Perhaps you, too, had a major wind storm Sunday night. Two of the nests I have been monitoring were in the tip top of tall conifer trees. I had the concern that the severe wind could have destroyed a nest, particularly the two nests in the tip top.
Shortly after I arrived at the nest between Sycamore Dr. and Maplewood Drive, the male called as he brought food in. The female responded and left the nest for the food exchange. In a few minutes the female, after decapitating the prey and removing a wing or two, which makes identification of the prey difficult, took the prey up to the nest and fed four nestlings. Nice. The nest on North Titus was in the terminal part of a very tall White Pine. The terminal branch had broken off earlier and the nest was placed between three lateral branches and exposed 100% to the sky. It was immediately evident that one of the lateral branches was broken, and the nest was largely dismantled. After courtship and displacing a family of Fish Crow that built the nest, and after laying ~4 eggs (~5-7 days), and after 30 days of incubation, and after about 25 days of protecting and feeding the young, and about 4-6 days before fledging the nest was destroyed. It is hard being a Merlin. It is also hard being a Merlin nest monitor. By the way, the Merlin nest with the newly constructed swimming pool on Lake Rd. in Dryden is still feeding young. I was able to show the home owners and their three kids the nestling Sunday morning. This nest is not near the top of the nest tree, a spruce, and I think it is likely it managed to survive the storm. Still ,5 of 7 nests I have been monitoring have young, by last check. Keep your fingers crossed. John -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
