Rfalconcam Forum

I went down to my local peregrine territory early this morning.  I was not disappointed.  There was one bird standing guard next to the nestbox.  Based on last year's photos, I think it is the male.  We watched one another for an our, during which he flew to the far side of the river and returned.

I think he is guarding something.  I wonder whether it is eggs or eyases?  Last year, I saw a fledgeling on June 14, so there could have been a hatch already if they are on the same schedule.

Paul

Nice pics Paul!  From all the white wash in the 2nd picture, it certainly looks like they've been sitting up there quite a lot.  You'll have to let us know if you see any eyases.   :thumbsup:

Paul, how far is local? Is it close enough for some frequent visits and more pics? Thanks.

Paul,
So glad they are back and apparently successfully nesting.  Thanks for the update and hope you can hike down there for a few more shots later on in the season.

It's a half hour drive plus a half hour hike.  I'll probably be going there every weekend I'm free. until the offspring have dispersed.  As you can see, it's a beautiful area.

Paul

Sweet!! Thanks...yes..nice place.

After a half day spent at my local falcon territory, I think there are almost certainly chicks.  To begin with, I saw both the male and the female today.  For another, both were spending a lot of time looking into the nest box, and I heard some wail calls over the roar of the traffic on the bridge.  Finally, the male brought back some food, only to be urged of his perch, presumable for another hunting expedition.  Here are some pictures of the pair.  Notice how the wings are slightly spread as a reaction to the high (91 F/31 C) temperatures.

It's been interesting to watch this pair and compare them with Mariah and Kaver and Archer and Beauty.  M&K shared all parenting duties and every shift change seemed to require a few minutes of negotiation.  A&B have more of a division of labor with Archer doing nearly all of the hunting and Beauty doing the childcare.  They also seem to be figuring everything out as they go along, but manage to be quick learners.  My pair, on the other hand, conduct themselves with the efficiency of a NASCAR pit crew.  One bird arives and the other instantly zips off.  If the male hangs around a bit and gives some wail calls after a food drop, the female shoves him off the perch.  He guards the Virginia side of the river and she guards the box and the Maryland side. 

Both of my pair ignore the constant stream of Turkey Vultures and Great Blue Herons that travel up and down the Potomac, although the occasional Double Crested Cormorant gets wacked if it comes too close to the box. That's very different from A&B and M&K attacking anything that flew into their territory.  On the other hand, I found a very dead Black Vulture about a quarter mile (400 M) from the nest box, and Black Vultures are known to eat eggs, so maybe my falcons are just selective, not  peaceful.

Paul

Good Morning Paul!  Like Helen, I was wondering about this pair (I did do a quick look-see that last time we were in that area, but no body was home).  Do keep us in the loop, please?   :clap:

I was able to confirm three eyasses at the nest box today.  Comparing them with Freedom and Isis, they look to be about 33 days old   (http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/info/ageguide33.html) -- probably within a week of fledging.  

Both parents have become much more protective.  This morning, right after the male came back with food, the pair kakked at me and circled over the river.  After I moved further back to some foliage that I have been using as a blind, the female flew over to the near side of the bridge to verify that I was still there, although hidden.  After about ten minutes, she flew back to the box, seemingly convinced that I was not a threat.  They also kakked at some Turkey Vultures who passed over the nest, but did not attack them.

All this is a big change from last week, when they seemed very tolerant.    Perhaps it is because the eyasses are about to leave the nest.  Mostly, I shot video, but I also took some stills.  Look  below for pictures of the male, female, and one of the offspring.  Videos to come.

Paul

Cool Paul.....keep your distance!  :clap: Nice clear pics.  :2thumbsup:

Thanks for the update Paul!  :thumbsup:

 :flash: :coolphotos: :thanks2: :foxbinocs:

Last Saturdays's visit to the nest site showed me what was being guarded -- three eyasses.  I've put together a short film of what I saw.  No thought required -- just zone out, listen to a popular international pop hit from the 16th century, and watch the reflections from the water shine on the peregrine pair and their offspring (http://www.blip.tv/file/3771125).  It may take a a little time to load, but that's still much shorter than my hike to the site.  This weekend's visit may be a fledge watch.

