Richmond Falcon Cam

The two chicks are doing well. Both seem active and healthy so...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:33:08 -0400

The two chicks are doing well. Both seem active and healthy so far.

Final Egg Gone/Hatching problems

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:13:04 -0400

The final egg of this clutch has been removed by the adults. This chick seemed to be having similar difficulties in hatching as the first egg.

In two of the eggs from this clutch we’ve watched as the adult female (and to a lesser degree the male) picked away at the pip hole in the eggs greatly widening it. This is not typical behavior as peregrine falcons do not normally assist with the hatching of their eggs. Chicks that are too weak to hatch out on their own would not likely be strong enough to survive.

We are uncertain why exactly the adults have engaged in this behavior. Although it appears to be “helping” in actuality it likely makes it more difficult for the hatch to proceed. The chick typically rotates itself through the egg while pressing up against the shell with its bill. The large hole might interfere with the chick’s ability to turn and press up against the shell.

It should be noted that in both of the eggs that successfully hatched the adults did not pick away at the egg, but allowed the chicks to complete the cycle on their own. The adults are able hear and feel the chicks moving in the egg. It may be that the adults were aware of some problem with the hatch or embryos and that this is in some way connected to their picking away at the shells.

Second Egg Hatched

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:21:00 -0400

This morning just before 7 am, another of the eggs has hatched.

The normal progression of a hatch can be seen in the series of images below

1.) A pip or initial hole can clearly be seen in this photo. This is the chick’s first effort to break through the shell using its egg tooth (a small knob on the end of their bill that will fall off shortly after hatching). The chick has broken through the air space at the end of the egg and in now breathing outside air. From here the hard work really starts. This is a long and demanding process for the tiny chick and may take up to 72 hours to complete.

2.) The chick will now rotate inside the egg scratching and scoring the inside of the shell as it goes. A muscle in the chick’s neck (the complexus muscle - also known as the hatching muscle) becomes enlarged just prior to hatching. Using this muscle the chick will push against the shell to try to break the two halves of the eggshell apart. Here you can clearly see the line the chick has made around the circumference of the egg.

3.) Once the eggshell has been weakened enough the chick breaks free! Initially they are still very wet and exhausted from this very demanding ordeal. Prior to hatching the chick will have absorbed any remaining yolk in the egg for energy. Soon the chick will dry out and we’ll see the fluffy white down that covers it.

Feeding Time

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:19:41 -0400

The chick has dried out and has had a good feeding this evening.

Hatched!

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:16:00 -0400

The second egg hatched today (6/11/13)at about 1:41 pm. The photo below captured the young chick just as it tumbled from the egg.

Three eggs

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 08:12:00 -0400

We have been anticipating the hatch of the second clutch and noted a pip (first hole) in the light colored egg yesterday. It quickly became apparent however that the hatch of this egg was not proceeding normally. Peregrine falcon chicks hatch without any assistance from their parents, using a specialized egg tooth to score the inside of the shell and break free. In this case however, both the adult female and male used their bills to chip away at the opening. Both also seemed to picking at the contents of the egg. We were able to see movement from the chick inside the egg and the adults continued to incubate all four eggs. We also noted a pip in one of the other eggs. This morning revealed that the adults had removed the lighter colored egg from the nest box. We will continue to monitor the hatching progress of the remaining eggs. Eggs can fail for any number of reasons and the hatching process is grueling for the chicks. We do know that development of the embryo was relatively advanced as we could see chick’s bill (with the egg tooth).

Egg Colors

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:55:00 -0400

Falcon cam viewers may have noticed that one of the four eggs is much lighter in color than the other three. This isn’t all that unusual as peregrine falcon eggs may be a wide variety of colors from pale creamy to darker reddish brown. The eggs are also typically patterned with darker splotches and spots. All eggs begin with white shells in the female’s reproductive tract. Once the eggs pass into the uterus region they receive their pigmentation, including any patterns

Egg # 4

Mon, 13 May 2013 23:47:00 -0400

Today we were able to see a fourth egg in the Richmond nest. Given how well the eggs are hidden in the nest box we can’t be sure when it was laid. Based on our estimates of when the previous eggs were laid, we believe that this egg was produced sometime between Saturday and afternoon. This egg will likely fill out the clutch although as this female showed us earlier this season - peregrine falcons are capable of laying five eggs.

