Hi all! Apologies for letting the blog lag for a while. Was sick a-bed (not coronavirus, thankfully!) and am just getting back on my feet.

What Have the Falcons Been Up To?

If you’ve been watching the webcam, it probably doesn’t look like much. Just sitting and waiting . . . and waiting. I did notice a “changing of the guard” this past Wednesday around 10:00 am. Both adults will take on incubating duties for a while, exchanging so they can each go and hunt for themselves. They both have a brood patch – an area on their abdomen that is devoid of feathers so there is more direct contact between this patch (with its extra, close-to-the-surface blood vessels) and the eggs – to allow them to nestle in and keep the eggs warm. There is a really photo of a falcon brood patch (on a smaller bird, a kestrel) on a wonderful website called Outside My Window. Check it out!

The female will fully take over the brooding, and the male will bring her food, toward the end of the incubation period. Keep an eye out for this – there will hopefully be much more to see!

What are the Falcons Eating?

That’s a great question! This couple is much tidier than our previous pair. Isabella and Freedom used to leave bits – generally heads, sometimes legs and wings – strewn on the ground around the Old Main clock tower. There would also often be parts, usually heads, outside the back door of the Maccabees building. Now, there is little or nothing.

Why is that important? That was the only way (except for the camera, now) we could monitor and get an idea of what the falcons were eating, and something about the frequency of those meals. This was also a way for me to track the influx of some species of migratory birds.

Hopefully, we will have more evidence when the chicks arrive (since a lot more food will be needed!), both on camera and around the building.

In the mean time . . .

We also have an active Cooper’s Hawk on campus! This mid-sized accipter (around 1 pound) also preys on birds. But its hunting style is very different. Cooper’s Hawks generally hunt at a lower level – from the ground into the tree tops – and chase or pounce on their prey. This is an example of niche partitioning – two similar organisms sharing an environment with little or no overlap or competition. Cooper’s Hawks will also take smaller prey (sparrow-sized songbirds) and their diet can include small mammals (up to squirrel size) and sometimes reptiles and insects.

Even if you don’t see the hawk, you may see the remains of their meals. Beneath a tree or low overhang, you may find a small pile of feathers. Cooper’s Hawks will perch and pluck the feathers off of their meal before digging in. Sometimes there are other remains as well. There has definitely been evidence around the Faculty-Administration Building (FAB), and one of our regular birders got a great photo of the hawk!

So, while we’re waiting for more activity at the peregrine site, we can keep our eyes open for other raptors, even from the confines of our homes, yards and neighborhoods. Cooper’s Hawks have become much more prevalent in urban and suburban areas of late, and are known to haunt backyard bird feeders. Enjoy birding, and the emergence of everything spring!