Just to let everyone know: January 1, 2017, I will be taking this site down. There seems to be little or no interest in it any more and the Boise Fledge Watch team has not been active for several years now. Its been fun and exciting.
Boise Peregrine Falcons Have Fledged
The season seemed to be shorter this year. Maybe faster. At any rate, the latest from the Peregrine Fund is,
“June 27
We have received confirmation that all of the chicks have successfully fledged the nest! We wanted to thank all of you for watching the FalconCam this season and please come visit us at The World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho this summer!”
News From the Boise Peregrines
Here is the latest word from the Peregrine Fund today. Interesting information.
If you’ve been keeping up with Boise’s Fastest Family, you’ve probably noticed that we have four fluffy chicks in the nest, they’re growing like weeds, and mom hasn’t been spending as much time incubating.
In the next 3-4 weeks, the chicks will be going through a lot of changes. Their fuzzy hatchling down will give way to full feathers and they will grow to be the size of a full adult Peregrine. Because of their increased size and the warmer weather, the parents do not need to spend as much time incubating. They do, however, need to spend significant more time hunting to feed the growing chicks.
Fortunately for our chicks, both parents are talented hunters. During one 20 minute viewing session last week, we watched dad deliver small prey items to the nest ledge twice! Later that day, mom brought back a full-sized pigeon and spent approximately 30 minutes feeding the chicks and herself from the large quarry.
One of the most interesting things about watching the FalconCam at this stage of chick growth is to see what prey items are brought to the nest and how the chicks eat. Not all chicks eat at every feeding. Often one or two chicks in the back of the cluster won’t be fed during one session, but will get the majority of the food at the next feeding. The parents usually feed based on a chick’s feeding response – which is often just the chick opening its beak as the parent holds food nearby. A chick that is full from a previous feeding won’t exhibit a strong feeding response, which cues the parent to move on to another chick.
The chicks are huddled together. 1530 this afternoon, 19 May 2016
1535 19 May 2016 – The Boise chicks.
Boise Peregrine Falcon Chicks
Yes, the chicks were visible this morning at about 1250 pm on 9 May 2016. Very windy and somewhat cooler than normal, but all are doing well. Sorry for the bad “screen captures” but the camera lens needs cleaning. That won’t happen until the chicks are banded. But ewnjoy these photos in the meantime. Keep Looking Up!
The chicks
Mom keeps them out of the wind and warm
At around 1540 this afternoon, Mom came back to the box with food. Ansd to make a correction: There are only 3 chicks, not four! There is no report from the Peregrine Fund of any “accidents” so my count was wrong! 3 chicks! Here they are eating thisafternoon. Enjoy!
3 chicks eating. Only 3!
3 chicks.
2 Peregrine Chicks in Boise Confirmed
The Peregrine Fund in Boise, today confirmed that there are two chicks in the box. Here is their notice – “FalconCam Update 5/6/16
Happy Mother’s Day to you and all the moms in your life! Just in time for Mother’s Day weekend, we’re excited to announce that two of the Peregrine Falcon chicks have hatched! We’re keeping a close eye out to see when the others hatch, but Mom is doing a great job of sitting tight on them to keep them warm!
If you do catch sight of the chicks, you’ll notice that they currently look like little white fluff-balls, but they won’t stay like that for long. Within the next 5-6 weeks they’ll grow to be full-sized Peregrines! At that time they will have all of their feathers and be ready to fledge the nest.
This is when the FalconCam becomes really fun to watch! We also recommend turning on your sound and listening to the camera as the parents usually vocalize when switching places or bringing food back to the nest. Those vocalizations can be a good indication that you’ll be able to catch a glimpse of the chicks. As the chicks grow, you’ll notice new development and an increase in size almost every day.
Tune into the FalconCam at: Web Cam Link” [Peregrine Fund, May 6, 2016]
Mom stretches to get some “left-overs” while continuing to keep the chicks warm and the remaining two eggs incubated. [6 May 2016, Boise, Idaho]
The Boise Chicks Have Arrived?
