How can you not love getting surprised by a fourth egg! I had a feeling that by saying “it appears that no more eggs will be laid” another would be laid. Peregrines typically lay 4 and sometimes 5 eggs. The fourth was laid at 2:26:02 PM on March 25. It just took Frida a little more time to develop her last egg (will there be one more?). With that said, incubation is still in full swing.
It appears that no more eggs will be laid this spring, as the forth egg would have been laid over the weekend. This is not abnormal, as their average clutch size varies from 3-4 (sometimes 5). With incubation underway, this puts hatching to begin towards the tail end of the second full week in April.
Over the next several weeks, we will watch as the pair incubate the eggs where the female does the majority of incubation duties. She will occasionally get breaks to stretch, feed and preen where the male takes over. They will shift/roll eggs to ensure they develop properly several times a day. This prevents the developing embryo from sticking to the shell and ensures even heat distribution.
Happy Spring! Frida and Mango are now incubating three eggs! The second was laid on March 17 and the third was laid early this morning. Now that they have almost a full clutch of eggs, they will be incubating them more. Their typical incubation period lasts 28 days and the last egg should be laid late tomorrow or early Saturday. This puts hatching close to the beginning of Earth Week. Delaying incubation is a natural adaption where all eggs hatch very close to each other and gives all young a better chance of surviving, where with ospreys, they start incubating after the first egg is laid and there are usually more differences in ages of young. This accounts for shortages in prey where only the oldest may survive if there is not enough food.
On the morning of March 15 at 6:30am, viewers got their first glance of the first egg. We knew egg laying was close as the pair has been observed copulating, performing eee-chup courtship (bowing) displays on camera. Frida has also been spending more time in the nest box preparing her scrape, which is a shallow depression in the nest box where eggs are laid. Peregrines do not build a nest like hawks, eagles and ospreys and instead create a shallow depression in gravel, soil and other debris to nest. This is often the case on ledges of cliffs and in our human dominated landscape, it also includes tall buildings and sometimes flowerpots left unattended on upper floors of apartment building patios. The second egg should be laid sometime over night or tomorrow.
On another note, we decided to wait to remove the worn green carpet for perching. Introducing disturbance to the pair before laying began would not have been good. Instead, we will swap this carpet when we visit the nest for a health check after the young hatch in around 45 days (late April).
Lastly, we opened up chat on two of the live streams on our YouTube channel, so you can watch and talk with other viewers. BW
Frida, the female peregrine falcon, sits in the nest box that is located on the top of the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth.
Here we go! Those watching closely have seen the pair more and more lately as they strengthen their pair bond by mating and bowing to each other in the nest box. Some light maintenance will occur sometime in the next two weeks. The green carpet that is worn will be replaced, prey remains will be cleaned up, and lens covers will be cleaned.
Some seasonal notes. Last year the first egg was laid on March 16. In 2022 + 2023 it was March 19, so who wants to bet that an egg will be laid during the third week of March? I’m betting it will be earlier than last year. Time will tell. Either way, it will be great to focus on wildlife and see some new life after what seemed like a really cold, long and dark winter.
On Tuesday morning, June 11, 2024 those watching the Union County Falcon Cam saw the hatch on the roof open and a young falcon was put out on the roof with food. An effort to foster a fledgling falcon from another nest was attempted. The young falcon fledged from a nest under I-295 and was recovered from the river beneath. After spending a few days in rehab, the decision to foster here was made, as going back to their bridge nest site would have been much more risky, with lots of fast moving vehicles and a river below.
Fostering is a technique that has been successful in many prior, similar situations. It is important for fledgling falcons, who still rely on adults for food, to be a part of a falcon family.
This time the adults reacted badly, acting like the juvenile falcon was a competitor. It may be that the timing was just not close enough in terms of the fledging stage their own four chicks were at, even though they were all still close to the building/roof and clearly dependent on the adults.
We re-activated the live streams and have not seen BN/55. We will be watching for sightings of her here and elsewhere. We’re thankful for the support of our faithful UC Falcon Cam viewers, wildlife rehabilitators, and volunteers who helped with this mission.
