A Grey Day

Yesterday had a couple of sunny moments but was mostly grey and wet, well, very wet at one point. Shades of the snow storms actually. When it was feeding time and they had to get off the chicks, you could see where they had kept the gravel dry around the chicks, and how they were very careful not to move them off that dry spot during the meal. Once the meal was done, Trey quickly moved back into place. This always seems to be a tough time of the year for him, he doesn't get to brood as much as Princess and he appears to be more than willing. He incubates as much as Princess but during brooding his "nest time" is considerably reduced. I can understand in a week from now when the chicks have grown so much that he can't stuff them under him anymore (he really is that much smaller). But now, when the chicks are so small, he can do it, but just doesn't seem to get much of a chance. And he is also the neat freak of the pair. He cannot stop himself from trying to clean up the nestledge every time he does manage to get time on the chicks. Its like he's trying to make up for lost time. Princess will do a bit of perfunctory tidying, but nothing like Trey. I will admit to saying "oh, not again" more than once when I watch him. Particularly when the chicks pop out from under him they are so startled at the loss of their heat source!

Its another grey day today, so I daresay we and the peregrines are in for more of the same.

Smiles for the Day

There are a more than a couple of smiles this morning. The first is that the CBC Website was back up and operating by 7 pm last night which I know was a great relief for all of you who have been glued to the cam since before the hatching. I've also adjusted the camera position a bit as the nest has moved "down" a bit. I purposely left the zoom where it was as I know the highlight right now is the chicks and this will give you all a nice close view of them while they are so small. I'll pull it back in a day or two so that you can get more of the action as well. That should bring smiles to all our Peregrine Phanatics. The third smile is that there is virtually no wind today though we are suppose to have light rain periodically and the chance of a thunderstorm. This will probably mean that for the next couple of days the chicks will only be visible during feedings or shift changes. Or when Trey is trying to stuff them under him, that's always worth a few more smiles! And finally, all the chicks appear to be thriving and growing well.

Smiles from me are for all the screen capture cam images that everyone has been sending - thank you! They are great. I've started sorting them by date and time (don't forget to include that information when you send them in!) and plan to upload them this weekend. Another smile is that the Forum is working so well technically and that from what I've read, all of you seem to be enjoying yourselves way too much! Just kidding of course. Last smile for me today actually has nothing to do with peregrines - heresy, I know. I was sitting at an intersection this morning watching two starlings, one adult, one fledgling. The parent was gleaning at the curb, ignoring the traffic. The fledgling was not so sanguine about the cars but s/he remained right at it's parent's side. It was fascinating to watch, and there was no one but me there to witness it. In all the excitement with the Trey, Princess and the kids, don't forget that what you are watching on the Falcon Cam is happening in your backyard, on your balcony and even your morning commute.