Nest Box Update– Egg Sitting & Territory Patrol
The colder weather in Rochester over the past few days has encouraged Mariah and Kaver to spend some time keeping the eggs warm. Don’t confuse this with incubation, though. Right now, they’re just keeping the eggs from freezing. Mariah and Kaver do this by sitting over the eggs to keep the cold air away. That’s what Mariah’s doing in the picture at the left (click it to see a larger image)
A falcon’s eggs are like any bird’s, with an outer shell for protection, a yolk inside the shell which acts as a source of nutrition for the developing embryo, albumen (a clear fluid that acts as the embryo’s water supply while it’s developing), and of course, the embryo itself. The intense heat of incubation is what starts the process of turning those components into an eyas (if you’ve forgotten what an eyas is, you can find out here). For now, Mariah just needs to keep the eggs from freezing.
Kaver can keep the eggs warm too. In fact, Kaver seems to enjoy egg sitting duty. Sometimes he enjoys it so much that Mariah has to stand over him for quite a while before he gives her a turn!
Still, Kaver spends most of his time outside the nest box, either hunting for food or defending his territory. Over the past few days he’s driven out several intruders– Hawks, mostly– that came too close to the nest. Yesterday was a bit more exciting. He chased away another male Peregrine that wandered into the territory. Local falcon watchers reported that Kaver and the intruder took turns diving at each other until the stranger left the area. Those kind of confrontations aren’t that unusual, especially during the springtime when birds, including many species of raptors, are migrating. Rochester lies on a major migration route for birds in North America, so Kaver will have plenty of migrants to drive away in the coming weeks.
– Jess
March 30th, 2007 at 5:28 PM
hi my name is yasmin i am from the school #28 and my teacher name is mrs.andino and i been having fun wathinf marhia put her eggs well i thinck this is a great thing to wtch and i hope god take care of marihas babies by
March 30th, 2007 at 5:58 PM
It’s cold here in Syracuse and our falcons have been in their nestbox, also. We have only a single camera outside the nestbox so are grateful to see what is happening clearly with Mariah and Kavar down the road in Rochester. I wonder if our falcons are off-spring of Mariah and Kavar?
March 31st, 2007 at 7:57 AM
How do you know when they are sitting to keep the eggs warm and when they are incubating the eggs? Can they decide when to start incubating?
March 31st, 2007 at 11:17 AM
Thank you for your explanations; I have two young nephews who are riveted to this site. Even though I do explain to them what happens, they prefer the ‘written word’!! Needless to say their parents are very pleased that they are so taken with the peregrines. They are off to Surrey (UK) to see (hopefully) a display of falconry. Your site, and ones like it, do a great deal of good for young people, as they can see for themselves just how much care and attention various species give to their young.
March 31st, 2007 at 12:47 PM
seems to take longer at laying eggs enjoy the information
March 31st, 2007 at 12:49 PM
I heard about Mariah and Kaver from another website I’m a member of and since I checked out the falconcam (the day after Mariah layed her first egg) I’ve been hooked. My boyfriend and I come back and check on the pair and their eggs almost hourly. It’s so addicting. Mariah and Kavers story is so interesting and has created lots of educational entertainment for us. Me and my boyfriend have been on pins and needles watching the pair care for their eggs and in hopes of seeing her lay a third. Thank you for this wonderful website and all the information about the Perigrin Falcons. We have learned so much and we absolutely love it here.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:22 AM
Jess
My second graders want to know if you think Mariah will lay more eggs. A lot of time has passed since her last egg.
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:31 AM
how do you keep the pictures updated
April 4th, 2007 at 5:49 PM
hi my name is yasmin and i am from school #28 and our class been learning about mariha and i thinck learning about mariha is very cool so i’ll let you people know b
May 5th, 2007 at 12:06 AM
It’s really cool to watch Mariah and Kaver. I liked when Mariah was sitting in the nestbox waiting for Kaver to move.