Richmond, VA Falcons

[MAK]

 

[AlisonL]

Ozzie and Harriet moved back to their old nest box, and laid a second clutch of eggs.

The first egg apparently had problems hatching, and the birds removed it from the nest box. Yesterday, the second egg hatched.

Harriet feeding the chick:





Ozzie with the new hatchling:

[Donna]

Saw this on fb....so amazing these 2. Thanks Alison!   

[Kris G.]

 

[AlisonL]

Still one chick today:

[Donna]

Two rare falcon chicks die in Richmond

A long, hard breeding season for Ozzie and Harriet, Richmond’s rare falcon pair, has come to a sad end.
Biologists who checked the peregrine falcons’ Riverfront Plaza nest Wednesday found one of the pair’s two chicks dead and the other missing.
The 2-week-old chicks apparently died, at least in part, from Tuesday’s mid-90s heat, said Sergio Harding, a biologist with the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
One of the parents probably removed the second body, Harding said. But the deaths are puzzling.
“I know we’ve had some hot summers before� when chicks survived, Harding said.
The deaths marked the second nest failure in one season — a first for the falcon pair, which have nested downtown since 2003.
“I’m at the point where I just don’t know what to expect from these birds anymore,� Harding said.
The crow-sized falcons, which have a loyal following, moved to a new nest this spring, a 22nd-story spot on Dominion Virginia Power’s building at Seventh and East Cary streets. They produced five eggs, their most ever, but none hatched.
Ozzie and Harriet then moved back to their longtime nest on a 21st-story walkway at Riverfront Plaza by the James River. Harriet laid four more eggs there.
Chicks in two of those eggs made cracks but couldn’t get out. On a Web camera, Harding could see Harriet picking at the eggs.
“It appeared she was trying to help the chicks hatch,� Harding said. Adding to the mystery, he said, “This is behavior we don’t typically see with peregrines.�
The other two eggs hatched. On Tuesday afternoon, however, Harding could see one of the chicks wobbling, struggling to sit upright in the heat.
Harding and biologist Ernie Aschenbach checked the nest Wednesday morning. They found one chick’s body on a ledge about 100 feet from the nest, but they couldn’t find the other body.

Gee, how sad!!  Chicks have survived worse heat! 

Times Dispatch

[MAK]

May be something else going on here. Nesting there since 2003-perhaps age is playing a role in the failed hatches and survival of chicks. I'm no expert-just sayin'. Tragic season for them!  

[Bird Crazy]

May be something else going on here. Nesting there since 2003-perhaps age is playing a role in the failed hatches and survival of chicks. I'm no expert-just sayin'. Tragic season for them!  

My guess is something environmental, whatever caused the total failure in the first nesting was probably still in her system with the second though starting to wear off.

[AlisonL]

The necropsy results for one of the two Richmond chicks have now been posted on the site.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Necropsy Results

The body of the falcon chick retrieved from the ledge of the Riverfront Plaza building was submitted for necropsy to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at the University of Georgia.  Results revealed that the chick was afflicted with meningitis of a bacterial origin, with E. coli and Enterococcus sp. found in the brain, gastrointestinal tract and liver.  The brain tested negative for West Nile virus.  The cause of death was ruled to be bacterial sepsis (presence of bacteria in the bloodstream, which is normally a sterile environment) and meningoencephalitis (infection/inflammation of the brain and of the membranes enveloping the central nervous system).   

Bacteria could have been introduced into the blood stream from a variety of pathways, including via a penetrating wound (not noted during necropsy), ingestion of contaminated prey items, or bacteria from the chick’s gut entering the bloodstream due to a sustained elevated core body temperature (the days leading up to the death of the chick were extremely hot with high heat indices).

We would not normally expect high ambient temperatures or ingestion of contaminated prey to ultimately cause the death of the chick.  However, underlying genetic, stress-related, or traumatic conditions may have rendered the chick more susceptible to the effects of hot weather and/or suppressed its immune system, thereby allowing the bacterial infection to take hold. In any case it is likely that a combination of factors were ultimately the cause of this chick’s demise.

These results seem to be somewhat unexpected.

