Cabin John Peregrines, 2012

[Paul Hamilton]

I didn't see any peregrines on my last visit to my local site.  Had the nest failed?  Today was a different story, as both birds were at the nest box, seemingly guarding something.  Will there be chicks this year?

Paul

[MAK]

Nice pic Paul! 

[Donna]

Great pic Paul, I hope they have something there.

[Paul Hamilton]

Craig Koppie, the USFWS Eagle Coordinator/Raptor Biologist with the Chesapeake Bay Field Office just emailed me with confirmation:

Hi Paul. Yes, the same pair is present this year which produced two chicks this year. I banded one male and one female last week; ages were between 18-20 days. They probably will not venture out of the box until an additional 2 weeks or so. Craig

The male is from Pennsylvania and the female is from New York.  I'm still trying to find out the exact nest sites of origin.

Paul

[Donna]

Craig Koppie, the USFWS Eagle Coordinator/Raptor Biologist with the Chesapeake Bay Field Office just emailed me with confirmation:

Hi Paul. Yes, the same pair is present this year which produced two chicks this year. I banded one male and one female last week; ages were between 18-20 days. They probably will not venture out of the box until an additional 2 weeks or so. Craig

The male is from Pennsylvania and the female is from New York.  I'm still trying to find out the exact nest sites of origin.

Paul

2!!! Sweet. This is great, thanks Paul.

[dale]

Yeah, in that photo they are definitely "on guard" - you could tell even before you got confirmation, couldn't you!

[Bonnie]

And I'm still waiting the ny confirmation of the female.  Paul, have you bought out all the mosquito repellent in dc?

[Paul Hamilton]

Here is all I know about the pair, from Craig Koppie:

The female, as always, landed on the box over my head or lands on the anchor pier within 5 feet of me. She is V/0. She is from NY. He is the same male, banded in PA. He is without a color band because the bander ran out of auxillary bands at the time of banding. Her color band created tons of problems because we could not discern if the the "0" (zero) was actually a zero or an "O". I trapped both adults during the second nesting season, whereby I was able to record the FWS migratory bird band from each bird and tracked those numbers with the USGS Banding Lab.

As you can see, both birds carry with them a certain amount of mystery.  On top of that, just an hour or so after last year's banding,  9/C, a nine-year-old female from Vermont, made a low-key visit.  My site is not a dull place!

There's no mosquito problem down under the bridge, probably because the Potomac flows quite rapidly.  Here's a picture of the nest box from one of my viewing locations and another of the male.

Paul

[Bonnie]

But if the birds were trapped and bands up close why can't they ID?  I am perplexed. All these banders know each other.   

[Paul Hamilton]

But if the birds were trapped and bands up close why can't they ID?  I am perplexed. All these banders know each other.  

Getting this information would require that Mr. Koppie go back to his files and extract it.   Right now is the height of the raptor season, so I don't expect him to find time to do this.  I've asked him several times over the past year or two, but, realistically, he is a very busy guy. I'm glad that he has sent me the information that I've gotten.

I've also emailed Barbara Loucks regarding the New York bird.  She sent a reply, but has not gotten back to me with any information yet. Raptor people are very busy, particularly now. I've checked several databases and nobody has a V/0.  If you have any suggestions on how I can learn more about my birds, I'd be very happy.

As much as I would like the info,  I  also enjoy the mystery.  Such is life with peregrines.  For now, the good news is two chicks.  That means talon tag is finally possible.

Paul

[NoraH]

That would be great to find out where/who they are, but the important thing is there are two little ones 

[Bonnie]

In 2008 and 2009 Chris Nadereski used V for the girls at Water Street, but none with V/O or 0.  Could be he used that combo at some of the other NYC sites.

Paul, did you contact this person?

http://www.ccb-wm.org/news/2008_OctDec/band_resight_instructions.htm

[Paul Hamilton]

Probably not one of those birds, as my female has red and black bands, indicating an older bird, and she ans been at the bridge since 2008 or 2009.

Meanwhile, another birder just reported that:

I heard a Great Blue Heron squawking as it flew down the Potomac River.  I then noticed that it was being chased by an adult Peregrine Falcon.  The heron got away and I watched the falcon fly back and perch on a bridge abutment to be greeted by two juvenile Peregrine Falcons.

Normally, Great Blue Herons, Turkey Vultures, and other large birds are ignored by my pair.  It sounds as if my local chicks are venturing out of the nest, the parents are on high alert, and it is time to start watching for fledges!

Paul

[Paul Hamilton]

As I emerged from the brush into the area beneath the bridge, the male immediately left his post on top of the nest box and flew to a girder over my head.  There he sat, kakking, until he evidently decided that I was no threat, and returned to his family far away over the water. 

About an hour later, I looked up to see a male falcon soaring toward the rock I was watching from.  He circled about 40 feet over my head and continued on to one of the bridge piers on the far Virginia shore.  That's the male's favorite guard post.  His mate posts herself on the Maryland side and the two of them make me think of the paws of a huge, otherwise invisible beast.  Imagine my surprise when my binoculars showed me it was his son, now clearly a fledgeling.

His sister was doing a lot of wing flapping, so I decided she was still unfledged. I did observe that she flew a short distance into the nest box, rather than just jumping, so I think she is ready to go also.

Paul

[Bonnie]

Isn't it thrilling?  Glad to know they are safe at this time.