Saturday, April 28, 2018

Peregrine Falcons at Montaña de Oro Update


Peregrine Falcon juvenile (2008 photo by Mike Baird) fledged on Morro Rock in Morro Bay Calif.  Morro Rock is approximately 10 miles north of Montaña de Oro (MdO).  The Morro Rock Peregrine could be related to one of our MdO Peregrines.
Now it is 26 days after the Peregrine Falcon posting of April 2nd - The question whether the Peregrines will nest in the Smuggler's Cove cliff site at MdO remains unanswered.  This morning at 10:21 there were no Peregrines in sight.  At 10:42 the pair arrived. The lonely male (below) went into the possible nesting site; after a few minutes he perched in the opening. 
The female, who appeared to be preening, was located (below) in the mating, feeding area (see post of April 2)  http://birdingthecentralcoast.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-peregrine-falcons-have-arrived.htm
Peregrine Falcons generally reach breeding maturity at two years of age.  Since the MdO female is a sub-adult and not fully mature, her chances of producing fertile eggs and nesting are slim.  But I continue to have hope that our pair of Peregrines will raise a family.
The Peregrine pair on the north side of Morro Rock began incubation on March 12th.  And the Peregrine pair on the south side of the Morro Rock had yet to nest as of the 12th.  Perhaps delayed nesting is not that unusual and eventually the MdO pair will nest in the not too distant future.
             Stay tuned for the next episode.

For info on the Peregrines of Morro Rock go to  http://pacificcoastperegrinewatch.org/

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