Something Other Than Football

[BigKen]

For the past 5 days, I've been watching one of the most fascinating things I've ever watched. A week ago tomorrow the first egg hatched in a nest of four eggs of a pair of Peregrine Falcons. On Wednesday two more hatched and on Thursday "Peanut" hatched. The dad lives about .62 miles from the nest and he shows up at least once a day to give mum a break. He does the hunting and these kids eat 7 or 8 times a day. They eat other birds like Blue Jays, Pigeons and yellow warblers. He drops them off on the perch and she rips 'em apart, brings the carcass in and feeds these little guys tiny little strips until the bird is gone.

The perch is on the 13th Floor of the Brady-Sullivan Building here in Manchester, NH. The owners created the nesting area specifically for the falcons and Single Digit, a local company has provided a nest cam and a perch cam. The nest cam is infra red and you watch the chicks at night.

All of the local schools are watching and learning. A lot of kids go home and watch them until bedtime.

If you have kids you should bring this up and watch them. The best way is to go to Google and type in

Peregrine Falcons Manchester, NH.

 

[BigKen]

Nest cam Video URL

 

[BigKen]

I went out to watch the nest yesterday......

Ever watched a Bird dive 200 mph and strike an unsuspecting pigeon in mid-flight? Holy shit is all I can say. Dad grabs supper and brings it to mum who rips it into sections on the perch then takes it into the nest and feeds the little ones until they topple from eating so much. Watch the chicks for about 7-8 minutes after eating and enjoy the "shit show". Each one stands up, turns their butt toward the opening of the nest bends over and fires a supersonic butt missile, takes a half step and collapses into a pile of fluff.

It's almost as much fun as watching the Patriots feast on the Jets.

 

[Southieinnc]

While working in Qatar, I had a room on the 12th floor of a tower. I was often greeted by a falcon perched on my window. Fun to watch.
As a kid I raised pigeons. Once in awhile a local red-tail hawk would "drop in" on one of my racing pigeons.
Not so fun to watch.....

 

[BigKen]

These four chicks have doubled in size in a week and a half. The mother and father are feeding them 8-10 times a day. Usually blue Jays with a sprinkle of pigeon and yellow warblers.

 

[BigKen]

Final update.......

All four of these chicks eventually fledged. Fledging is when they take their initial launch and actually fly.
This all happened about three weeks ago. They were named by the folks who stopped in daily on the webcam.
Chicken Hawk, the first born and largest, a female. PeeWee a male, Pistachio a female, and Peanut, the runt and last to hatch, a male. Sadly on her second day of flight, Pistachio was grounded by strong winds and injured her leg. The Audubon had to rescue her and put her back in the nest where she was fed by her mom and watched over by the Peanut who has become an incredible aviator and to this day will put on a show for those of us who continue to follow them.

Worse on his third day of free flight, PeeWee got caught in a thunderstorm, crashed into a window of a huge building and had an injury. He was grounded across the street from the nest and was seen walking on a sidewalk before he collapsed and died from a fractured skull.

All are now healthy and have moved away from the nest but return to the top of the building where the nest ws located.

I will be taking classes soon to become a certified, licensed Falconer.

 

[Southieinnc]

Final update.......

All four of these chicks eventually fledged. Fledging is when they take their initial launch and actually fly.
This all happened about three weeks ago. They were named by the folks who stopped in daily on the webcam.
Chicken Hawk, the first born and largest, a female. PeeWee a male, Pistachio a female, and Peanut, the runt and last to hatch, a male. Sadly on her second day of flight, Pistachio was grounded by strong winds and injured her leg. The Audubon had to rescue her and put her back in the nest where she was fed by her mom and watched over by the Peanut who has become an incredible aviator and to this day will put on a show for those of us who continue to follow them.

Worse on his third day of free flight, PeeWee got caught in a thunderstorm, crashed into a window of a huge building and had an injury. He was grounded across the street from the nest and was seen walking on a sidewalk before he collapsed and died from a fractured skull.

All are now healthy and have moved away from the nest but return to the top of the building where the nest ws located.

I will be taking classes soon to become a certified, licensed Falconer.

Are you going to become an Atlanta fan?