Now there are two eyasses (the name for raptor young) ……
First-time dad, Ranger, is doing a great job bringing food to the family. In the next picture, he is arriving at the nest just after he had left some food on a ledge for SW. He kept watch for a little while as SW took a short break and then she returned with food.
Volunteer nest monitor, Mr. Wright, tells us: "The chicks will spend a great deal of time sleeping and huddled together for warmth. What to look for..... You want to see each kid with two wings, two legs, two eyes and a beak, you also want to see the "begging response", any time a parent is near...... The parents will cover (mantle) the young for 4-7 days. The young are not able to control body temperature (self-regulate) for about a week, if it stays chilly”.
You may have noticed that most of the eggshells have disappeared. This is because SW has eaten them. They are rich in calcium, which is an important nutrient that SW needs. Here she is nibbling…….
The eyases will grow and change very fast for the next 6 weeks. Check out a picture guide and information about chick growth at The Canadian Peregrine Foundation: http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/info/ageguide.html
Our thanks to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for sponsoring the FalconCams.
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.
Mr. Harvey Webster, Director of Wildlife Resources at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History tells us: “Peregrine Falcons have semi-altricial young meaning that though the young are comparatively helpless in their early nestling stage they still have to be active participants in the feeding process. Precocial birds like waterfowl are able to follow their mother from day one, are very well developed and feed themselves. Altricial birds are totally helpless at hatch. All they can do is simply thrust their beaks up whenever they sense the presence of a parent. Then the parent stuffs or regurgitates the food down the gaping nestling's mouth. With raptors, the adult will hold its prey in its talons, tear off a piece of meat with its beak and dangle it over the nestling. The chick must reach up and grab the morsel from the parent.”
