The Local Peregrines

What a morning.

The plan was to visit the local PEREGRINE FALCON nest box, band a few chicks and then go have some coffee and donuts. Good plan, right? Not so fast.

We get to the bridge, special thanks to the SHA for stopping traffic and letting us climb over and under the span. Scary, you ask? Not so much. It's nice to know the birds are inaccessible and safe from humans. Here she is now... in all of her blurry glory!It was tight climbing down, so I didn't bring my big lens or a flash. BUT, I did manage to have my HD video, so in the near future, I'll be posting some movies. I digress.Here is the quick story: she is a NEW bird from Virginia. I'll get more details about her from Craig Koppie from USFWS. He was our fearless leader on the trip. Where was our old girl, the New Yorker, from last year? We may never find out.Check this one out. Our girl, who Craig dubbed 'Godzilla', is perched on the right watching us. At the same time, the male is flying around screaming. Notice his shadow? Craig might call many of the Peregrines that he meets 'Godzilla', but I thought she did a fine job of earning that name this morning.She had eggs on (at least) three piers of the span. One on one, which she was attempting to sit on and incubate. There were two other eggs on a nearby pier, which failed and one more egg on yet another pier towards the center of the channel.She, and the previous lady of the Severn, never even touched the Taj Mahal of nestboxes that we installed in the Spring of 2008! Instead, the eggs were laid on hard metal with just a bit of dirt that has fallen down from the roadway. She obviously would sit on the eggs and eventually, they would chip or crack on the hard surface.Craig grabbed some gravel from the nestbox and nestled the one good egg onto a 'better' surface in the hopes that this egg would be a success. It doesn't look too promising, but I will keep watch and of course, keep you updated.And the male... he's the same guy.Enjoy your weekend,

Dan