Three Eggs

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:18:33 -0400

The position of the scrape in the nest box makes it very hard to see the eggs. We have been watching closely for any sign of additional eggs and finally caught a glimpse of a third egg just before noon today. We aren’t sure when this may have been laid - likely sometime yesterday or earlier today. We’ll continue to watch and see if a fourth egg is laid over the weekend.

Take Two

Thu, 09 May 2013 08:28:00 -0400

We have confirmed a second clutch of eggs for the Richmond peregrine falcons. The first egg was likely laid sometime on Saturday May 4th. A second was clearly seen on May 7th. Peregrine falcons typically lay eggs two days apart. The nest scrape (depression in the gravel where the eggs are laid) is very close to the front edge of the nest box , making it difficult to see how many eggs the pair have. The birds have been incubating regularly and incubation generally starts with the penultimate (second to last) egg, although cool temeratures can cause incubation to start earlier in the process. A four egg clutch is the norm for peregrine falcons but we’ll have to wait until we get a better look to know for sure how many eggs we have.

Second Clutch Possible

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:52:29 -0400

Since the loss of the eggs at the Dominion Building we have been watching the cameras there as well as at Riverfront Plaza for falcon activity. We were pleased to see the birds on the Riverfront Plaza camera on April 23rd. Since that time both the male and female have spent considerable time at the nest box and have frequently engaged in courtship behavior like the “head-low” display seen below.

All of this makes us cautiously optimistic as we wait to see if the Richmond peregrines will attempt a second clutch.

April 19th

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:03:24 -0400

DGIF biologists have been closely monitoring the nest and this morning noted that only a single egg remained. Biologists accessed the nest box and examined the remaining egg.

The egg was clearly cracked and leaking yolk. The cracks were not consistent with a normal hatching and at this late stage the yolk should have been absorbed by the embryo. All of this indicated that the egg was not viable. The egg was collected and DGIF is looking into having it evaluated for a variety of factors that might have led to this outcome.

Although it is late in the breeding season, the potential for re-nesting exists and we will continue to monitor this nest site for falcon activity.

April 18th Update

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:31:31 -0400

DGIF biologists continue to monitor the nest at One James River Plaza. Sometime after 7:30am this morning another egg was removed by the falcons. Two eggs remain and are being incubated. There are any number of factors that can contribute to late embryo mortality and at this point we don’t have enough information to do any more than speculate.

Richmond Falcons April 15th

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:53:02 -0400

While we work to get the feed up and running, we continue to regularly monitor the cameras. Earlier today we saw that another egg has been removed from the scrape. In the photos below the eggs are visible as the male (noted by the bands on his legs) relieves the female of her incubating duty. The three remaining eggs are being incubated and we hope to see signs of hatching over the next few days.

Richmond Falcon Update

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 16:12:19 -0400

On Thursday April 11^th Biologists with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF), with the assistance of Dominion personnel, installed two webcams at the peregrine falcon nest box on the 22^nd floor of the Dominion Building at One James River Plaza in Downtown Richmond.

These two cameras will allow biologists to monitor the progress of the birds through their breeding cycle and provide the public with an opportunity to see the day to day lives of these amazing birds of prey. This project is jointly sponsored by VDGIF and Dominion. With the assistance of the University of Virginia Long Term Ecological Research project, live images from the camera will be made available to the public. We are working on the technical aspects of making these images available and hope to have it up and running soon. DGIF biologists will post information and updates through the breeding season.

The pair had laid a five egg clutch for the first time. The camera allowed us to see that one of these eggs was not being incubated through much of the day on Friday. On Friday evening at approximately 7:30 pm we could see that only four eggs remained in the nest box. Falcons will often remove non-viable eggs from the nest and we suspect that is what occurred. A DGIF biologist searched the ground underneath the nesting area on Saturday morning and found no sign of the egg. The female continues to incubate the remaining four eggs. Peregrine falcons typically incubate their eggs for 33-35 days and we expect these eggs to hatch sometime next week.

