Something strange has been happening at the nest. Have you been watching the FalconCam archives of pictures?
Here’s the story. The first egg arrived safe and sound and Scott Wright, nest monitor at this site for 15 years, arrived just as there was a “shift change” at the nest.
Mr. Wright tells us: “The area around the remaining egg was covered in YUCK! If you crack an egg and let it sit, it gets very hard, covering whatever it’s broken on. I saw a small clump of stones stuck together in the broken egg area. As the egg white hardens, the birds would have a very hard time stirring the eggs, and it would be very hard for the birds to incubate an egg on a hard lump of a scrape.
Also do not be surprised if broken shell disappears. The females will often eat the broken shells to replace minerals they lost making the eggs.”
Buckeye took over “egg-sitting” duties and inspected his first egg. Mr. Wright tells us, “The male will smell his new egg to get its scent.... I once saw a male tasting the egg, opening up his beak and gently touching the egg with his tongue!!
Mr. B was looking up and I went to another window and saw SW high up soaring around Key Tower, then she landed way at the top. She is right below the red navigational light on the right.”
The second egg arrived 2 days later in the evening.
The next morning, Mr. Wright returned to the nest and reports: “Got to the nest at 9am. No one was on the nest. I looked into the nest and said a very bad word out loud a few times”.
Mr. Wright believes that the egg had broken under SW and that it was the second egg that broke.
In this picture Mr. Wright says that Buckeye arrived to look over the damage, but he refused to incubate the remaining egg.
Most peregrines have three or four eggs, with young females producing less and some females having five or even seven eggs. However, it seems to be difficult for most peregrine parents to keep up with feeding more than 4 hungry growing chicks.
Here's an idea for kids who like to read. A popular book called "Frightful's Mountain", by Jean Craighead George, is a story about a peregrine falcon named Frightful and how she makes her way in the world, including having her first chicks. It's a dramatic story told from the bird's point of view. Lots of kids like this book, and it will help make learning about peregrines more real.
