San Jose Falcons: June-December, 2013

catwoman · **Posted:** Fri May 31, 2013 11:12 pm

PLEASE START YOUR JUNE POSTS HERE! :hapdance:

CAM LINK:

mwplay · **Joined:** Sun Feb 28, 2010 1:15 am **Posts:** 10250

Such sad news...

:sorrow:

Our Sophie
As it turned out, it was a bobcat that took her permanently from the sky.

Here was a bird unlike any I know of. She was a falconry bird who caught a few ducks. She flew vigorously to the lure and caught a few of my homing pigeons in tremendous flights. She perched before audiences (mostly kids) totaling 75,000 people over a period of 14 years–her first, school kids in the spring of 2000. She stood willingly for copulation, incubated eggs, and hatched her own babies that she raised to fledging. I have a son and daughter from her plus a third falcon that she served as a foster parent to this year.

Each year I moved her from falconry permit, to special purpose education permit, to propagation permit. She even spent a little time in the agricultural fields defending wine grapes against starlings. She led a full life.

On Monday morning (while on the falconry permit) I released her to the sky. She flew around a bit and landed on the tailgate of the Jeep to preen. I waited patiently in the middle of the field until she finished so that we could begin her daily exercise of stooping to the lure. But she left her perch suddenly and at full speed to stoop behind a fence row.

When she did not come back up I ran as fast as I could and found a bobcat standing on top of her. Apparently, she was trying to drive it from her “territory” by raking it with her talons. She picked on the wrong bobcat.

She has been in intensive care at Dr. Fern Van Sant’s “For the Birds” veterinary hospital since the incident and I spent hours there each day trying to get some food in to her. She was my first human-imprinted peregrine falcon and will be my last.

Over the past few weeks she has flown big above the hills and meadows near Davenport almost every morning. On one recent day she rode the strong wind diving and shooting up into the sky in what appeared to be joyful flight. It is how I will remember her.

mwplay · **Joined:** Sun Feb 28, 2010 1:15 am **Posts:** 10250

Posted this evening on SJ Yahoo Forum by John:

Thunder - 51/P :

We were at TWB looking at Taylor, then a falcon flew in and landed at the same level as Taylor. And guess what, it was Thunder. Here is a short video of his progress. Enjoy!!!

https://vimeo.com/73060745

Thunder was a 2012 hatch/fledge. His biological father is EC, but was raised by Fernando.

catwoman · **Posted:** Sun Aug 25, 2013 9:14 am

BTW, who is Taylor?

mwplay · **Joined:** Sun Feb 28, 2010 1:15 am **Posts:** 10250

catwoman wrote:

BTW, who is Taylor?

TWB = Tall White Building at Taylor & 1st in San Jose. I believe it's about 1 mile from the City Hall ledge.

Taylor is a falcon who often roosts on the TWB.

When Fernando first arrived in town, he was spotted with a sub-adult falcon on the TWB. As we know, Fernando displaced EC, and it was believed that Fernando and Clara drove the sub-adult falcon, who arrived with Fernando, out of the territory when Fernando discovered Clara was a mature, breeding falcon on eggs.

I think there has been some question on whether Taylor is really just a "wintering" bird, or if she's around all season, but leaves the area during nesting/fledge. Looking at posts on the SJ Yahoo group, I think she shows up in mid-August at TWB. It may be she is like EC and stays on the outskirts of the territory when there are eyasses/juvies in training.

catwoman · **Posted:** Sun Aug 25, 2013 1:14 pm

Thanks, mwplay!

kittenface · **Posted:** Sun Aug 25, 2013 2:01 pm

What a wonderful video. :loveshow:

skygirlblue · **Joined:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm **Posts:** 64352

Loved the video...Its so fun to see them go from juvie plumage to adult..such a cutie!!!

I have tried, without success, to figure out the code so that we can embed vimeo vids here...no luck..LOL

mwplay · **Joined:** Sun Feb 28, 2010 1:15 am **Posts:** 10250

Interesting evening.

Clara showed up on the ledge at 6pm. I saw an email from Yahoo group around 7:40ish. Clara was on ledge preening, then went to box, was standing in scrape/egg bowl. She went back to ledge and was watching something and chupping. I think she finally ended her visit on top of the box.