Anyone who finds a grounded or injured falcon or hawk should call the nearest licensed wildlife rehabilitator or the city/municipal Animal Control office for assistance.
The male chicks are itching to fledge! They all easily make their way around the roof and onto railings to perch, which is called branching. This is an important time for them to hone their flight skills, especially landing and taking off. Males can fledge as early as six weeks old. Once they do fledge, the adults will continue to provide food for them. Sometimes, they will transfer prey mid-air, which will also help the young develop hunting skills that they will use for the rest of their lives.
It has been said before, time flies! This brood of four healthy eyases are now almost four weeks old and have been banded for future tracking. On May 20th, Kathy Clark, Chief of the NJFW Endangered and Nongame Species Program and Union County staff banded all four young.
For banding, they were all brought inside the building so it can be done in a controlled environment. Falcon young can be sexed at the time of banding and all young produced here are male! This is a stark contrast to the last couple years when all were female!
To sex, their upper mandible/bill length is measured. This is to ensure the correct size band is used on the bird. Males are smaller, so their upper bills are smaller (up to 18mm) and they get a smaller band (size 6 – females get a size 7). This is a little more tricky when you have young that are all the same sex! It makes even the experienced bander double and triple check their measurements to be sure they are accurate and using the correct size band. You basically don’t want to put a male band on a female or it would be too tight on their leg.
Their aux. bands are: BH/92, BH/93, BH/94 & BH/95. As they get larger and it gets warmer, they will head outside more and more. Soon they will be venturing around the roof ledges and make it harder to keep track of them. In another couple weeks, they will make their first flights, which is when they’re around 6-7 weeks old. If you live in the area and want to volunteer to watch this nest from the ground, we could use your help. Once these young fledge, they can often land on the ground. Having a volunteer on fledge watch really helps ensure their safety! Please reach out to Ben Wurst if you’re interested.
The Union County Board of County Commissioners is celebrating the successful banding of four recently hatched male peregrine chicks at Union County’s Courthouse Tower, located at 2 Broad Street in Elizabeth. These identification bands, along with web cameras installed on the courthouse roof, assist the County and its wildlife preservation partners in carefully tracking the behaviors, whereabouts, and habits of the peregrine falcons, with the hope of better understanding and preserving the species.
“We are delighted to welcome these beautiful new additions to Union County,” said Union County Chairwoman, Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded. “We appreciate the privilege and responsibility of having this endangered species in the state of NJ living and breeding on our grounds. We proudly continue our partnership with the NJ Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Conserve Wildlife Foundation in our shared commitment to preserving and protecting our precious wildlife.”
On May 20th, Union County’s Commissioner Chairwoman Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded, Vice-Chairwoman Lourdes Leon, and County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi, along with personnel from the Trailside Nature and Science Center, judiciary staff, and wildlife preservation partners, NJ Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Conserve Wildlife Foundation, helped place identification bands on four recently-hatched peregrine chicks.
The baby peregrines received a health checkup and were promptly returned to their nest with their attentive parents, Mango and Frida. This adult pair have successfully raised 23 babies on top of the courthouse since 2019. This brood of falcons will be officially of fledging age in early to mid-June.
The population of peregrine falcons in the U.S. was severely reduced in the 20th century due to pollutants, including the pesticide DDT. They were added to the federal endangered species list in 1973. As a result of improvements in many parts of the country, the falcons were removed from the federal list in 1999. However, they continue to be an endangered species in New Jersey. These falcons typically nest on rock cliff ledges; however, peregrine falcons have adapted to use tall buildings in cities such as the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth.
Union County participated in the restoration effort in 2006, when County personnel, under the guidance of state wildlife experts, affixed a nesting box to the Courthouse Tower roof.
Every year since then, a pair of peregrine falcons has laid eggs in the nesting box. Cameras were installed in 2016 to provide the 24/7 Falcon Cam livestream of the interior and exterior of the nest.