Paul

Lovely falcon video and the eyases already so big.  :clap:

Great video, Paul - very nicely put together, good sense of the whole nesting area, and lovely music.
Those adults are really spectacular birds!
Plus, lots of fluff (I kept feeling like it was getting caught in my throat!).
Great work, and thanks!

As I emerged from the deer trail that wound down through the thick woods to the Potomac, I was greeted by the kakking of the resident female perched beneath the bridge.  She's there for a reason, I thought. When you look for a peregrine, it's the peregrine that finds you.  There were two juveniles on the concrete pylon that has the nest box.  I took out my binoculars and searched for the male.  He was about a half mile (1 km) across the river in Virginia   Not surprisingly, he was looking straight at me.

An hour later, I heard wail calls.  Up on the bridge abutment, not far from me, was a juvenile begging for food.  That's why the female met me there.  According to my fellow falcon watcher Ricardo, nobody had fledged as of Saturday evening.  That means that one and possibly two falcons fledged today. Before long it was noon -- time for me to leave.  I started up the narrow, overgrown trail, watched by falcons, both visible and hidden

I just screened my videoo footage and it looks OK.


Paul

2 great pics Paul..I love the 1st one, with the shadow behind her. Really nice photos. Thanks.

While we are all trying to deal with the suspense as the time approaches for the first fledge in Rochester, here (http://www.blip.tv/file/3806205) is the promised video from last Sunday morning.  One of the juvies had just fledged and the remaining two seemed to be at about the same stage as Jemision and Callidora right now.  This site, like the Rochester one has a lot of opportunities for ledging prior to flight.  As at Rochester, there was a lot of wing flapping and many "hop flights."  This film also shows how the parents always have their offspring in sight.  Maybe by watching it you can anticipate the behavior of Archer, Beauty, Callidora, and Jemison.

This clip shows what it is like in the strange, noisy world beneath the American Legion Bridge near Cabin John, MD.  You can imagine how loud it must be at the nest box, given the sound levels far away where I was filming.  Early tomorrow, I'll make another trek to the Land of the Falcons to see how the fledge is progressing.  The other watcher has been there every day with his swim trunks, ready to make a rescue.

Clicj the word "here" in the first paragraph. This film is in QuickTime.  If you don't like QT, Blip TV also provides a Flash version via the pulldown menu.  If your computer is good with Flash, you can even watch a fullscreen video.

Regards,

Paul

Lovely video. Thank you for sharing.

Great video, Paul!  What a strange and terrific place to falconwatch and film. The cavelike echo of the kakking and the theatrical light, both direct and reflected from the moving water, make for a really different atmosphere...thanks so much for sharing it!   dale

Thanks Paul.  You do such a great job on your videos.  Thanks for schlepping your equipment into the site and for sharing the results with us.

Gayle

In all the excitement today, I missed this Paul. Great place, HUGE nest box...love the rippling water effects on the bridge. Nice. Thank you!

All three eyasses at the Cabin John, MD, site have fledged successfully.  We found at least two of them today.  According to my friend's field notes on the facial and tail markings, these were the first to fledge (male) and the second to fledge (female).

Both the male and the female adults continue to guard the nestbox area and use it as a place to feed the juveniles, who are increasingly spending their time at a hunting area to the south.  We have no idea where their hunting area is, but suspect it may be near Chain Bridge, a few miles down the Potomac.

I shot mostly video, but took a few stills. Lots of good flying today, some of which got filmed.

Paul

Beautiful Paul...glad all is well with their first flights. Thank you.

Thanks, Paul, for all the photos and video!  What a unique setting for these lovely falcons!

Best wishes,
Anne C. (Toronto, ON Canada)

Beautiful shots Paul. And thanks for the videos. I especially liked the last video. It provides a glimpse at what falcon watching must be like at this location. The rumble of traffic in the background, kakking in the foreground, water reflecting light under the bridge - a peaceful easy feeling. I could get into that for sure!

