Cleve said “And now there are three!”

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch
Three of a kind Photo by Cleve Nash

Three of a kind                                                Photo by Cleve Nash

Wind has been the order for the last few days. First from here, then from there and very little break in between.

Yes, there are three young chicks you see in the photo by Cleve Nash taken this morning, in a twenty mile per hour breeze from east to west. When I asked Cleve for a photo of the baby falcons for this posting, he warned me, “It might be fuzzy because of the wind.”

About 10:00AM we seemed to have an opportunity when the wind changes direction and reverses now, west to east. We get a little lull, but then the young falcons disappear. By 10:45AM and the wind has picked up to 40 mph, they want to come out to see what is going on. Cooperation between birds, wind and photographer can be challenging.

The third chick, seen here on the left, although it’s not readily apparent, seems to have more down compared to the other two. It may be a couple days younger than the other two. The two darker ones have ventured over to the mother’s perching spot on the left side of the eyrie (not shown in this photo). To get there, they had to make a small jump and I think they surprised themselves. One strong flap and they were up on the sloping rock.

Their wing feathers and tail are fully developed. They just look ungainly because of the down still clinging to them in obvious spots. Remember, these birds should fly in 12 days, that’s June, the first, if our calculations are somewhere close.
Happy trails, Bob

Item:
None of us here at the rock have given up on a fourth chick.

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Two surely, maybe more…

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch
Two peregrine chicks Photo by Cleve Nash

Two peregrine chicks                                                                               Photo by Cleve Nash

Saturday is always a big day, especially if the weather is nice. No one is disappointed today, surfers, sunbathers, kite-flyers, and some to see the falcons.

By 7 something AM, Cleve Nash had seen three young and believed there might be a fourth. The photo above shows two distinct heads of chicks, but they are so camouflaged by grass and lichen-encrusted rock, there could be five.

I sat twenty feet away from Cleve with spotting scopes, four birders from Tasmania to Bakersfield with binoculars and cameras and still saw only two! The young seem to appear just after a parent bird arrives with a fresh kill. One of the chick claims the kill and mantles* it, keeping the siblings away until he or she is full. During this time, the other young appear as if they are looking for more food to be delivered. This is when they are visible.

If you are making a trip to see the young, know that the adult birds bring in prey items about every hour, so bring a chair and be prepared to stay at least that long. Some folks walk by, look in one of the many scopes to see the babies and feel they have accomplished it all in five minutes. Remember that you are on bird time and be cognizant of that. Hope to see you soon.

Happy trails, Bob

*mantle, verb – a bird of prey on the ground or on a perch will spread the wings and tail, so as to cover captured prey.

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Through the ages, a visual aid to the falcon chicks…

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch

 Day 1 to 24

Day 1 to 24 
Day 25 to 48

Day 25 to 48

Now that we have young visible chicks in one of our nest sites and more soon to hatch on the south side of Morro Rock, I wanted to give you, our readers, something so that you can follow the progression of the young either here at Morro Rock or on the Internet via the many nest cams you may find in the United States, Canada and around the world.

Be sure to click on the images above to enlarge them. This is a series of photographs, from egg to fledgling, and every day between. This series was done in Germany by a renowned woman who has since passed on. Cleve Nash and I both have copies to see how close our observations are, ie: egg laying, first day of incubation, first day of feeding, etc.

Over the years, with these photos and our observations, I would give us a grade of “A-.” Where we always fall short is trying to determine the number of young that will hatch on any given year. At best, it’s a crap shoot. Without seeing into the eyrie, or weighing the amount of food that goes in, forget it!

Today is Tuesday, and I spent five hours watching the nest site and saw three prey items go into the nest. I never saw a chick. Yesterday, I saw two young falcons. Maybe by Friday, I’ll see four!
Happy trails, Bob

Item:
Have some fun.
By looking at the photos that we post with our stories, compare the chicks to the progression series of chicks. See what day you think matches the age.

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First sighting…

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch

Photos by Cleve Nash

Actually happened May 11 and 12, 2013.

8:30 AM First sighting of young falcon chicks occurred on the north side of Morro Rock and Cleve Nash was there to capture the first photographs. I got there about 9:30AM and spent the next six hours and never did see one.

However, Sunday was another day and I am setting up a scope and getting Heather comfortable out of her walker into a chair (NEW HIP REPLACEMENT) so she can see the nest.

Then Cleve yells “Fuzzy chick!”

Needless to say I missed it again, but Heather and our new found friends from New York, Sue and Howard, did see the chick!

The nest sight is set in a cluster of three holes similar to what you would see in a bowling ball. Two holes below and one above. The eyrie being the lower left of the two. There seems to be a passage between the two lower holes hidden by tall grasses. After observing for most of the day at least two chicks have ben moving through this passage, but you can only see glimpses of them moving from hole to hole. Throughout the week, we will be seeing more and more of them. Cleve did say that the chicks age by plumage coincides with when we first saw prey taken into the nest on April 18th.

Happy trails, Bob

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Not white and fuzzy, but black and fuzzy…

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch

This gallery contains 4 photos.

