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As most of you have probably already noticed, there is no activity in the GVSU nest box. There were a couple of peregrine sightings over the winter, but they appear to have been of individual falcons making a quick inspection. As far as I know, a pair has not been seen in the Grand Rapids area, so the Courthouse nest box is probably not in use, either.

Please let me know if you catch a glimpse of a peregrine in the Grand Rapids area, and especially if you see one in the nest box.

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For those of you who have been frustrated with a broken link to the GVSU nest cam, a new link is now available in the list on the right side of this page. The cam is also available on the GVSU webcam site. I am not sure yet if the ceiling cam will be available as well.

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As you have probably figured out already, the Grand Rapids peregrines have not been successful in having chicks this year. Things were looking good in early April, when the female spent several nights in the GVSU nest box, but no eggs were ever seen. Within another week or two, they seemed to have given up for this year. Since the male was unbanded, we don’t know for sure if it was the same male as last year, or another one. New pairs do not always have breeding success their first year.

Peregrines were also seen in the vicinity of the Kent County Courthouse into April, but it does not appear that they spent any time in the nest box. We also don’t know if those were the same or different peregrines than those at GVSU.

Here’s hoping that 2024 will be a more productive year for the peregrine falcons!

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Thanks to Penny F who sent these pictures of a Peregrine falcon on the letters of the JCPenny building at Woodland Mall, Grand Rapids.

Although a little hard to see, this bird has the typical black “helmet” (also known as a malar stripe) down the side of its face, which is one of the main diagnostic features of Peregrines.

Same Peregrine, flying off the building. In this photo the mostly white chest and belly is visible, which also helps confirm the identification.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to tell if this is one of the downtown GR birds. My personal guess is that it is a migrant bird hoping to make an easy meal of one of the pigeons or sparrows that hang around the mall area.

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The peregrines have returned to the GVSU nestbox. A/20 and an unbanded male, thought to be the same one as last year, have been preparing a depression for the eggs and have been seen mating. The female appears to be spending the night in the box, which likely means an egg is on the way. Stay tuned!

Earlier this month a pair of falcons was also observed checking out the nestbox on the Kent County Courthouse. It isn’t clear if it was a new pair or if it was A/20 and her male checking it out. I haven’t heard about any sightings of falcons in that area for several days, which is not a good sign of two pairs in GR once more.

As always, please send me any falcon sightings you might have, especially those away from the GVSU nestbox.

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It has been quite a busy 3 days for the Grand Rapids peregrine falcons.

Sunday, 6/19: The male juvenile falcon left the GVSU nestbox for somewhere unknown.

Monday, 6/20: The female juvenile left the nestbox early in the morning. GVSU staff found a juvenile in the Eberhard Center loading dock area, which is west of the nestbox area. It was thought to be injured based on some difficulty flying, though it was not visible later in the day. The female is presumed to have spent the day somewhere in the Blue letters area near the nestbox.

Tuesday, 6/21: The male juvenile was still in the loading dock area in the morning and the female was seen on the Blue letters in both the morning and afternoon. An attempt to capture the male was made with the help of the local rehabber, but it was flying well enough to avoid capture and eventually left the loading dock area for an unknown location. Shortly after this, there was a report of an adult peregrine flying into the loading dock of Devos Place, chasing a pigeon, and flying into a window. It could not be located again before it was closing time.

Wednesday, 6/22: The GVSU juveniles were out of sight this morning, but noises from the adults in the nest box area suggests at least one is still on the building and likely being fed. If the other one is anywhere close by, it will also be fed. The adult in Devos Place was caught, assessed by the rehabber, and released. It was not one of the GVSU adults, but is likely one that has been seen in the Michigan Hill area this spring. Its bands tell us it is a female named Minsk, hatched on a building in Peoria, IL, in May, 2018. We can hope she stays in the area and finds a mate to occupy the Courthouse nestbox next season.

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If you checked on the nest box cams this weekend, you know that the male chick moved out of the box at some point before 7am Sunday. His sister did the same this morning. We don’t know if either of them has actually flown, since they can hop from the front bar to the roof ledges on either side, though they usual go to the north (left). From there they can make their way over to the other ledges, including those under the blue letters. If we, and they, are lucky, they will choose to head north to the museum roof ledges rather than try to cross the river for their first true flights.

As always, please comment on this post with any sightings you have of these youngsters.

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The two chicks in the GVSU nestbox were banded by a DNR biologist on Tuesday, June 7th. Both were deemed healthy. Here is the band info for them: Female – Black 37/Blue K and Male – Black C/Blue 78 (both on their left leg)

Since they have the same band colors, the best way to tell them apart will be to look at the blue band for a number (male) or letter (female). Also, the female will be bigger than the male, though distance from the camera will make that judgment difficult.

Now that they have their jewelry, the next milestone will be their first flights. The usual window for fledging is 35 to 42 days with males tending to fly earlier than the heavier females. They will both be 35 days old on June 17th. Most seem to take off while still sporting a tuft or two of white down, which is soon lost.

In past years, one or more of the chicks have hopped out of the box to the roof ledge, or even the top of the box, before taking their first true flight. We will just have to wait to see what these two will do over the next two weeks or so!

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Everyone, it seems there is a limit to the number of computers that can watch the cam at a time. While it is fun to continually watch all the happenings in the nestbox, I would ask that you sign out when you are not actively watching so others, including at least one classroom, have a chance to enjoy the action.

The GVSU pair have hatched two chicks! The first one hatched between 9 and 9:30am this morning and the second was seen moments after it broke out of the shell, about 2:40pm this afternoon. The first chick has been fed, the second one will probably be fed soon, once it dries and recovers from the stress of hatching. Now the wait is on to see if the other two hatch in the next day or two.

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The GVSU peregrine pair are sitting on four eggs. #3 arrived in the early morning of April 7th and #4 showed up mid-morning on the 9th. It is common for peregrines to delay full incubation until the 3rd egg arrives in order to have the eggs hatch about the same time. This year, with an inexperienced male, the first two eggs were left uncovered for longer than usual during colder and wetter weather, so there are concerns that they may have been damaged. But nature is resilient, so we will just have to see what happens.

The usual time range for eggs to hatch is 33-35 days after full incubation begins. If we use April 7th as a start date, hatching can be expected around May 10th.

As for the Courthouse nestbox, a peregrine has been seen in the area a few times, but not as often as we would expect for a pair sitting on eggs. Any reports of peregrines seen in the vicinity of the courthouse, VanAndel Institute, or the Michigan Hill area would be appreciated!