While I was watching, I never once saw Fernando (unless they did a switch when I wasn't paying attention - could be VERY LIKELY).

I know I shouldn't think too much into this, but with Thunder showing up less than a mile from the box, I get a weird vibe about this entire visit.

I'll have to wait and see if they post a follow-up comment about her visit, or if Fernando is spotted in the next few days.

While I was typing this, Jody just updated the group on her visit:

She finally did her Aqua-maid side leap off the top of the box at 8:25pm

She was very vocal several times, I "think" Fernando was up on the roof, near cam2 or somewhere nearby.

I haven't seen him on cam for a few days, but he is around, just being cam shy for now I guess. Some of the volunteers that frequent downtown have mentioned seeing him here & there, usually pancaked too :)

catwoman · **Posted:** Wed Aug 28, 2013 6:17 am

Thanks, mwplay. Good to know that things seem to be going normally here. :eggthumbup:

skygirlblue · **Joined:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm **Posts:** 64352

ljames · **Posted:** Thu Aug 29, 2013 10:10 pm

Wow, how wonderful to see Thunder again, he is so handsome, but I'm concerned that he is so close to the nest. Maybe he is homesick.
Thanks for posting.

skygirlblue · **Joined:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm **Posts:** 64352

Latest from Glenn Stewart.

I got this in an email update, as I'm sure many of you did...Only problem, I can't actually find it on his blog..LOL

...so:

New San Jose City Hall nest box.

A new peregrine falcon nest box is being readied for the nineteenth floor ledge of San Jose City Hall. It is a sign of the Solstice season which signals that a new interest in courtship is just around the corner.

This nest box will be a slightly new design. As always, it will fill the space between the building and the shortwall, but just one side of the five-foot long box will be filled with sand. The birds always lay in the left side of the box so that is where the sand will be. The other side will be a flat wooden surface.

Researchers in Wisconsin tracked the hatchibility of peregrine eggs for years and found that there was better productivity in nests where the nest scrape gravel was replaced prior to new nesting attempts. There are a couple of things to consider here. First, all of the known peregrine nests are located on man-made ledges in Wisconsin (there are no cliffs in Wisconsin) where people have placed gravel-filled nest boxes--principally on power plant structures that overlook the Mississippi River. A second consideration is that peregrines cannot alternate nest ledges within their territory because only one exists--the one that was supplied for them. So the act of providing a nest box comes with some responsibility to clean it out periodically.

You will notice some small changes in the box this year. We are reducing the area of nest gravel in San Jose to make the job of gravel replacement a little more reasonable. In past years we have hauled 400 pounds of gravel to and from the ledge. Consider that most nest scrapes are less than one square foot in area on an otherwise rocky or uneven surface. Our "ledge" will be five feet wide and two feet deep with a twenty four by thirty inch box of course sand (aquarium gravel) that is five and one half inches deep. The new depth of the sand is thanks to 2 X 6 construction vs. 2 X 4 construction. Another improvement is an overhanging roof to increase shade for the incubating female on a sometimes very warm, south-facing ledge.

I expect to install the box in the next week or so after several more coats of paint. No date has been set for installation as this operation is somewhat weather dependent.

bev. · **Posted:** Tue Dec 03, 2013 1:43 pm

great news. It will take then a bit to adjust but they will

catwoman · **Posted:** Wed Dec 04, 2013 8:49 pm

Nice that this pair is getting a new home & fresh gravel! Thanks for posting that, SGB! :holwave:

bev. · **Posted:** Mon Dec 09, 2013 10:48 pm

there should be a video soon o f the new nest box

bev. · **Posted:** Tue Dec 10, 2013 5:40 pm

cannot get cam but falcons are checking out box

kittenface · **Posted:** Tue Dec 10, 2013 5:59 pm

I see the nest it sure looks different falcon on the ledge. Just took off after something that flew by.

Matrix · **Posted:** Wed Dec 11, 2013 12:17 am

If cam isn't working.. what are you 'seeing'... :shockedsanta:

catwoman · **Posted:** Wed Dec 11, 2013 7:40 am

Matrix wrote:

If cam isn't working.. what are you 'seeing'... :shockedsanta:

I was wondering the same thing, Matrix...

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San Jose Falcons: June-December, 2013

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