Tuesday was banding day in the peregrine nestbox and once again Peter Green of Providence Raptors was on hand with his camera, and an extra pair of hands. The four peregrines — one female, three male — appear to be healthy. That’s great news. Here is how the Audubon Society of Rhode Island (ASRI) described …
It is impossible for Boston sports fans not to be reminded of the 2004 Red Sox come-from-behind defeat of the Yankees in the playoffs. Nothing could have been more improbable. And the Sox have the day off today so they will all be watching, so that seems like a good sign. We might even see …
(5.13) Urban birding fans are invited to gather at the Roger Williams National Monument Saturday morning for a Guided Bird Walk around the area. Join naturalists from the Audubon Society of Rhode Island and the Providence Parks Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership for a free walk and talk. We will explore along the Canal Walk and …
There’s the white fluff I was telling you about. Saturday was the big hatch day with three out of the four hatchlings making their appearance! The first hatchling (eyas) arrived at 7am, another at 11:30am, and the third at 3:30pm. The last egg is biding its time but may have hatched by the time you …
Any moment now we might start seeing the first puffs of fluffy white down. It may not be clear from my screen grab, but on Wednesday the experts at the Audubon Society RI posted their own, more helpful images and described their observations at the Nesting Box Update: Hatching has begun! It looks like two …
And I ran, I ran so far away . . . folks hoping to take a leisurely walk downtown along the river, be advised: It’s been very Bodega Bay down there lately. It didn’t take long for local gulls to notice the massive influx of menhaden into the Providence River. A similar scenario has been …
We’re getting close to hatching time. By April 30 of last year three of the four eggs had hatched. Earlier today this parent was getting up and down, pulling together the nesting material such as it is, and fiddling with the eggs. (That may not mean anything; I am not an ornithologist.) The Audubon Society …
What are you looking at? Spring is here and the peregrine webcam is up and running once again. Every year the Audubon Society of RI provides this mesmerizing view of the nesting box on top of the Superman Building downtown. It’s hard to tell male from female unless they are together (the female is the …
It is impossible to overstate the penetration of “The Raven” into American culture. It’s still the only poem with its own NFL football team, the Baltimore Ravens. That is where Edgar Allen Poe died and is buried. But just one year prior to his sad and mysterious end, he had visited Providence to pursue a …
I will never get used to this. City folk in search of wild turkeys in a bucolic setting can just head over to Swan Point Cemetery — they are pretty easy to spot. For people of a certain age, the sight of a rafter, or flock, of turkeys strolling about town is just nutty. There …
(10.2) Attention birders: Meet at the Museum of Natural History this Sunday for a guided bird walk. Join us for guided bird walks in Roger Williams Park. Although many of our breeding birds have flown south, plenty of year-round residents can be seen in the park! Please wear comfortable shoes and bring binoculars if you …
From egg> hatchling> nestling> fledgling> clean up your room! Not sure if ‘teenager’ is a recognized ornithological term but we all know it when we see it. The slugabed in the lower right has been giving me the stink-eye all afternoon. A little preening would go a long way. I keep missing the feedings but …
Friday was banding day for the young peregrines (eyases) in the nesting box atop the Superman Building. This is a full-contact sport for the experts from the Audubon Society of Rhode Island (ASRI) and they always include urban wildlife photographer Peter Green of Providence Raptors. The peregrine parents do not enjoy this process and respond …
The peregrine nestlings, known as eyases, spend much of their time these days huddling, staring into space, and sleeping. I was unable to catch a feeding time today which might have created a more dynamic image. So here they are, all downy fluff and black eyes (sometimes one of them will stare straight into the …
Three of the peregrine eggs have hatched. One to go? As soon as I checked in this afternoon, a parent flew in with a tasty carcass. Hard food already. These tiny nestlings can handle some pretty big chunks of pigeon. You can help support the Audubon Society of RI by participating in The Party for …
This year’s resident falcon pair has already mated and produced four eggs, and the Audubon Society of Rhode Island was filming the whole time. (The live stream only went up yesterday.) Check out the ASRI Facebook page for a link to their fascinating, edited video “Peregrine Falcon Mating Rituals and Egg-Laying”: Here’s what you missed …