Not a lot to report this week. Prey has been slow to come in and hard to identify, but some reasonable sized chunks have materialised.
You might be wondering why the falcon turns her eggs….this is to ensure that the developing check gets enough albumen. This is the part of the egg (the white part) which nourishes the chick by providing protein and water. According to the David Attendborough show on ‘eggs’ shown on Australian TV recently, the eggshell itself has tiny holes in it and there are two membranes (linings) inside the egg. One of these allows air and moisture to enter the egg and keep the chick alive, but the second helps to keep harmful bacteria out. As you can imagine the nests are not particularly hygienic places. And you’d certainly know about it if you had to go up the tower every now and then to clean it out.
Some photos from the week from Holly (thanks very much for these).
Thanks for including my photos, Cilla! The second and third photos are of Xavier. First he jumped off the eggs and ran over to the ledge. Then he looked up (in the third pic). And then he very slowly made the fancy pose seen in the second pic — he launched up at a high angle!
Thanks, Cilla and Holly. I got a short video about development of hen chick on Youtube (made by Australian Poultry Cooperative Research Centre). Not falcon, but better than nothing. it shows air lining in the shell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PedajVADLGw
thanks Holly, I’ll try and correct it. Good idea to label the photos! And thanks to Helios for the video.