Cadence, 91/BA

[Carol P.]

It is so frustrating to watch a situation like this. If it happened here, I and ALL my fellow watchers would be downtown in a heartbeat. Of course, there would be nothing we could do unless one came down. But, we could monitor the situation and keep an eye on them. Like we did with Mariah & Beauty and Pigott & Beauty. Once you witness a Peregrine territorial battle you will never forget it. The sound is unforgettable. I'm very thankful there is no sound at the NJ site.  Are there watchers there? I don't know.

We should learn more tomorrow. I hope that both the resident female and Cadence survive this. 

[Carol P.]

4:43 am. A quick peek. The male is on the eggs. He's very alert. Foggy morning in NJ.

[carly]

4:43 am. A quick peek. The male is on the eggs. He's very alert. Foggy morning in NJ.

Been keeping watch the past hour and still the same as when you posted Carol.

[carly]

6.17 am and just saw someone land in distance...could see wing on cam 2 but behind that box past igloo so can't see who it is.

She went into the nest box...it's Cadence!  She bowed to male, he to her and then he took off.  She looked down at eggs and has now left box and hopped down ledge! 

Have to log now and get ready for work

[Donna]

They found Cadence and boy is she gorgeous for a BA!! 

Bad/A$$

[carly]

She is gorgeous indeed!  Great shot Donna, you can even see she got Beauty's salmon coloring on her chest  

8.24 am and dad is back again.  He's so devoted to those eggs and I'm sure he's a bit confused this morning. 

[patsy6]

IMHO, Cadence's very dark, round head and auricular patch resemble that of her great great grandmother, Madame X.  I know it's a stretch, but compare the attached pic of Madame X with the pic of Cadence from yesterday at the igloo. 

[Joyce]

Great capture Donna! What a "Beautyful" falcon.  I was up peaking at the cam on and off during the night. The male hardly slept. I saw him vocalize and come to the igloo entrance around midnight. I had a feeling Cadence would show up this morning.

[carly]

IMHO, Cadence's very dark, round head and auricular patch resemble that of her great great grandmother, Madame X.  I know it's a stretch, but compare the attached pic of Madame X with the pic of Cadence from yesterday at the igloo. 

I see what you mean!   

[Donna]

http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/protecting/projects/peregrine/  Just some news about the more than 25 breeding pair of Falcons in NJ!

(I know more about NY then I do my own state of NJ!!)  

**UPDATE W/ VIDEO** Watch our resident female lock talons with the female intruder and fall from the sky during the battle that took place earlier today on top of the Union County Courthouse.
The fight between the resident female peregrine and the outsider took place both on and off camera, but this recorded moment was a testament to the power and strength of these predatory birds.
Tune in with us as we continue to monitor and hope for the success of this breeding pair and their eggs. March 29 BW at the end of a post on the cam comments is Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager:


Found this also:  http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/education/uc-falconcam/ Different  Cam page

Incubation has begun and the battles seem to have ended, with the resident (unbanded) female successfully defending her eyrie (nest), despite gaining some new battle scars. Viewers have watched the male perform the majority of incubation duties, which is usually done by the female. She's obviously been under a great deal of stress from defending her eyrie and should settle down more on the eggs as they get back to their normal routine. Peregrines begin incubating after they lay a full clutch. With there being only two eggs (most lay between 3-4 eggs) this is likely due to stress from the battles this spring. The second egg should have been laid on March 26 since peregrines typically lay an egg every other day (second egg was laid in the evening of March 24). We believe that she could have "dropped" an egg, which means that she could have laid the egg during a mid-air battle with the intruding female. A reduced clutch is not a bad thing and the peregrine falcon population has been quite stable over the past several years. Nests on towers and buildings continue to be the "backbone" for the continued stability for the statewide population, while nests on natural cliff sites continue to be much less stable due to their inherent nature of being suseptible to predators and weather.
Hatching should begin during the last week of April.
March 29
Female intruder returns to nest and a battle ensues with footage of the female peregrine falcons locking talons and falling from the sky. Both resident male and female peregrine falcons are viewed on the livestream later that afternoon. Intruder has been successfully chased off for the time being.
March 25-28
Periodic sightings of intruder. Resident male and female take turns defending nest and incubating eggs.
March 24
The resident peregrine falcons defends nest against intruding female and sustains injuries to her chest and left wing. She lays 2nd egg following this altercation.
March 22
The resident female lays the first egg.
March 18
Possible juvenile red-tail hawk spotted near the nest, resident pair attempted to chase hawk away.
Late February 2017
A second female peregrine falcon is first spotted near the nest. We now know that this is Cadence (91/BA) from Rochester NY.
February 2017

[carly]

9.37 am Cadence landed on railing chupping, male on eggs.  She hasn't eaten, I hope she can get something..ok here she comes... into the box to get his attention...get out here and feed me dude!!  He makes a run for it and flys off!  She's on patio now looking around and off she goes to railing, probably wondering where he ran off to. 

[carly]

From their comments section at the site in reply to Carolyn:  


The great folks at Union County (at the court house and the Sheriff's Dept.) ran a search for the "resident mom" last night, and went out again this morning to search the local grounds. They also checked all the lower roofs of the court house building. No sign of her yet.

The fight between the two females started Tuesday around 1:00 PM and flyovers and fly-bys continued for about 4.5 hours. One observer reported the intruder (banded as 91/BA) hit the resident female around 5:30 PM, which may have been the most serious blow. She hasn't been seen since then. The tiercel remains committed to "his" eggs, incubating them overnight and this morning. It remains to be seen if the new female has truly won this nest site and if she will join in caring for the eggs of another falcon, or seek to lay her own eggs.

[carly]

9.40 am and Cadence in the gutter drinking water 

[Dot_Forrester]

I'm happy, I suppose, for Cadence but hate the idea of the resident female out there somewhere dead or injured. I ask myself every season why I follow falcons that battle to death. We've seen way too much of that over the years.

Dot in PA

[Donna]