The chicks are expected to hatch this weekend, so keep an eye on the youtube site, where there is a veritable United Nations of ‘pere watchers’ keeping an eye and ear out for the pips. Unfortunately, Diamond and Xavier between them have managed to roll the eggs in the near corner where the webcam is slightly out of focus and the eggs are almost out of sight. However, we will still know when they hatch and it won’t take long before the little ones are all over the box.
Our third wheel (known as VB, or Visiting Bird) is still around. It is a male, slightly larger than Xavier, with a ‘comma’ on his neck, making him (sometimes) easy to identify. The female, Diamond, seems to accept his presence, but I can’t speak for Xavier as I haven’t seen them together. My guess is that he’s spitting chips ie not happy with the situation, especially as the male appears to want to actually incubate the eggs. This is very interesting behaviour, as Xavier himself wouldn’t have anything to do with the eggs or chicks his first year (when he took over as step-father). Anyway we shall see what we shall see.
I’ve attached a couple of videos of a changover – these are the same, just different formats. The first is ‘avi’, the second ‘mp4’.
VIDEO (avi) 20180919 0740 Di replaces X with chat
I saw once incubating Xavier with VB entering the nest. He did react as Diamond, just crying a little but without attempting to attack the intruder.
I remember that, Helios. There’d been so much speculation about what X would do if he came face to face with the interloper, and….. not much!
I wonder whether it’s because protecting the eggs is the highest priority (i.e., higher than chasing off an intruder who isn’t behaving aggressively) – no fighting where the eggs are in danger of being scrambled – OR does it support the suggestion that the intruder is well-known to D & X? (i.e., Vim?) I guess we don’t/can’t know how (or if) they actually interact outside the box. It’s interesting to think about it, though.
It’ll be very interesting to see whether VB is allowed to hang around when the eggs hatch. An extra hunter could come in handy, after all! 🙂
I can’t imagine that parents would recognise their young once they are in adult plumage…..but what do I know? Perhaps they have pheromones or something, or a special call?
I’ve double checked incubation. a/c HANZAB, it’s an average of 33 days, so my other source (28-33 days) is probably way off.
We have (a) chirping egg(s) ! 😀
Ingrid, I was wondering if that’s what it was. Still 3 eggs but 5.37pm when Diamond limped off I’m sure I could see one moving. Sadly though reminds me too much of our loss last year. *fingers crossed for 3 healthy babies this year*
@ Cilla:
We maintain a Peregrine Falcon calendar since 2011. I always note the days between first egg and first hatch.
According to the data collected over these years incubation takes at least 34 days from the first egg laid (two or three egg clutch) to as long as 44 days (5 egg clutch).
This year (so far) there two clutches of 3 where the first hatch happened 34 days after the first egg.
For the CSU nest we have 36 days in 2017 and 2016. In 2015 it took 37 days for the first hatch.
The web address is in my signature. 😉