New Nest Box and Another Surprise

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 09:49:16 -0400

The Richmond peregrine falcons are full of surprises this year, not only did the pair nest in a new location, but a visit by VDGIF biologists on Friday afternoon (March 15th) determined that the pair had ltwo more eggs…for a total of five! This is very unusual for peregrine falcons. Work by CCB from 2002 through 2012 found only 7 five-egg clutches in Virginia during that 10 year period. (source Center for Conservation Biology).

Hide and Seek

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 22:27:00 -0400

Over the winter DGIF biologists accessed the ledge to perform maintenance on the Falcon Cam and to fashion a new fledge pen for the upcoming nesting season. This work was completed in December and we continued to see both adult falcons in the area and frequenting the nest ledge atop the Riverfront Plaza.

As the breeding season drew closer we expected to see more and more frequent visits to the nest box as the adults prepared for breeding. Although we continued to see them around Downtown we were not seeing them in and around the nest box. In past years the pair has occasionally waited until just before they were ready to lay eggs before appearing at the box so we continued to watch and wait.

Reports from observers downtown indicated that the birds were becoming very active. DGIF biologists manning the camera noticed the female regularly perched on a vertical opening along the top of the Southeastern face of the One James River Plaza building (the Dominion Building). The female was noted using the same opening on a number of occasions over a period of weeks and finally today we watched her walk into the opening and remain there for well over two hours. This seemed to be a strong indication that the birds had found a new nest site. DGIF contacted personnel at the building and they investigated confirming that the birds were indeed nesting here…and had three eggs!

Photo courtesy of Stu Hanckel

The pair is using an nest box first erected when peregrine falcons were released from the roof of the Dominion building from 2000 through 2002. Although falcons have been breeding in downtown Richmond since 2003 they have never used this box…until this year. For more details about the Richmond falcons please go here DGIF is coordinating with building personnel and will continue to monitor this pair and their breeding progress. We do not know at this point if we will be able to place a camera to follow them We will to post updates as we learn more.

Male juvenile falcon update

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 07:09:01 -0400

The Richmond male juvenile falcon found dead on June 21 appears to have died as a result of a collision with the James Monroe building. A June 25 necropsy by the state wildlife veterinarian did not reveal any fractures or signs of trauma. However, the body of the bird was in poor condition due to exposure to hot weather following its death, so that any signs of internal hemorrhaging would not have been detectable. The falcon was estimated to have died within 24 hrs of its having been discovered in the early morning of June 21. Although the falcon was thin, this is not atypical for juvenile birds that have recently come off the nest and are expending a lot of energy in practicing to fly and other activities. Evidence of the juvenile having recently fed was further testament that the bird’s body condition was not likely to have contributed to its death.

Ultimately the necropsy did not document evidence of the bird having collided with a building. However, observations at the scene when the bird was discovered, including the bird’s proximity to the building, lead us to conclude that a collision was implicated in the death of the falcon. The site of the incident is somewhat surprising, as the reflectivity of the glass façade of the James Monroe building is lower than that of other buildings in the downtown Richmond area, such that it is unclear what circumstances contributed to this unfortunate event.

Pen Removal Update

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 07:07:43 -0400

Yesterday morning DGIF biologists accessed the ledge in order to remove the pen that had housed the falcon chicks prior to their fledging. We were met with consistent aggression by the falcon pair, and when one of the juvenile females began joining in the attacks, we withdrew from the ledge so as to avoid potential injury to the young falcon through collision with the building. Prior to leaving, we were able to remove the wooden roof and collect the gravel and the actuator used to remotely open the pen door (see June 5 post ‘Opening doors’). Removal of the actuator, which could be potentially damaged by wet weather, was the reason that we accessed the ledge earlier than we have in the past. We will complete removal of the pen in a few weeks, when it is anticipated that the birds will be less territorial.

Male Juvenile Falcon Found Dead

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 09:53:40 -0400

Yesterday morning the juvenile male falcon (band AS/83) was found dead at the James Monroe Building in downtown Richmond. DGIF staff retrieved the bird it will be examined by the Agency wildlife veterinarian. The exact cause of death has not been determined, hopefully the exam will provide some definitive answers. We will share the results once they are known.