Subject: [Tweeters] Re: snofalls peregrine update
Date: Mar 23 21:37:31 2011
From: dave templeton - crazydave65 at gmail.com


martin, i was talking with scott dodson, who has watched the birds closer
than i have the past couple years, and he says the male is always a bit
ditzy (gosh, i love scientific talk) the first couple days. in the
afternoon, after i left, the male brought food to the female and she took it
away and he covered the eggs as soon as she got off them.

there's no way to be absolutely certain, but i think this is the same male.
it might become clearer (no pun intended) once the weather gets better. a
couple years ago he had an injured eye for a week or so, and it seemed as if
one could see a little deformation in the right eye ring. his back appears
lighter this year than last, but that seems to be a trend with him. i don't
know if adults get paler as the years pile on (i know my feathers are not
anywhere near as dark, or dense, as they once were).

two pairs of common mergansers (almost as dumb a name as common loons --
neither bird is common in my estimation) flew by several days ago and
neither bird responded. a couple years ago they would have wigged out.

guess the only thing you can say for sure about living things is you can't
say anything for sure about living things.

regards,

t

On Wed, Mar 23, 2011 at 9:19 PM, Martin Muller <martinmuller at msn.com> wrote:

> Dave,
>
> Many thanks for the update. Always nice to read what you see there.
> Interesting observation on the male's changed behavior vis a vis
> incubating.
> Is there a way to tell if this is a different male form previous years?
>
> I know form my observations of Bald Eagles back in the late-80s early 90s
> that they did show individual differences in behavior (like reactions to
> crows for instance).
>
> Martin Muller, Seattle
> martinmuller at msn.com
> *
> *
> *
> *
> *From: *dave templeton <crazydave65 at gmail.com>
> *Date: *March 22, 2011 5:33:27 PM PDT
> *To: *Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> *Subject: **[Tweeters] snofalls peregrine update*
>
>
> hi:
>
> my notes from this afternoon:
>
> stopped by the falls this afternoon shortly after 1300. falcon was
> brooding very tightly. never got off eggs to look at them. 1445 female
> becomes agitated and leaves scrape. three eggs revealed, perhaps four, but
> three for certain. falcon perches on branch near scrape. 1455 -1500 falcon
> remains on perch. at about 1500 hen leaves perch and pursues tiercel to pt
> near falcon point observation area (puget sound energy terminology). food
> transfer appears to be made. hen lands on branch and bends over something
> as if feeding. follow flight of male presuming he will go to scrape, but he
> lands on perch at or near place hen previously was. after a couple minutes
> finally locate falcon who is perching on another branch further away. does
> not appear to be eating. after about 5 minutes lose sight of both birds.
> female finally returns to scrape a few minutes before 1600. off eggs for a
> bit over an hour. hen immediately resumes brooding.
>
> ----------
>
> i don't know if it's common for an egg-laying bird to brood tight and then
> leave the nest for over an hour in cool weather. in other years this bird
> often left the eggs when there were only two or three, but once she got to
> four and started sitting she did so with only short breaks, ten or fifteen
> minutes max. also, in past years, the male was always desperate to brood
> eggs, but this year, at least this early in process, he was totally
> uninterested in the eggs and left for other places when the female did.
>
> don't know what any of this means for the future of the clutch, but for
> what it's worth, there it is.
>
> regards,
>
> t
>
> --
> dave templeton
> fall city, wa
>
> crazydave65atgmaildaughtcom
>
> "Don't worry about the world coming to an end today; it's already tomorrow
> in Australia." Charles Schultz
>
>


--
dave templeton
fall city, wa

crazydave65atgmaildaughtcom

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today; it's already tomorrow
in Australia." Charles Schultz
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