Four Eggs being Incubated
In the absence of a fifth egg laying event, this years clutch is now complete with four eggs being incubated near continuously. Incubation also means that Falcon Fans are just about guaranteed to see one of the adults on camera at all times as the eggs are generally not left unattended for extended periods of time during incubation exchanges. Peregrine falcon eggs are incubated for roughly 33-35 days which means we should expect to see our first signs of hatching around April 25th-April 27th.
Both the male and the female take shifts incubating and thus have developed paired brood patches (featherless patches of skin on the bird’s breast which aid in incubation). By selectively losing these feathers, more direct contact area is created with the skin of the adult bird’s breast and thus the numerous warm blood vessels which are used to maintain the eggs temperature. Although the brood patches are obscured by an outer layer of feathers and therefore not visible to Cam watchers, you may observe the incubating bird shifting its position or shimmying atop the eggs. These movements allow the bird to better position the eggs to ensure maximum contact with their brood patches.
The female falcon (95/AK) pauses on the lip of the nest box before she continues to incubate her clutch of four eggs.