Four Years with Four Chicks
We are happy to report that the fourth chick hatched on Friday, 4/26 at approximately 5:45 PM (roughly 58 hours after the first chick hatched), making 2024 the fourth year in a row that we’ve had four chicks on Falcon Cam! Newly hatched falcon chicks weigh approximately 30–40 grams (1.25 ounces) and are unable to fully thermoregulate (maintain core body temperature) for the first two weeks of life. This means the parents will continue to spend time on the nest “brooding” the chicks after they hatch. Based on the behaviors we’ve seen in previous years, we suspect the female will do the majority of brooding, while the male takes on most of the hunting duties to regularly provide the chicks with food.
For the first several days after hatching, peregrine chicks have fairly poor eyesight and respond primarily to adult vocalizations. As their sight improves between four and eight days, the nestlings will begin to distinguish and react by sight to the adults. Behaviors such as preening, scratching, and stretching will begin after the first week, although the chicks will also spend much of the time sleeping throughout the course of the next two weeks.
The adult male, 59/BM, perches on the lip of the nest box with the chicks visible behind him.