The goose might lay the golden egg, but Red Deer’s most famous bird of prey lays them in lipstick pink.
The pregnant peregrine falcon nested atop the Telus radio tower has received thousands of views since going online on April 24, and on Friday at 8 p.m. she laid her first egg.
“The only thing that’s tearing me away from my computer right now is the fact that there are birds outside, as well,” said Red Deer River Naturalists spokeswoman Judy Boyd, who was herself taken aback by the vibrant, almost Easter egg-hue of the shell.
About 9,000 bird-gazers had checked in on the animal and her mate by mid-afternoon Monday via a live video feed from a camera looking in on the box, averaging about 100 viewers at any given time.
“We’re like a bunch of parents in the maternity ward,” joked Bill Heinsen, treasurer of the naturalists group.
A blue-flecked falcon could be observed going in and out of the nesting box, moving the egg around and sometimes sitting on it.
“It’s something that you don’t normally get to see. Maybe it’s voyeurism (that makes people watch),” said Boyd.
Heinsen credited high ratings with human interest in the mystique of the peregrine, which was traditionally used for falconry.
Some people have expressed concern that the mother hasn’t spent enough time incubating the egg, but Boyd says that’s normal, especially considering more eggs are expected shortly. Peregrine falcons will lay between two and four eggs at a time, Boyd said, and once more are out the mother will likely start paying more heed.
Right now, she spends much of her time hanging about outside the cage, or flying off, possibly on the hunt for other birds or small rodents.
Once she starts incubating the eggs, they will take about a month to hatch. The baby birds will stay in the box until late July or early August, at which point they’ll make their fledgling flight, Boyd said. Later in the year, they’ll migrate as far away as South America.
Heinsen cautions that falcon fanatics are in for a bit of a waiting game once the incubation period starts, but that it will be worth the wait once the chicks are up and about and being fed.
The nesting box and falcon camera is a joint effort of the naturalist group, Telus and Alberta Fish and Game.
Watch and discuss the unfolding avian drama at reddeeradvocate.com.