Lou

Thanks Paul - I was just thinking about these guys.  Really pretty falcons.  Thanks for the updates  :clap:

 :wave: Aren't they all just magnificent!  Thanks for sharing. :clap:

As promised, here is a video from two weeks ago (http://www.blip.tv/file/3882300).  These were taken with a heat index of about 100.  Notice how the falcons respond to the exterme heat by holding their wings away from their bodies.  According to my fellow fledgewatcher, all three eyasses successfully fledged.  Since the three never seem to be all together, he figured this out by looking at the field marks in his notebook.  He is kind of the Chilean equivalent of Brian -- a falcon expert without a computer.  

I remember that day well.  After spending the morning on the banks of the Potomac, I came home to spend the afternoon watching the fledges on rfalconcam.  I'm not addicted or anything.

You can view the film in either Flash or Quick Time.  If you have a fast computer and connection, you can watch the Flash version in full screen.  Please let me know how the two versions play for you.

Enjoy,

Paul

page won't load for me

Sorry

It's fixed now.
http://www.blip.tv/file/3882300

Thanks for the feedbabk,

Paul

 :wave:  It loaded fine for me and I liked it. Thanks! :clap:

that one works!  nice toad too.

That was a great video Paul. Obviously, peregrines adapt to noise.  :clap: Thanks

is that a toad or a frog? whatever it was, it was great. the whole thing was! It had representative samples: one amphibian, one juvenile falcon, one adult falcon, one yawn, one poop. Full set!  Great, Paul. Thanks!

Hey Paul,

Big Frank from Toronto noticed that there was a all black band on one of the falcons in this video, so a falcon banded in Canada.  Has this bird ever been positively ID'd.  I'll let Frank know you'll post an answer here.

Thanks!
Carol

Carol and Frank,

Unless there has been a recent nest turnover, the female has a black and red band.  I think that it  looks all black in the video because she is lit by greenish light from the river below her.  Because the falcons perch up high on bridge girders, the bands are usually hidden.  The local Fish and Wildlife biologist, Craig Koppie, says that the female is from New York and the male from Pennsylvania.  I've emailed him asking for more precise hatching locations, but I have not heard from him.  My fellow falconwatcher, Ricardo, has a 60 power spotting scope and has been trying to get a good view.

Paul

I went to visit my American Legion Bridge falcons in Cabin John yesterday -- my first since the brood dispersed.  The place was deserted, save for deer tracks.  I stood by the sluggishly-flowing Potomac and remembered how the calls of falcons had somehow risen above the roar of the traffic overhead, and said a sad farewell to summer. 

That was when the female came flying in from the downriver hunting grounds, wailing loudly, and landed in the nestbox.  The local falcons are still very much on guard.

Paul

She's beautiful, Paul!!!

She is beautiful Paul...her face is so pensive as if she is missing Summer too.

Good things come to those who wait! Nice pic Paul. Thanks.

:ditto:

Paul...
What is the name of the beautiful song used in Falcons Beneath The Bridge ??
"Falcons under the bridge" was so adorable... they are singing a Spanish renaissance song about falcons (... I can hear "que yo soy halcón..." but unfortunately it's too weakly pronounced to hear the rest of the lyrics... I'd love to know what music it is...
Thank you so much!  :)

The music is Tarara, by Antonio de Salazar,who was born in Spain (or, possibly Puebla, Mexico) in 1650 and died in Mexico in 1715.  The performance is by a local group, Hesperus.  It's a joyful Christmas song, often performed before a feast.

Here are lyrics and translation:

http://www.sfbach.org/text-tarará-tarará-qui-yo-soy-antóniyo

Paul

Thank you so much Paul!
Have a wonderful evening!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7yBXG-kIZ4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7yBXG-kIZ4) Found this on youtube....is it the same?

Yes it is :-)  Isn't it pretty ?  :clap:

It is!

It is sung at a faster pace in Paul's video but either way it is lovely and speaks so eloquently of our falcons and the joy they bring... :heart: