Unlike many other bird species, Peregrine chicks are generally not aggressive with each other (video by @skh4birdies.bsky.social): www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9NF....
Watch live nest cam: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBSx.... #birds
San Jose City Hall Falcons: All 4 chicks hatched in under 12 hours! And they've already had their first feeding. The chicks will huddle together after hatching: to stay warm and conserve energy needed for their rapid growth and for security and comfort while they're so vulnerable.
It looks like there are now 4 heads among the cuddling chicks. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
Looks like there's a 4th head at 10:55 am PT among the cuddling chicks. Thanks to @muhajabah.bsky.social for the catch! #birds
Among other advantages, it reduces sibling competition (although that is usually not an issue among Peregrine chicks.) Watch (video by @skh4birdies.bsky.social): www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-LT....
One egg left to hatch (we hope!). Watch live nest cam: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBSx.... #birds
San Jose City Hall Falcons: 3 chicks hatched today at 12:33 am, 5:39 am, and 8:27 am PT. That's 3 chicks in ~8 hours. Hartley and Monty delayed full-time incubation until the last egg was laid, so the chicks would all hatch about the same time (called delayed incubation). Great job!
Hartley and Monty's first chick is visible at 12:32 am PT. A second egg has been seen with a pip. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
The first chick has hatched and is visible at 12:32 am PT. Welcome to the world! You may not know it now, but you're not just any bird: you're a Peregrine Falcon, the fastest animal on Earth.
Hartley gets up briefly to give us a view of the 2 eggs with pips. (Screen capture courtesy of San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
Monty drops by occasionally to provide support and snacks, while keeping watch outside.
Watch live nest cam: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBSx....
Watch ledge cam (view from outside into nest): www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pp9.... #birds
San Jose City Hall Falcons: There are pips on 2 of Hartley and Monty's 4 eggs. Eggs take 24-48 hours to hatch (I'm not sure when the pips first appeared). If you listen carefully, you may be able to hear tiny cheeps coming from inside the eggs as the chicks communicate with Hartley.
Don't let Trump turn Alaska's national preserves into killing fields. @biologicaldiversity.org makes it easy with a comment you can personalize and they'll send for you: act.biologicaldiversity.org/61lHzbyxEESg.... Comments due by end of day Apr. 23. (Last chance...really!) 🌎
DEADLINE EXTENDED: The National Park Service has proposed aligning federal regulations in Alaska’s national preserves with state law, ending restrictions on hunting practices such as shooting wildlife from airplanes. Those preserves are truly wild places and a haven for endangered wildlife.
destroy our public lands, our American heritage; get rid of pretty much all the rules that protect the health of Americans; etc. During the vote to destroy Boundary Waters, I watched as they voted for the mine and gave each other high fives--appalling.
I can't help but wonder if it's intentional. I can't understand how an entire political party could be so antagonistic toward the environment as wanting to kill all wildlife that gets in the way of logging/mining/oil&gas/etc.; pollute the air, water, and land beyond repair; ...
68% of Democrats, 47% of independents, and 12% of Republicans expect global warming to threaten their way of life now or in the future. Much more data: news.gallup.com/poll/708050/.... As Stephen Colbert famously noted, "Reality has a well-known liberal bias." 🌎
...Democrats and independents, while Republicans are less worried now than they were in the past (Trump effect?). Americans believe that increases in the Earth’s temperature are due more to “the effects of pollution from human activities” (64%) than to “natural changes in the environment” (33%).
It's about time (and perhaps too late). Per a recent Gallup poll, climate change concern is near its high point in the US: 44% of US adults worry a great deal, 22% worry a fair amount, 12% worry only a little, and 23% do not worry at all about climate change. The increased worry is seen among...
Those nasal glands allow the birds to ingest seawater and then excrete salt through tubenose nostrils. In the 1.5-min video, you can see the saline solution dripping from the end of chick's nose: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWao.... The chick is now 12.5 weeks old. He'll likely fledge in Sept. #birds
Northern Royal Albatross, NZ: The birds feed by scooping prey off the ocean's surface and even making shallow plunges. How does ingesting all that saltwater not hurt them? They belong to an order of birds called "tubenoses" who possess glands above their eyes that filter excess salt from blood.
...habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change. The ESA is their last, best hope. Tell your Rep to reject the ESA Amendments Act. Call [+1 (202) 224-3121] or write today. Defenders of Wildlife has a letter you can customize and they'll send for you: act.defenders.org/page/96924/a...? 🌎
URGENT: The US House is expected to vote on the ESA Amendments Act on Weds., Apr 22. The bill would gut the wildly effective Endangered Species Act to serve mining, logging, oil/gas and other corporate interests. Earth’s species are facing huge declines and even extinction due to human-caused...
I love those nosy starlings!
but Ospreys can rotate the outer toe backward to help them carry fish. Watch how strong those talons are as Iris tries to wrestle a fish from New Guy, who clearly had in mind sharing (Hellgate Osprey team video is on X). Don't miss how the epic struggle ends. #birds
Hellgate Ospreys. Ospreys have specialized feet for grasping fish: all 4 talons are more curved more than those on other raptors, and the toes have tiny spines (spicules) on the bottom that help them hang on to their slippery prey. Most raptors have three toes in the front and one in the back...
Love #owls? There's a nest cam for you! Two adorable fuzzy owlets just hatched in a Barred Owl nest in Indiana (video by @cornellbirds.bsky.social): www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd-g....
Watch live nest cam: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwUM....
Barred Owls FAQs: www.allaboutbirds.org/news/bird-ca.... #birds
Interested in learning about bird migration? The experts at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology are offering a free webinar on May 14 @ 1 pm ET. Topics include the basics of bird migration, how birds make the journey, and more + time for questions. Register: dl.allaboutbirds.org/welcome-back...? #birds
(1) Useful: light needed? clear purpose?
(2) Targeted: direct light only where needed.
(3) Low-level: light no brighter than necessary.
(4) Controlled: light only when needed.
(5) Warm-colored: warmer colored lights where possible.
More information: darksky.org/get-involved...? 🌎
It's (still) International Dark Sky Week. Interested in reducing light pollution around your home? DarkSky offers 4 simple steps to turn down the lights and support a healthy and thriving nighttime environment. The steps are based on the Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting at Night:
California officials and conservation groups are responding to gray whale deaths in the San Francisco Bay—at least seven from mid-March to mid-April—by focusing on reducing vessel strikes, which are a primary cause of death: (1) Scientists are utilizing the Whale Safe program to track whales in real-time and to alert ships when whales are nearby. (2) The Marine Mammal Center is training commercial vessel operators on how to interpret whale behavior to avoid collisions. (3) On April 22, 2026, a statewide program will urge shipping companies to slow vessels to 10 knots or less along the California coast. (4) The Marine Mammal Center, with the California Academy of Sciences, is conducting necropsies to determine causes of death. (5) Researchers are sharing data with partners across the West Coast (Puget Sound, Alaska, Canada, Mexico) to better understand the migratory threats. Photo is of an Eastern North Pacific gray whale spyhopping off the California coastline. A spyhopping whale is a cetacean that rises vertically with its head and eyes above the water to inspect its surroundings, often near boats. (Photo credit: Chris Johnson. Courtesy of NOAA.)
The whales can't store enough fat and are stopping in San Francisco Bay. But from 2018-2025, 70 were found dead in the bay, many killed by boats or died of malnutrition: e360.yale.edu/digest/san-f.... Research on how to help whales is ongoing. See alt text for what San Francisco is doing. 🌎
Each year, Eastern North Pacific gray whales migrate >4K miles from the Arctic to calving grounds in Baja California. Before setting out, the whales gorge on crustaceans, storing up fat to complete the journey without stopping to feed. But as the Arctic warms and sea ice dwindles, so does food.
BirdCast's Bird Migration Forecast shows predicted nocturnal migration approximately 3 hours after local sunset and is updated every 6 hours. (Map courtesy of University of Illinois, Purdue University, and Cornell Lab of Ornithology.)
BirdCast is forecasting a busy night tonight on the Pacific and Central Flyways.
To protect #birds, turn off non-essential indoor and outdoor lights from dusk to dawn during the full spring migration period: March 1–June 15. More information: birdcast.org/lights-out/.
Iris (back) and New Guy (front) were both on the nest early this morning. NG had to do a few nestorations. And Iris was fish calling (asking her mate to bring her a fish). (Screen capture courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Montana Osprey Project.)
New Guy finally delivered Iris her fish: a giant rainbow trout. A male Osprey sharing a fish with a female is a courtship ritual to establish a pair bond, demonstrate hunting prowess, and ensure the female is well-nourished for egg-laying and incubation. This "courtship feeding" is a key indicator of a male's ability to provide for a future family. (Screen capture courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Montana Osprey Project.)
In early May 2025, New Guy arrived and drove off Louis. Iris didn't lay eggs, but the two of them spent the rest of the season together and did extensive nestorations.
Yesterday, New Guy returned. Louis hasn't been seen since. Today, courtship (below).
#Birds have rich and complicated lives, too.