It looks like SW has finished laying eggs - we hope all 4 will hatch. Last year, one of her eggs broke and a second failed to hatch. SW finished laying her eggs in snowy weather and the parents were very careful to keep the eggs covered. Here you see SW taking over egg-sitting duties as Buckeye departs.
As you monitor the FalconCam during incubation, you will almost always see a parent covering the precious eggs. A typical day in the life of SW and Buckeye during incubation finds SW doing most of the egg-sitting, as the female usually sits on the eggs for most of the day and throughout the night.
In the next picture, SW takes a mini-break to clean her feathers. This important bird activity is called “preening” and must be done to keep feathers clean and healthy. Mr. Wright tells us, “Feathers are a bird's pride and joy and often they will do feather maintenance before they eat or drink”.
Peregrine falcons are fierce predators, and their prey is other birds. One of the main reasons they have moved into cities is because there are so many birds available to hunt year-round. Peregrines dive for their food, a method that allows them to achieve great speed. A straight-down dive with wings folded to the sides is called a "stoop", and speed may reach 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) or more. It’s hard to get a picture of a bird flying this fast, but here’s one caught at the beginning of a stoop.
It is Buckeye’s job to hunt and bring back food for SW. Here is description of a hunting dive (a "stoop") from an eyewitness: "Saw Buckeye in a stoop. He went past my office window in an absolute vertical dive at a speed that startled me. It occurred at a moment (split second) that I happened to be glancing out the window at the lake. He missed his intended target, which I never saw, and flew to the top of the Marion Bldg. on West 3rd. Street. He stayed there for about three minutes and then flew to the roof of the Justice Center. I can only say that this bird's speed was incredible---like a bullet shot!!! I know their speed is estimated to be approximately 200MPH--but to actually see it is an incredible experience. I believe it was Buckeye based only on the size of the falcon."
Mr. Scott Wright, who has monitored this nestsite for many years, adds: "Actually, the speed is more like 250mph! I had a radar gun lent to me by MPH, (a company in Kentucky that makes radar guns for the police) and I had the gun for two years. I had Szell (an earlier male peregrine falcon at this nestsite) at over 250mph."
The falcon uses its talons to strike and/or grasp the prey in flight, and the impact is usually strong enough to kill the prey instantly. After the prey has been struck (people who have witnessed a strike say it looks like an explosion of feathers) the peregrine must catch the prey as it falls. If the prey is not dead, peregrines will bite the neck of the victim to finish it off, and they have a special notch in their beak for this purpose.
If you have video capability on your computer, the following National Geographic clip shows incredible footage of a peregrine named Frightful as she flies and dives (you may have to watch a short ad first, so be patient):
Our thanks to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for sponsoring the FalconCams.
Thanks to Tony Rinicella for his eyewitness account of Buckeye’s stoop.
Photos are courtesy of Scott Wright, volunteer peregrine nest monitor. They may be used by children for school and/or personal projects, but please give Mr. Wright photo credit. All others must contact Mr. Wright directly for permission to use his photos.
