Egg #2 for Beauty
Beauty's 2nd egg
Proving she’s no one-hit wonder, Beauty laid her second egg last evening, somewhere around 11PM. Both eggs are visible in the picture above, though it can be hard to see them. You can see one just over the lip of the nest box. The other is a little farther back, but they’re both between Beauty’s feet. We’ll get a better look when the sun rises.
Falcons try to brood, or incubate their eggs all together, so that they hatch around the same time. Usually they’ll begin brooding the eggs when the next to last egg is laid, so watch her closely. If it looks like she’s beginning to incubate, we’ll know there’s probably one more egg to come.
Speaking of incubation, one of the questions that gets asked most often has to do with the fact that falcons may leave the eggs uncovered for long periods of time. This may seem unusual, but as long as the eggs don’t get below freezing, they can survive for several days without incubation.
When incubation does begin, both Beauty and Archer will both participate. They’ll place special areas of their breasts called brood patches in contact with the eggs. The brood patches have lots of blood vessels close to the skin’s surface, and these transfer the falcon’s body heat to the eggs to sustain the incubation process. Female falcons have larger brood patches than the males do, so they’re better suited to brooding larger clutches of eggs. But the males are pretty good at it too, so you’ll probably see Archer taking his turn keeping the eggs warm.
April 11th, 2010 at 2:02 AM
Great to see another egg!!! What are the possibilities of more??
April 11th, 2010 at 5:52 AM
They’re definitely not brooding, so maybe at least 2 more…
April 11th, 2010 at 8:24 AM
I am so egg-cited about this, two eggs. So proud to be able to see these miracles unfold. I too have a sadness in my heart for M&K, I have folowed them for so long, I hope they are okay.
B&A are beautiful, and I will keep a watch for more to come. Thank you for all you do.
April 11th, 2010 at 8:38 AM
A falcon is sitting on the edge of the box looking very pleased with itself;-) and I am also very pleased with them:-D
April 11th, 2010 at 9:05 AM
Another big Woo Hooooo!! 😀
April 11th, 2010 at 12:07 PM
Let the celebration begin! I can hardly wait.. ;-0
April 11th, 2010 at 3:04 PM
Thanks for explaining why the eggs are OK even though they’re uncovered. I used to worry about that very thing with Mariah and Kaver, especially when it would snow in April, but their chicks always seemed to survive the nasty weather. So I figured the birds knew better than I.
April 11th, 2010 at 6:31 PM
So happy that you have a family of falcons to watch and love again.
April 11th, 2010 at 6:32 PM
My daughter workes for Kodac so I have always been a fan.
April 11th, 2010 at 9:51 PM
Well, this is all new to me, and I am very anxious to understand! God Bless Beauty and and her eggs.
April 12th, 2010 at 6:36 AM
i am so excited to have my bird watching back! i missed them so much last year. i can’t wait to watch these two, get to know them and fall in love with them like i did with mariah and kaver. THANKS for getting them back online! here’s to a wonderful season!
April 12th, 2010 at 8:20 AM
Any current updates on Quest’s whereabouts? Last update posted is dated 5 days ago (4/7). Is her transmitter gone now?
April 12th, 2010 at 8:46 AM
Don’t worry. She is still wearing the transmitter and moving about. Jess will update the map soon.
April 12th, 2010 at 10:37 AM
Maureen, Shaky, Lennoxman posted a few days ago that the Osprey returned last Tuesday, so I’m hoping for a Quest update as well.
April 12th, 2010 at 11:00 AM
Love seeing a “Sleeping Beauty” (no pun intended) sitting on the eggs, with a watchful Archer looking in at 10:58 am.
April 12th, 2010 at 7:04 PM
@Shaky & @chrissy – Thank you!