Hatching on the Horizon
It’s hard to believe that it has been 36 days since the first egg of 2022 was laid downtown! These past few weeks have been relatively uneventful as the falcon pair has continued to diligently incubate their clutch of four eggs. However, we are optimistic that there will soon be a lot more activity on camera as we approach the window of time during which we anticipate the eggs to begin hatching. Falcon eggs are typically incubated for 33-35 days which means we will likely begin to see signs of hatching sometime between April 28th and May 1st.
Male (left) flies in to temporarily relieve the female (right) from her incubation duties.
The eggs will continue to be incubated even while hatching, which means it can be difficult to determine exactly when an egg has started to hatch. Remember to keep your eyes peeled during incubation exchanges for pips! A pip is a small crack or hole that chicks hammer through the internal membrane and external shell of the egg. Once a pip is observed on an egg, it means the chick inside has begun hatching and if all goes well, will be out of the egg within the next 12-48 hours. We will be watching the eggs closely and continuing to report on any updates related to hatching progress!
A quick glimpse of the eggs during an incubation exchange on the afternoon of 4/27/22.