typically employs to induce hatching. However, the falcons did a lot more changeovers than usual. Generally, their turns on the eggs were shorter. Typically, when the eggs are nearing hatching, Astrid is reluctant to depart from them, yet today she seemed less hesitant, leaving them multiple times without much persuasion. In one instance during the afternoon, Astrid had some difficulty persuading Ares to get off the eggs. She started out using gentle persuasion being quite nice about it using gentle persuasion and tenderly beaking with him,. But after 7 minutes of “nice” not working, she resorted to stepping on him and unceremoniously shoving him off the eggs.

Update for Friday, April 26, 2024

Today, we entered the hatch window, but there were no indications that any of the eggs were nearing hatching. This outcome was expected, as we anticipate the eggs will require a few more days. However, in the afternoon, a Peregrine intruder stirred both Astrid and Ares into action. Despite Ares being in the midst of incubating, he left the eggs unattended to assist Astrid in handling the intruder. Ares returned to the nest after eight minutes, while Astrid continued to confront the intruder alone. The intruder, identified as a female, prompted Astrid to take charge. They were spotted sparring and heading northward. Astrid was not seen in the canyon for over an hour afterward, indicating she was maintaining vigilance.

On Friday afternoon in Little Falls, a hatch was confirmed at the nest on that Adirondack Bank building ledge. The female, Anna, was seen bringing food back to the nest and feeding at least one hatchling. FYI – there are no cameras on that nest, so we have no photos.