Exciting News From The MN DNR Falcon Cam

Finally!

I've been checking the Minnesota DNR Falconcam for a month now, and as of Sunday morning, April 19th, sometime between dawn and 10 am, Acadia finally laid an egg!

THE NEXT 48 TO 72 HOURS

I've been watching the nest on and off all day, wondering if there might be another egg, but as of 8 pm Sunday, there was only the one egg. I was actually getting worried that this might be the year that Acadia wouldn't be able to produce any longer. This is Acadia's 11th year in this same nesting box, so it's kinda special! She hasn't found true love as of yet. She keeps switching out mates, this time for a four-year-old. We shall see if she finds him a suitable mate once the season ends.

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ACADIA IN PAST YEARS

Acadia has had four eggs in the past, when I've been watching her nest. In 48 hours from the first egg, she could lay another. According to the Minnesota DNR website, the next eggs usually come between 48 and 72 hours.

What does that mean for this year? Do you think she'll lay three more, as in years past? It seems like it's late in April for her to be laying eggs, but I don't think I paid any attention to when she laid her eggs last year.

INCUBATION SHOULD BEGIN SOON

2 to 5 eggs are what's typical for falcons. I was wondering why Acadia doesn't seem to be sitting on this egg as often as I thought she would, but apparently, it is because they don't want to start incubating the eggs too soon. She will probably start sitting on it more when she lays more eggs. I guess we will keep an eye on the nest over the next 4 days and see what happens.

The one thing that is hard to watch for me is that, although the parents try to provide food for all the hatchlings in the nest, a limited food supply or other chicks hogging food from the smaller ones can cause some of the chicks to starve to death. It absolutely breaks my heart when this happens.

Let's hope it's a good season for Acadia and her family. More to come soon!