An article on the Melbourne peregrine nest:

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/thirtythree-floors-above-collins-st-webcam-captures-a-pair-of-hatching-falcons-20171004-gytx9l.html

Alison..I contacted Sage about Franklin, she's messaged the DEC person, asking about any possible update on him and is waiting for any info.

Thank you so much, Kris! I hope there will be good news on Franklin soon.

Wonderful work these rescuers are doing! But it breaks my heart to think of untold hundreds of migrant birds flying all that way just to be killed by crashing into buildings in all our cities.

Dot in PA

                  Me too, Dot. 

And me. 

Great article, though. Thanks, Kris. I wish more cities had a program like this one.

DC arrived for a visit:

         

Apparently that last one is stuck.  Now Diamond is blocking our view of the chicks and seems to be just shading them, perhaps trying to give the littlest one some space to break free.  I do hope he/she makes it! Both Diamond and Xavier took turns trying to break the shell, to no avail.

I thought that might well be the case. In that situation, an assisted hatch would probably be the only way to free the little one. I don't know if there is anyone there who could do this, or who would even consider doing it. It is not really difficult, but timing is crucial.

From  a few minutes ago:

The last glimpse I had shows that there is still one unhatched egg. However, the Internet went down here for several hours, and then the Orange site was taken down for maintenance, so that could have changed.

Xavier is a first time dad. As you may recall, he was the somewhat non-interested step-dad in last year's drama.  Diamond was awesome, raising three healthy fledglings after losing their dad, Bula, just before hatching. So far this year Xavier's done very well, both with incubating and now bringing food for the babies. 

You're right, Patsy, Xavier is doing much better this year. It's good to see him bringing in food for his chicks. Last year, the chicks were not his, and he did not want to participate in raising them. Diamond is a great Mom; she is very gentle and patient with the chicks, especially during feedings.

The second chick has hatched!

Hoping for the best with these guys!! No lost fledglings!! 

Me too, Donna! No more Aspro situations, I hope.

First hatch for the Melbourne pair!

This was the next feeding. Once again,  Xavier delivered food to Diamond. Until the chicks began to hatch, I had not seen him bring food for some time, although he has been very willing to incubate.

The first chick had another good feed, and the new chick had a little bit of food.

Dad came in to see his brand new chick, and brought food:

The second chick has hatched!

A little earlier, there were still two unhatched eggs:



New eggshell:



And a brand new tiny chick:

This afternoon:



Leaving: