http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-29/falcon-peregrine-chick-survives-trafficking-ordeal/7123444  Look how adorable!!

The baby peregrine falcon, worth tens of thousands of dollars, was almost smuggled to the other side of the world in the UAE by a confessed wildlife trafficker.

Such a sweet little chick! But why did the other three chicks not survive?

I see the perpetrator was once again Jeffrey Lendrum, a name well known for endless trafficking in peregrine eggs. A nice long jail sentence would be appropriate to keep him from doing this again.

The second egg has arrived for the Blackwater pair!

Can't post pic; PB is down for maintenance.

Thank you, Kris! Good to see a hatch!

Do you know why they changed locations from the one used in 2014 and 2015?

A little face peeking over the edge of the nest, a few minutes ago:

There is a peregrine nest in the area of Niederkrüchten-Elmpt, not far from the Dutch border.

At this time of year, I see the resident female visit the nest from time to time. The nest has been cleaned in preparation for the breeding season, and fresh gravel supplied. There is a full nest box, with a deck, and even a canopy over the entrance to the nest so that the birds can sit there and still be protected from rain, snow, or being visible to predators above.

I was about to shut down the site today when a dark shape suddenly landed in the middle of the deck.

A large Great Horned Owl; not something the peregrines want to see at their nest under any circumstances. The owl appeared to adopt a threatening posture a number of times.







The GHO stayed for a good 20 minutes before leaving.

Webcams:

http://falke.amikom.de/

Still one egg so far. Since yesterday, the egg has been incubated more or less full time. Hoping for a second egg, perhaps today.

Welcome to little E8!

Two eaglets with damp down feathers being fed this morning:

Thanks, Donna! That is a great story.

I had never heard of Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, so I checked and found that they are in Brookfield, Nova Scotia.

The article said that the eagle was "cold, dehydrated, full of ice" but their Facebook page states that she was full of lice for which she also had to be treated.

Cobequid's Facebook page has a lot more information, and many more photos of this beautiful eagle.

https://www.facebook.com/CobequidWildlifeRehabCentre/

Great pics, Alison!  I sure wish that second egg would hatch soon..I hate having too many days between babies, especially this site!

Thanks, Kris! I agree with you about the second egg, and was happy to see that E8 hatched at 10:39 p.m. on January 27.

Thanks for posting the video! So good to see that both have hatched.

A look at the second egg, and the little one being fed:

Sad news:

http://www.syracuse.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2016/01/syracuses_wintering_pelican_in_the_inner_harbor_dies_of_unknown_causes.html   

 Wonder if it starved or maybe cold exposure..sad. 

Very sad news. Such a beautiful bird. You are probably right about the cause, Kris. Perhaps the storm a few days ago was also a factor. I wish something could have been done to help the bird survive. 

Sadly, none of the 3 eggs hatched and the hatching window has closed.  According to the FB post, all 3 will be collected this coming Monday. 

So sad to read this . . . I was hoping that Savannah and Derek would have a successful year. They are such a great pair. 

One of the birds was at the nest a few minutes ago, way down at the far end of the ledge. Then gone again.

One very cute peregrine at the nest box:

The resident male at this nest is Perkeo, and the resident female is Palatina.

Perkeo visited the nest yesterday, and found a huge scrape. I think this looks like a scrape made by an Egyptian Goose; apparently there is an ongoing attempt to keep the geese from using the peregrines' nest.







Today I did not see either bird, but someone had filled in the scrape.

http://www.ag-wanderfalken.de/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=79

E2 was at the nest this morning:







How to look graceful while working on the scrape: