Another New Female in Town!
Yet another new female falcon has been spotted at the Falcon Cam nest box! The new female was first observed on camera yesterday afternoon at 3:25 pm and she is banded. Her black and green bands read 70/AV.
The new banded female.
A report from the Center for Conservation Biology shows this bird was banded May 22, 2014 at Silver Beach Range Tower in Northampton County on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, which is 81 miles to the east of this nest box. This female was banded as a chick, so she is nearly three years old.
When she appeared on camera, the new banded female joined the male in the nest box and engaged in courtship behavior with him, in the form of head bows. Later, just past 4:00 pm, the new banded female reappeared on camera and was observed standing in the scrapes (bowl-shaped depressions in the gravel, which form a nest) and maintaining them. These behaviors suggest that this new banded female is now paired with the male and has replaced the unbanded, buffy female who had been previously observed as paired with the male so far this season.
The unbanded, buffy female was last seen on camera Saturday, March 25th at 7:00 pm; the pair was observed mating at that time. She was not observed on camera yesterday.
We look forward to seeing how this very interesting breeding season continues to unfold.
New banded female, standing in a scrape inside the nest box.
New banded female standing upon the parapet of the building ledge, just outside of the nest box.