All photos are by Cleve Nash Excitement, yes, but not because we have little fuzzy white birds, but a plump fuzzy black bear! In all the years that I’ve spent at Morro Rock, this was a first for me. I … Continue reading →

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No news is good news…

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch
5-2-13 20281

Shell Beach Rosie                                                                                      Photo by Cleve Nash

5 May 2013: With a threat of rain which will probably never happen, we are still waiting for the appearance of falcons on the north side of Morro Rock. The north side pair have had a steady stream of prey going into the nest by the tiercel for at least 2 plus weeks, but still no fuzzy ones to see.

Jack Morehead, one of the guides at Piedras Blancas Lighthouse, came by the rock to tell me “the pair of falcons that nest there have three young that are visible now.” This particular site has been troublesome and have not had young for some time. The previous years, have been plagued by having only half of a pair, either male or female or a failed nesting when there were two birds present. It is good to see they are in production again.

The falcons on the south side of Morro Rock continue to incubate eggs now in the fourth week. Other than a couple of visits from a juvenile female falcon which has been driven off immediately by one or both resident falcons. Things continue to progress with the new set of eggs in the secondary eyrie. The first clutch of eggs as you remember were in the “diving board eyrie” and were abandoned after 16 days of incubation. This second nesting has nearly doubled that time and “with a little luck and the creek don’t rise.” You know the rest of it.
Happy trails, Bob

Item: Rosie finds love.
At the Shell Beach nest site, a tiercel has arrived and taken up with the rosy-breasted female resident who has been on her own since the last winter.

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Looking and waiting…

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch
Red-tailed chicks Photo by Cleve Nash

Red-tailed chicks                                    Photo by Cleve Nash

With no fuzzy chicks to look at yet, we have been relegated to looking at a “rock” that once every few hours might show some movement. Otherwise, it is like watching paint dry.

After telling dozens of birders, tourists and surfers that “you can’t see any chicks yet,” not to be discouraged, a few of us took a ten minute ride north of town to see some white fluffy chicks. Three Red-tailed Hawks have nests within half a mile of each other. All of the young are sticking their heads up over the edge of the nests. The female of one nest sat at a distance in an old oak with a snake.We thought it time to leave so she could come in to feed the young.

So back to “the rock” to enjoy the boredom of incubation and thinking with great expectation, “Soon!”
Happy trails, Bob

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A spring gale…

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch
Photo by Bob Isenberg

Photo by Bob Isenberg

I’m still getting days with high winds which is not unusual for spring weather. Today 12 to 15 foot swells at sea with wind gusts up to 50 plus miles per hour. We have included our photographs of blowing sand and Coast Guard Station gale warning pennants.

I’ve been watching the three new chicks on the webcam at San Jose City Hall, California and I am envious. I can’t wait to see something here at Morro Rock that resembles something white and fuzzy like a chick, but we don’t have the privilege of having a camera in the nest site so we’ll just have to wait until they are strong enough to come to the opening and then we can get a head count. I love the suspense, but hate the wait.

Aside from the two falcons’ nests at the rock, we will have a black turkey vulture nest site to watch. If you remember last year, they fledged one young vulture.* I did see the adults copulating near the eyrie earlier this year, but like the falcons we won’t know until the young stand up behind the rock that hides the eyrie.

The Western gulls are staking out their territories and breeding has just begun in the last couple days. Nest building should start soon.

We have added a couple new pieces to our arsenal of equipment. Cleve Nash has just acquired a brand new 600mm lens which weighs 2 1/2 ounces more than the old 500mm that it is replacing. Also, my daughter gave me for my 72nd birthday the new two piece Swarovski 95mm spotting scope, 30-70 power. This has to be the Cadillac for birders. “Thank you, Molly!”

Morro Rock offers an up close and personal visit with peregrine falcons. If you get a chance while traveling the Pacific Coast, stop in and see them. It won’t cost a dime.
Happy trails, Bob

*See our post on August 7, 2012   “Welcome “Spec” to Morro Rock” http://wp.me/p3fFac-7S

 

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Force 9 at the north face of Morro Rock…

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch

Blowing sand
Photo by Bob Isenberg

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Now hear this…

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch
Not tonight, honey...

Not tonight, honey…                                                                  Photo by Cleve Nash

“Now hear this. Stand clear of all weather decks, due to high winds and heavy seas. Batten down all loose gear.” You can bet the peregrines are hunkered down with wind gusts to 60 mph, white caps and sand blowing across the beaches, but all is well with both pair of falcons.

The north side pair are due to hatch sometime this week. We are looking to see her take prey into the eyrie. This will be the first indication that the chicks have hatched. After that happens, we should begin to see the young ones in a couple of weeks when they come to the edge of the nest site to defecate. Teetering on the edge of certain death, they will show no fear and will do their business.

The south side pair after abandoning the “diving board” eyrie, re-grouped, re-bred, re-clutched and have been incubating for the last week. As much as we hate to see the loss of the first set of eggs, it gives us a wonderful opportunity to watch the north side chicks develop, feather out and fledge and then we will be able to see the south side young go through the same scenario when the north side chicks are flying.

Cleve Nash is working on a third pair in the county that is trying to set up housekeeping. The tiercel is making his best efforts to breed, but she has rejected his amorous moves several times so far. If this works out and she comes around, we could have babies well into the summer!

Hopefully, this weather that we are having will calm down a little and I will be able to set up some spotting scopes. It’s hard to write about something when you can’t see what’s going on.
Happy trails, Bob

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