Just-hatched baby falcons at City Hall

[abcdefz]

Yeah. You probably won't be able to see 'em, but they're on camera here.

Here's the diary from the last batch. The photo about halfway down of one of the chicks warning Brian off is pretty funny.

These falcons are amazing. They dive bomb pigeons at City hall right out of the air and take them back for food.

[taquitos]

Awww! wook at the baby fowcons!

i used to want a peregrine falcon when i was little, after i read My Side of the Mountain and that kid had one.

They are the fastest moving animal, clocking in at diving speeds of up to 90mph!

[na§tee]

all i can see is a big black motherfucker. that is certainly not a baby. move, bitch! move!
EDIT: christ, maybe it is. falcons are pretty huge after all. don't look at me, i'm british.

i hate pigeons. i hate when you're sat in george square eating your lunch people decide to feed them by throwing their crumbs on the ground and they all come swarming next to you. you can feel a hot breeze of GERMS enveloping your food. thanks, citizen! pigeons are rats with wings. grey squirrels are rats with pretty tails. FACT.

[abcdefz]

It's the mom, I think.

You can see what the chicks look like if you scroll down on the diary page.

[MC Moot]

Trick!...we've been at it in this city for 20 some years...it's great to see the recovery since the ban of DDT's...I love birds of prey...

http://www.falconcam.med.ualberta.ca/past_news.html

Pergerine feather given to me by Aboriginal student...

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x.../peregrine.jpg

[abcdefz]

Nice!

[MC Moot]

quick!...she's sticking her head out....

http://www.falconcam.med.ualberta.ca/cam1.html

*wishes she was in San Jose,returns to box*

[MC Moot]

Originally Posted by taquitos

Awww! wook at the baby fowcons!

i used to want a peregrine falcon when i was little, after i read My Side of the Mountain and that kid had one.!

HELL Yeah!...I missed this earlier...one of my fave young adult reads!...evryone should live in a hollowed out tree for awhile!!!..."Incident at Hawks Hill" was like a companion to it for me....

http://www.amazon.com/Incident-Hawks.../dp/0316209481

[AceFace]

morning falcon duty reporting in.

[abcdefz]

She looked like she was sleeping when I checked this morning.


I WANNA SEE SOME BREAKFASTING

[abcdefz]

Nope. She's awake now.

ZOOM IN!

[MC Moot]

Fastest creature on the planet...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3mTP...eature=related

[AceFace]

TWO BABIES!

[AceFace]

holy shit that's gruesome.

[abcdefz]

Cool! You can see them right now.

I don't know what time the dad usually brings food back.

[abcdefz]

I think she's rolled one of the eggs behind her.

[AceFace]

dad brought food. a whole dead bird. very gross.

[abcdefz]

Cool

[AceFace]

that's a broken egg behind her. there's still one nestled in with the babies it looks like.

did you see both mom and dad!?

[abcdefz]

I missed it.

There were, I think, four eggs total. Two have hatched, or three now?

[abcdefz]

Originally Posted by AceFace

did you see both mom and dad!?

She actually had a different partner last year who disappeared in July. I guess they usually mate for life, so no one knows what happened.
Anyway, two new falcons came and courted her, and this guy won.

[abcdefz]

Yeah... she looks a little pooped right now.

[MC Moot]

The High Cost of Housing in Calgary Continues Unabated

This is not condusive to baby's,the making therof or laying that follows...

Current News - April 27th, 2008 - After the fight on last Sunday morning in which the returning satellite telemetry falcon, "Homeless", was evicted again, some of us thought the resident 2007-2008 female, "5/9 (HV)" was set for a comfortable spring and summer. Not so! As observed by Wayne Nelson on the evening of Tuesday April 29th there was another dispute at the UofA nestbox, and this time the 2007-2008 female was evicted. Alastair Franke had read the new female's band number within about two hours of the eviction. The new nest box owner is tagged as "R7 (HV)".

Forty years ago Peregrine biologists did not think Peregrines fought, or if the falcons did it was extremely rarely. With Peregrines nesting in cities, with numerous falcon observers, and with webcams at many falcon nest sites, more Peregrine fights have been documented in the last fifteen years than in all previous history, albeit still very few. This second fight within the same season is quite interesting to witness, and to observe as the season unfolds.

http://www.falconcam.med.ualberta.ca/cam2.html

[abcdefz]

I can't load the plug-in.

One of our eggs was a dud, it seems.

They're getting big.

[MC Moot]

^damn...awesome view right now..the current tenant looks pissed!...

http://www.falconcam.med.ualberta.ca/cam2.html

[abcdefz]

The San José chicks are still hungry. Mom or Dad just flew off... maybe some blood and guts here shortly...

[AceFace]

yeah, i can't DL that crazy Canadian plug in either!