Female Black-chinned Hummingbird Appears May 19, 2013

 

 

The Boise downtown peregrine falcons look pretty well. What appears to be the female – the size looks quite large – was brooding the eyasses today with her body parallel to the opening of the box, thus blocking the air with more surface area facing the wind. She had her wing dropped and touching the gravel to form a seal against the wind. It is windy up there and the windchill is about 55 degrees. All is quiet and calm at the Peregrine House.
At our backyard humming bird feeder, the female Black-chinned hummingbird made an appearance. But not before this House Finch took a drink in the bird bath, and then flew away. The photo to the left is the House Finch leaving the water. Enjoy the photos and Keep Looking Up! Please cast your VOTE above. Thanks! Left-Click the photos to see them enlarged.

 

 
 

 

Female Black-chinned Hummingbird drinking.

Female Black-chinned Hummingbird

Black-chinned Hummingbird At Backyard Feeder May 18, 2013

 

 

After checking on the Boise downtown peregrine eyasses this morning, who are doing very well – they look healthy, I went out to our feeders and saw this little guy feeding. I saw one earlier in May, but this is the first time I have seen him recently. Robin saw him the other day, but he was just checking out the feeder and did not feed that we saw. Here are some more photos I took. Enjoy and Keep Looking Up! Left-Click to see the photo enlarged.

 

 

 

 

 

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Boise Peregrine Falcon Hatching Sequence May 15, 2013

I just received this information from the Peregrine Fund about the use of the egg yolk by the chicks during the hatching process. For those of you who do not like me posting this information, then my suggestion is that you not follow nor subscribe nor read this blog. The choice is yours and I am truly sorry that you are so narrow minded. There are those who do not subscribe to the Peregrine Fund newsletter via email and those people like these updates.
For those who appreciate the information and these updates, here is the latest. Keep Looking Up!

“The yolk inside the egg, which nourished the embryos during incubation, was absorbed into the body cavity of the chicks immediately prior to hatching. Although the yolk keeps the chicks well-nourished for a few days, their begging instinct kicks in right away. The adults have been feeding them bits of food by tearing off small chunks of meat and delicately placing them in the chicks’ beaks.

From our experience of successfully raising thousands of falcons in captivity in the last 40 years, we know that a begging chick is not necessarily a hungry chick. The adult birds know exactly how much food each chick requires. As effective as The Peregrine Fund is at feeding chicks, we know we will never do it as well as the natural parents.”

[The Peregrine Fund]

The parents of the four chicks are providing well for the eyasses and they grow stronger every day. Cheers!

Boise Downtown Peregrine Update May 13, 2013

 

 

The Boise downtown Peregrine Falcons are doing quite well, even in this heat – 93 degrees right now. I received this official update from the Peregrine Fund. Hope this helps to keep everyone informed. I am, however, very sorrfy to see that there are those who evidently abused the Falcon Cam site and, therefore, the Peregrine Fund has stopped using names on the “chat line”. )-: “The screen name feature has been removed due to abuse.” Here is what the Peregrine Fund said about the newborns. Keep Looking Up!

“It was a busy Mother’s Day for the female Peregrine Falcon! She had three new chicks in the nest on Sunday and gained another one on Monday.

Both the male and female will brood the four chicks for about 10 days, depending on the weather. The young birds are not yet capable of regulating their own body temperatures, so they need to sit under the adults for warmth. The young ones also can huddle together to keep warm.

The empty shells visible in the nest today will be blown out of the nest or removed by the adults along with feathers, bones, and other litter.” [The Peregrine Fund]

Watching the Eyasses From The Falcon Cam May 12, 2013

Watching the Boise downtown Peregrine Falcon eyasses. By this time, there may be three that have hatched today. I have only seen two, but several reports of watching an egg hatch. And here is the definition of eyas or the plural, eyasses.

Definition of EYAS

: an unfledged bird; specifically : a nestling hawk

 

Origin of EYAS

Middle English, alteration (by incorrect division of a neias) of neias, from Anglo-French niais taken in the nest, from Vulgar Latin *nidax nestling, from Latin nidus nest — more at nest
First Known Use: 15th century [New Merriam Webster Dictionary]

So while watching on a mobile device, I am also watching for the humming birds and the American Goldfinch at our backyard feeders. Good luck today. I caught a House Finch with an attitude and a beautiful American Goldfinch. Look at these photos – Left-Click to see enlarged – and Keep Looking Up! Cheers and good sightings. Please VOTE above. Thanks.

House Finch with an attitude!

Time for some water. It’s 87 degrees outside.

American Goldfinch landing.

American Goldfinch

One Peregrine Hatchling!

 

 

 

It was great to see that at about 0855 this morning, or a little earlier, Mother’s Day, that the Boise peregrine falcon family had the addition of one more falcon. We had an egg hatch! And at 0930 there was a report of two chicks, but will have to wait for confirmation on that. 1 is confirmed at this time. Yea! Keep watching the falcon cam to watch the “Little Ones”. Keep Looking Up! Sorry that we are not allowed to post a screen shot of the new falcon. Those are copyrighted images, according to the Peregrine Fund (Jack Cafferty) and Fiberpipe (Doug Chapman).
 
Note: It was confirmed at 0945 on the Idaho Birding site of two chicks. “Call it 2. Was checking out the live feed cam, she got off the nest for a second to adjust and there definitely 2 chicks now”

Backyard Feeders Doing Fine May 11, 2013

 

Our backyard feeders are doing their job – keeping us broke in filling with seeds! If you look in the sidebar for the National Bird Feeding Society logo, you can get some good info on backyard feeders. And, for your information, the Boise downtown falcons are doing good. The parents are “talking” to the eggs and rolling them. The signs look good for hatching soon – very soon.
And while we are waiting for the first hatching, we watch our backyard. I have spotted 1 Black-chinned hummingbird, but only one. The Mourning Doves, pictured here, English Sparrows and House Finches are abundant. I even saw a Swainson’s Hawk soaring high over head. Here, take a look. Keep Looking Up and please VOTE above. Cheers! Left-Click to enlarge.

House Finches at one of our feeders.

House Finch at our “Fountain Bird Bath”. It is solar powered.

Swainson’s Hawk high overhead .