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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 2:10 am 
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As to the posts of the Italian (www.birdcam.it) discussion board the second eyas has died yesterday evening :egg15:


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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 2:20 am 
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I hope the forum will forgive me for this very long post but I've translated Giac's post from our forum; for those that don't know, Giac is a biologist.

[i]Unfortunately, the second chick (the one removed from the nest) died last night.
During the first visit in the morning I ascertained the death of one of the chicks (probably the one which hatched first) and the very serious condition of the other two. The three chicks hatched after an incubation which had been discontinuous at times and had lasted a long time. One of the four eggs laid by the female disappeared from the nest in the final stage of incubation (probably eaten by the adults) and, once we'd gone past 45 days from the date the first egg was laid, we didn't think the eggs would hatch.. But, to everyone's great surprise, the first chick hatched a few days ago and the other two a short while later. The chicks seemed weak right from the start and the female didn't seem able or capable of giving them food. Despite this, all three seemed vital until the last images broadcast by the cam on Wednesday evening. It should be said that, in the very first days after hatching, chicks can still count on the nutritional reserves of the yolk and so survive, even without food from the parents, as long as they're kept warm...
Yesterday morning, the bodies of the two surviving chicks were infested by parasites ([i]
Carnus haemapterus[/i], a dipteron that sucks blood from very young chicks which are unable to remove them with their beaks) and covered with clots of blood under the wings. The chicks were very weak and their weight was only 25 gm (consider that a newly laid egg weighs around 45 gm and about 37 at hatching!, imagine how undernourished they were - effectively, they'd not been fed by their parents...). We removed as many parasites as we could (hundreds) with our fingers and pincers, we gave the chicks a little food and put them back into the nest where the female immediately took them back under her wings to brood them.
We were on the other side of the wall separating the nest (on the left in the picture from the cam) and we watched the parents' behaviour, ready to remove the chicks if they weren't accepted back immediately. However, the female returned to the nest in 5 minutes and we thought that, with a full stomach and the warm protection of the mother, the chicks could have gained some energy. The intention was to have them regain strength and then they may have become more convincing in asking the parents for food (begging). We planned to make a second visit to the nest in the late afternoon to make a definitive elimination of the parasites and check on the condition of the two chicks left, giving them more food so that they could get through the night.
When we went back, we found one of the chicks in an even worse condition compared to the morning, with scratches and scabs on its back. It was laying on its back in the nest (it was probably the one 'ill-treated' by the male). We decided to remove it from the nest to try a recovery in a more comfortable place - I took it home, put it under a solar lamp with a hot-water bottle at 37°C and fed it with tiny bits of food, but it slowly gave up and died a short time ago...)
We left the one that seemed stronger in the nest after feeding it. We watched to see whether the female would take it back, ready to take it away if she didn't. After about 12 minutes, she came back and put it back under her wings and so we left it with her, thinking that the warmth of the mother would be enough to get it through the night. Tomorrow morning, we'll find out whether we made the right choice but, at this point, we mustn't delude ourselves....

