Right now, we are just waiting anxiously for the first egg to arrive, which should happen by the first week in April. Mating occurs several weeks before the first egg is laid and occasionally may be observed after a full clutch is complete. All of this behavior is essential for mating to occur, which happens multiple times during the day but is only a few seconds in duration. Things continue to escalate as the courtship bond increases, when you see cooperative hunting and food transfers, with the male presenting food to the female.

They will also be observed by preening each other and nibbling at the other bird’s toes or bill. The pair will also bow towards each other, where they often vocalize with an eechip sound, which seems to function as appeasement. Peregrine courtship involves many things, such as perching next to one another, performing AMAZING aerial displays of flight, making a scrape at the eyrie (nest), and food exchanges with each other. We’ve observed several encounters between Hattie and other adult female peregrines, and a single chase by Orton toward an adult male, but thankfully the encounters were short and didn’t result in any significant injuries. So far, things are progressing well with our peregrine falcon pair, Hattie and Orton. We hope this answers your questions about the eggs, and Hattie and Orton's behavior. This is called the brood patch, which allows the peregrine to better incubate the eggs and keep them at a constant temperature. You may even notice a bare patch of feathers on Hattie or Orton's belly. Both adult falcons will incubate the eggs, but the majority of incubation duties is done by the female peregrine. The parents may sit on the egg(s) during cold weather, when temperatures are below freezing, but this is not true incubation. This ensures that any fertile eggs will hatch within a few days of each other.

Hattie and Orton will not begin incubating the first egg, or any future eggs, until the second to last egg of the clutch is laid. If Hattie lays more than this first egg, there is typically 48-60 hours between each egg, but the interval may also be greater than 72 hours in rare cases. Occasionally, a female will lay more than five eggs, but we have never experienced a brood (group of chicks) of chicks larger than five in the Upper Midwest. The typical clutch size is three to four eggs, but the total number could range from one to five. We have no idea how many eggs Hattie will lay in this year's clutch (group of eggs). We can officially announce the start date of the 2023 falcon nesting season in Rochester, MN!! The first arrived yesterday morning, and now we wait and see how many other eggs will join this first one.

Hattie big sky series