Fw: [SJ Peregrines] Observation 12:00pm--Now economic value

[Noelle <http://dummy.us.eu.org/noelleg>]

----- Forwarded Message -----
>From: stewartfalcon <http://www.ucsc.edu/~gstewart>
>To: http://www.yahoogroups.com/~where-I-livePeregrines 
>Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 10:42 PM
>Subject: Re: [SJ Peregrines] Observation 12:00pm--Now economic value
> 
>The payoff for the new mate is all about territorial ownership and future 
>opportunities to breed. (Besides, he copulated so what does he know?) Female 
>peregrines are also known to take over incubation of eggs that are not theirs, 
>presumably again, to gain possession of a territory. As we have discussed here 
>previously, between outright persecution of raptors and the population 
>limiting effects of the pesticide DDT, it has probably been one hundred years 
>or more since peregrines were at carrying capacity in the Bay Area 
>environment. So it is hard to say what is "normal." We can discuss this and 
>more Saturday morning at the SJ MLK library, 10:30 a.m. --glenn@scpbrg
>
>--- In http://www.yahoogroups.com/~where-I-livePeregrines, Kim Mauch <falconet85@...> wrote:
>>
>> Could anyone explain the economic value, if you will, for Fernando to feed,
>> care for and foster chicks that do not carry his genes? Is this not unusual
>> for birds?
>> Kim
>> falconet85@...
>> 
>> From:  nancy_eranosian <nancyeranosian@...>
>> Reply-To:  <http://www.yahoogroups.com/~where-I-livePeregrines>
>> Date:  Tuesday, April 17, 2012 3:00 PM
>> To:  <http://www.yahoogroups.com/~where-I-livePeregrines>
>> Subject:  [SJ Peregrines] Observation 12:00pm to 2:30pm including Fernando's
>> first feeding of the eyasses
>> 
>>  
>>    
>> 
>> All quiet when I arrived at 12:00 noon.  Babies alone in nest box and a few
>> were starting to scoot away from the nest cup.  Active already!
>> 
>> At 12:07pm, the camera found an adult (turned out to be Clara) on the upper
>> ledge east end.  I don't know how long she was there, but she flew off at
>> 12:12pm.
>> 
>> By 12:13pm, we had four fluffy pancakes alone in the nest box!
>> 
>> At 12:33pm, Clara started feeding lunch to the eyasses.  It isn't clear who
>> brought the meal in, but it appeared fresh and not a leftover.  Fernando was
>> on the drain for a few moments then hopped down to the lower east ledge.
>> From there he quickly flew away and I didn't see him again until 1:58pm.
>> 
>> The lunch feeding lasted nearly half an hour.  At the beginning, one of the
>> eyasses stayed off to the right, investigating its wings and chest, and
>> possibly preening(?) or pulling at its fuzzy down.  I was amazed at how much
>> self-awareness was showing up among a few of the babies.  How quickly they
>> mature!
>> 
>> After a few minutes, the fourth eyas began wailing for food and scooted
>> itself closer to its siblings and joined in the fray.  They all ate well
>> with bulging crops after the feeding was over.
>> 
>> Once Clara started running out of meat on the prey, she started pulling up
>> feathers and actually fed feathers to at least one of the babies!  But she
>> quickly started plucking more feathers away from the meal and resumed
>> feeding "real" food.
>> 
>> At 12:58pm, Clara took the prey remains to the other side of the nest and
>> began eating a little of it herself, but she managed to stuff some more food
>> into a few begging beaks, too.
>> 
>> At 1:00pm, Clara hopped out to the runway and then flew over the ledge
>> heading south, leaving the prey remains in the nest box.
>> 
>> While one baby was already down for a nap, the others had a hard time
>> settling down.  There was a lot of wiggling, heads popping up,
>> re-positioning, a little pooping.  By 1:12pm, they were all down in a pile
>> napping.
>> 
>> At 1:53pm, the camera found a shadow of tail feathers near the roof line on
>> the west wall of CH, very near Camera 2 housing.  The shadow moved around;
>> perhaps this bird was preening.  I assumed this was Fernando and wondered
>> how long he'd been there.
>> 
>> At 1:58pm, a bird landed on the ledge, entered the nest box, and stood over
>> the babies.  It was Fernando.  Perhaps he'd flown down from the roof to
>> check the babies.
>> 
>> At 2:02pm, Fernando started picking at the leftovers on the right-side of
>> the nest cup, left behind by Clara at the last feeding.  He ate from the
>> leftovers and the babies all stood at attention!  With Fernando's back to
>> the camera, it was difficult to see if he was actually feeding the babies,
>> but he was certainly going through the motions.  After a few minutes, he
>> faced front and yes, indeed, he was feeding the eyasses!  Very tenderly at
>> that.  I *think* this is the first time Fernando has been seen feeding the
>> babies.  What a great stepdad!!
>> 
>> At 2:19pm, Fernando dropped the leftovers at the feet of the baby closest to
>> the front, and left the nest box.  The baby started to feed itself, or at
>> least tried!
>> 
>> At 2:20pm, Clara landed on the ledge and Fernando headed for the drain.
>> They may have had a brief communication and then F. hopped down to the lower
>> east ledge.  He ended up on the upper east ledge, alternately looking around
>> and napping.
>> 
>> At 2:21pm, Clara hopped down to the runway and entered the nest box to check
>> on the babies.  She looked around at the leftovers but there wasn't much to
>> feed anyone.  She ended up walking over to the right of the nest cup and
>> watched over the babies as they settled down for a nap.
>> 
>> At 2:30pm, it's a quiet domestic scene.  Be well, falcons, it's a lovely
>> afternoon!