Couldn’t resist posting this very cute photo of the first peregrine hatchling in Harrisburg, PA. He hatched last night.
Click on his photo to watch him on the web.
And stay tuned to our Cathedral of Learning and Gulf Tower nests in Pittsburgh. Hatching is expected here very soon!
(photo from PA DEP Falcon Cam on the Rachel Carson Building in Harrisburg, PA. Thanks to Marianne Atkinson for sending this along.)
How adorable! And hungry!
Oh dear Lord. I just fell over.
Perfect peregrine baby picture!! Thanks!
Oh!! That is beyond cute!!!!! Don’t we just love this time of year though.
I watched the parents feed this little guy this afternoon around 5:30. This is my first year following the peregrines via the web cam and this is the first hatchling I’ve seen. I have to say that the scene almost moved me to tears. The way the parent (mom?) ripped small pieces of the mouse for the little one, all while ‘cooing’ to him, it was just so beautiful. A little piece of the mouse fur got stuck on the chick’s beak and the mom proceeded to ‘clean him off’ by removing it gently with her beak. Having seen the way young mothers fuss over their toddlers during meal time, I don’t know, the peregrine’s actions/behaviour seemed almost human-like!
It was wonderful to watch and I cannot wait till our Pittsburgh hatchlings pop their little heads out of their shells 🙂
Warning!! Massive amounts of duct tape are needed!!! It makes it easier to pick up the pieces as my head just explodes from the cuteness of this picture 😉
What did the mother bird feed her baby?
Marianne Atkinson sent me a series of photos of that feeding. The last photo showed what the food was: a northern flicker. Peregrines eat birds so watch the cameras for feathers and those of you who can identify birds by their feathers will be able to identify the prey. (Grisly … but they’ve gotta eat something!)
Hmmm, interesting. I’m pretty sure that I saw a long bald tail when the peregrine arrived at the nest with the catch.
The egg that’s on the hatchling’s right, the one with the white patches on top, do those patches mean that will be the next egg to hatch?
Yes, the bright white patches are where the baby has started to break the egg.
Hi Kate,
It seems like a long time since the first egg hatched. Do you think the others will still hatch? Won’t the first chick be mmuch bigger than its siblings if they do hatch? I’m a little worried…
Don’t know if they will hatch but the 2nd egg was laid 3 days after the first at Harrisburg. It appears the female began incubation immediately, unlike typical female peregrines. This means her eggs will hatch in the order & spacing in which they were laid and yes, the older ones will be larger. Here are the egg dates:
3/11/2011 :: First Egg
3/14/2011 :: Second Egg
3/16/2011 :: Third Egg
3/18/2011 :: Egg Number Four
It’s possible some of the “middle” eggs are infertile. Fertile eggs laid later could still hatch.
So excited to see the live web cam coverage of the banding of the young male Harrisburg falcon today in the Rachel Carson State Office Building. I wonder what the adults thought when he wasn’t where they had left him. But they now know he’s back safe and sound. This is great stuff…love it!