The pair Appio and Vergine (we've called them with these names but they may not be the same pair as last year) have behaved strangely during this breeding season, the male, in particular, seems to have no experience at all or, perhaps, as someone suggested, if he's not the natural father of the chicks, he may have more interest in removing them than raising them... For the moment, these are only speculations but we may be able to make and check some hypotheses later. For example, comparing the DNA of the chicks of this year and last year to see if they are related or the parents have changed..
The observations through the cam are unveiling unexpected behaviour in these birds. The comparison between the various pairs shows that there are characters and personalities in them, just as in humans. The attention of Vento towards his partner and the chicks, the way he takes turns in incubation, his constant, yet discreet, attendance are reflected in reproductive success which is repeated regularly while the confused and 'crazy' behaviour of Appio is having tragic consequences for the survival of the chicks. It may be that balanced behaviour and collaboration with the female are acquired with 'maturity' and reproductive experience, and this may help a pair to face difficulties like scarcity of food or storms. However, there may be other factors, like environmental disturbances and pollution, which may be felt by the falcons differently from how we humans perceive them and that the behaviour we interpret as 'aberrant' or unexplicable are merely adaptations to these changes. For example, we should reflect on the fact that, 3 of the 4 pairs of falcons nesting in boxes in Roma (Appio & Vergine, Aloha & Falcao and Alice & Virgilio) have lost an egg shortly before hatching. An analysis of the pictures recorded (all our cams record images on the PC every 5 minutes as well as sending pictures onto the web) shows that the only explanation could be for all cases that the female has eaten or 'cannibalised' the egg. Some of you may remember there was a similar episode during the reproduction of Aria & Vento in 2005. In that case, the cannibalism was well documented with a series of 'strong' photos (requests were received at the time to remove the photos from the forum so that younger visitors were not shocked) and this aroused scientific interest with many hypotheses about the behaviour. Cannibalism, that we may judge as crazy may be to enable the reproductive investment and parental efforts to be optimised with a view to a period of limited resources, which the birds are in some way able to predict. In other words, if I lay 4 eggs thinking I can raise all of them but then after starting incubation I realise that there isn't enough food for all of them in the environment, or the weather conditions are getting worse (wind and cold = less prey to hunt), it's better to sacrifice an egg straightaway, when the investment in reproduction is at the beginning, rather than risk losing the chicks later, when there has been greater investment in reproduction... Last year, our colleague Stefania Casagrande noted 4 episodes of cannibalism of the eggs out of 11 nests among the kestrels, and the explanations for this behaviour may be the same as for the peregrine falcons.
We'll wait and watch over the coming weeks to try to understand how to connect what happens inside the nests to what's happening in the environment...
The cams enable us to have a front seat in discovering and seeing what has always happened in Nature. It may seem ruthless, we have emotional reactions but it's an honest contribution to the increase in our knowledge of the reality of the world and the animals living around us
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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 4:42 am 
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The corpse of the third little one was removed from the nest half an hour ago.
The cams are still working to monitor the falcons' behavior.
That's all. The chicks weren't viable, anyway unable to grow up normally as their hard life requires.

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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 5:18 am 
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Thank you Warbler. That was a very informative report concerning behavior and environmental conditions. Do the adults carry the parasites or are they in the nesting material?



It's sad. I'm glad their suffering is over.


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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 7:45 am 
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Warbler, Thank you so much for posting that report from Giac. You did a wonderful job translating it for all of us here. Even though the loss of the 3 chicks is very tragic and saddens me greatly, it was comforting to read about the amount of care and thought Giac and others gave to this nest. It sounds like the only way these little chicks would have even had a chance would have been if they had been taken from the nest immediately after hatching and never returned..and even then, it doesn't sound like they were healthy at all. Such a shame. It does make you wonder about the environmental conditions combined with the strange behavior of the parents. I do hope that through their deaths and the observations by Giac and others, that maybe something can be learned that will help to explain this nest failure.

Thank you again... :sosad


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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 8:21 am 
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:egg15: Thanks Warbler-Kim for the news/report...Also Giac and others.

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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 10:26 am 
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OH my word, I got to the point where I just couldn't read it anymore. I am so sorry for all those who watch and love these nests. I really thought that after last year, you'd catch a break. :egg15:


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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 2:38 pm 
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From me also thanks for all the updates. I´m so glad the suffering is over!


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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 4:10 pm 
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Thanks for all the information on what's happened here. I'm so sorry to everyone in Rome who have gone through this again this year. Parasites are a clear indication something is going on there. Will they be doing a necropsy or testing to see what it might be? It sounds like it might be a trend with some issues at the other nests.


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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 2:48 am 
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I'm almost 100% positive that there will be an analysis made of the chicks. Giac mentions a DNA check in his post to compare with that of the chicks from last year to see if the parents are the same, but I'm sure that will be just one test. As soon as we hear anything, I'll post the information.


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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 1:12 pm 
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Thanks Warbler!


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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:15 am 
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I am just catching up here. Sad situation for sure....

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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:13 pm 
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Paolo, one of our biologists, has told us that it's too late in the season for them to reclutch but courtship behaviour has been seen at the nest.
If that helps this pair to build their bond and give them a better chance of success next year, I'm really glad.
The female in particular visited the nest on the days following the death of the chicks and seemed to be looking for them.


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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:15 pm 
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Thank you Warbler. I am happy that they are still courting and will look forward to next year.

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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 2:39 am 
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First chick for Aloa & Falcao.


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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 9:26 am 
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:egg5:

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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 12:03 pm 
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The second one hatched today as well:

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:egghatch: :egghatch:


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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:04 pm 
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I saw where the nesting calendar was update to show 2 hatches today, I when I looked in Mom was hiding everything. Double Hooray!!!

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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 8:25 pm 
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:egg5: :egg5:


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 Post subject: Re: Rome~2011 Appio & Vergine, Aloa & Falcao
PostPosted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 12:21 am 
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Aloa & Falcao.
3rd egg hatched.




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