At least that is what it looks like to me. At least 1 chick; maybe two. See the two very dark eyes peering out from under Mama? See the fresh broken egg shell? We must be more diligent now and watch the cameras close. Here is a link to the Boise Peregrine Fund Web Cam, there is also a permanent link in the sidebar. If you are watching the web cam and see the chicks, please do a “Screen Capture” and send me the photo. I will post it here. In the meantime, here are two screen shots I got today at about 1500, May 5, 2016. Keep Looking Up!
One chick peering out from under Mom. You must look close – sorry for the poor image. No egg shell visible.
Tiercel, on edge of box and Female incubating. They are “talking” to one another. New egg shell fragment on gravel.
April 19, 2016 Update
Mostly the parents are being “good parents” and keeping the eggs protected and warm. There are at least 4 eggs in the nest and no reports of 5 eggs. The weather in Boise is warming up this week, mid to high 70’s and close to 80, but then a cool down next week to the low to mid 60’s. It’s Springtime in the Rockies! This screen capture was taken this morning at 0900. Keep Looking Up!
Tiercel just stopped incubating and is out for a flight. 62 degrees F already and clear skies. Look close and count the eggs.
And So The Season Begins!
Yea! The Boise falcons have returned and the female is incubating eggs. Here is the latest from the Peregrine Fund. There is a new, 2016, hot link to the Boise FalconCam in the sidebar.
This just in from the Peregrine fund…
2016 FalconCam Update 4/11/16
Welcome to the 2016 FalconCam season! This is the eighth year a webcam has provided you with a front-row seat for watching the daily activities at a nest box in downtown Boise.
The female Peregrine Falcon is already incubating eggs, and we’re all eager to get a glimpse to see how many have already been laid. Peregrine Falcon eggs are typically incubated for an average of 34 days before hatching which means our first chicks should make an appearance at the beginning of May.
The Peregrine Fund was instrumental in the recovery of Peregrine Falcons in the United States and our work led to them being removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List in 1999. It is particularly neat to get to watch a pair doing so well right in downtown Boise!
We would like to thank our FalconCam partners Idaho Department of Fish and Game and Fiberpipe Data Centers for their support in monitoring the birds and for providing live streaming video. We hope you enjoy watching the Boise Falcon Family grow!
First screen shot of the Boise downtown falcons. Looks like the camera lens needs cleaning.
Eagles at Barber Park, Boise
Rather cold this morning at 9:00 – 29 degrees. But the Eagles were flying. The fish were active and other predators were around. Namely hawks. It was snowing lightly, but the activity along the Boise River was good. There was a report that there were several Eagles and yearlings further downstream from where I was. Robin was waiting in the car, hungry and cold. Best not follow up on that observation. I saw 2 adults and two yearlings, but only got to photograph the adults. Here’s what I saw. Keep Looking up! Left-Click any of these photos to see them enlarged.
Can anyone ID this hawk? Thanks.
Or ID this one?
The Boise River looking east from Barber Park.
Beautiful Eagle!
Same one, different pose.
Eagle flying west – downstream.
Evidently he caught breakfast.
The Boise River has many fish.
Good pose!
Coopers Hawk
Last night at about 7:20pm, our neighbor Becca called and said that she was out in her backyard, went inside for something and returned to her back yard. She said that “…this bird” was where she was working and that it had not been there before. She brought it to me.
I believe it is a Coopers Hawk. We have had one, or several, in the neighborhood for several years now. I hope this is not one of them. There are no visible trauma marks on the hawk and no signs of anything broken. Here are some post-mortem photos of the hawk. Left-Click to see a larger view. If someone from the Idaho Fish and Game, The Peregrine Fund or The Idaho Bird Observatory would like to have it or examine it, I will keep it for a short time. Please contact me.
Frontside view. Coopers Hawk a neighbor found in her yard. No apparent wounds. Our neighbor called me last night and said she was in her backyard. Went inside. Came back out and saw this bird on the ground. It was not there before. Looks to me like a Coopers Hawk. No intrusive markings or wounds on the body. Neck is broken as if it hit something. No broken windows, “dusted” glass or prey pieces.
Back view.
Flight of the Peregrine 
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