First falcon hatches on Mom's Day

[Donna]

Appropriately enough, the first of four peregrine falcon eggs nesting near the top of the Westar Energy building in downtown Topeka hatched Sunday afternoon — on Mother's Day.

Brad Loveless, directory of Biology and Conservation programs for Westar Energy, said Sunday evening that the first chick pecked its way out of its eggshell at 12:10 p.m.

Three more eggs remain to be hatched, Loveless said. The other eggs should hatch within the next few days.

"What normally happens is this starts a sequence where they continue to hatch," Loveless said. "We hope all four are viable, but we won't know until they start popping out of the eggs."

Two webcams keep watch on the falcons and their nest, located high on the south side of the 12-story Westar building, 818 S. Kansas Ave. People from across the nation and countries as far away as Australia have found the website and are keeping an eye on the falcons' progress.

Those hoping to catch a glimpse of the new chick may be hard-pressed to see it, however, as Hope — the female peregrine falcon that has been nesting on the eggs since they were laid between April 1 and 3 — is quite protective and is keeping the chick and remaining eggs covered most or the time.

The male peregrine falcon, named Zeus, also is in the nest.

Hope and Zeus first came to the Westar nesting box in 2004. Hope laid about four eggs in 2004, 2005 and 2006, but Zeus broke them each time before they hatched.

Wildlife experts considered this highly unusual behavior. However, things changed in 2007, when Hope again laid four eggs. This time, Zeus was able to break three of them before Hope incubated the last remaining eggs for a couple of days before it hatched. Since then, Zeus hasn't broken any more eggs.

Though the eggs were laid over a three-day period in early April, Loveless said, Hope didn't start incubating them until the final egg arrived. This was done to help keep the hatch time for all eggs as close together as possible, helping prevent any attacks from an older chick against a younger sibling.

"We have four eggs," Loveless said. "They've all made it to this point in time. They're about to hatch. Now, we're waiting to see how they'll behave and how they'll get along."

When the chicks are about three or four weeks old, an identification band will be placed around their leg, Loveless said. At that time, the gender of the falcons will be determined. Loveless said female falcons are larger than their male counterparts, something that can be determined even at three to four weeks.

The chicks typically will begin to fly as the weather warms up and will venture farther from their home on the Westar building. Eventually, with the onset of fall, the birds will fly south, some going as far as Central or South America.

Judy Hays, 68, of Topeka, is one of the many people who keep tabs on the falcons. She said she was delighted the first egg had hatched Sunday.

"I'm excited, I'm pleased and I'm surprised," Hays said. "Now I can call my kids and tell them we got one egg hatched."

Hays said she is fascinated by the falcons, which have been seen flying around Topeka and lighting in people's backyards.

"They're just birds of prey," Hays said. "They're very free. I like to watch them up in the sky and see them up in the wind current."