What a tragic year it has been for Ozzie and Harriet. I can only hope next year will be better for them.

[Kris G.]

The necropsy results for one of the two Richmond chicks have now been posted on the site.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Necropsy Results

The body of the falcon chick retrieved from the ledge of the Riverfront Plaza building was submitted for necropsy to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at the University of Georgia.  Results revealed that the chick was afflicted with meningitis of a bacterial origin, with E. coli and Enterococcus sp. found in the brain, gastrointestinal tract and liver.  The brain tested negative for West Nile virus.  The cause of death was ruled to be bacterial sepsis (presence of bacteria in the bloodstream, which is normally a sterile environment) and meningoencephalitis (infection/inflammation of the brain and of the membranes enveloping the central nervous system).   

Bacteria could have been introduced into the blood stream from a variety of pathways, including via a penetrating wound (not noted during necropsy), ingestion of contaminated prey items, or bacteria from the chick’s gut entering the bloodstream due to a sustained elevated core body temperature (the days leading up to the death of the chick were extremely hot with high heat indices).

We would not normally expect high ambient temperatures or ingestion of contaminated prey to ultimately cause the death of the chick.  However, underlying genetic, stress-related, or traumatic conditions may have rendered the chick more susceptible to the effects of hot weather and/or suppressed its immune system, thereby allowing the bacterial infection to take hold. In any case it is likely that a combination of factors were ultimately the cause of this chick’s demise.

These results seem to be somewhat unexpected.

What a tragic year it has been for Ozzie and Harriet. I can only hope next year will be better for them.

How sad for that baby. 

[Donna]

Horrible, poor baby! 

[Donna]

http://wildlifecenter.org/critter-corner/current-patients/peregrine-falcon-14-1319 (cont.

On June 19, the Wildlife Center received a call about one of the two female falcons hatched on cam in downtown Richmond on May 1, 2014. On June 17, the two birds fledged from their roost; volunteers with “FledgeWatch� looked on as the birds took their first flights. Two days after fledging from the nest, one of the birds flew into a building in downtown Richmond, damaging her left eye and beak. The bird was rescued and taken to the Cary Street Veterinary Hospital. The falcon was transported to the Wildlife Center the following morning. - See more at: http://wildlifecenter.org/critter-corner/current-patients/peregrine-falcon-14-1319#sthash.P91CImW9.dpuf

Update;

Peregrine Falcon #14-1319 update

July 9, 2014
Peregrine Falcon #14-1319 continues to eat well and gain weight at the Wildlife Center. On July 7, Dr. Rich re-examined the falcon’s injured left eye. Last week, there was a large blood clot present in the bird’s eye, which prevented a full evaluation of all of the structures in the back of the eye. This week, the clot has developed into a band of connective tissue in the middle portion of the bird’s eye. With so much damage sustained to the eye, the Peregrine Falcon has been deemed non-releasable.

The Center veterinarians will continue to monitor the falcon’s injury in the coming weeks. If the injured eye deteriorates, the bird's eye might need to be surgically removed. After the veterinary staff determine the course of treatment required and the bird is medically stable, the Center staff will begin working with the bird as an educational ambassador candidate.

  Poor baby

[MAK]

 

[Kris G.]

It is sad but if it can be trained as an educational ambassador, it's in a wonderful place!

[AlisonL]

From the Wildlife Center of Virginia:

Update July 21, 2014

During the past week, Peregrine Falcon #14-1319 received several more eye assessments. Dr. Dave McRuer, the Center’s veterinary director, noted that additional scar tissue was visible in the falcon’s injured eye on Thursday, July 17; on Saturday, Dr. Meghan Feeney, the Center’s veterinary intern, noted additional changes in the eye. On Monday, July 21, the falcon’s eye had visibly changed; the eye was atrophied and the falcon seemed to be reacting more to light [possibly indicating pain].

Given the changes in the eye, the falcon’s eye will need to be removed. Surgery has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 22. Once the falcon fully heals from the surgery in August, the outreach staff will begin glove-training the falcon to be an educational ambassador.

I hope the surgery went well. Poor little juvie; she has been through so much in her short life. She only had two days of flight before she was injured.