What’s been happening at Carrowdore?We have installed clever little probes at both
nesting sites which measure temperature and humidity at different
times throughout the day and night. The data collected helps us
study what factors affect Peregrine Falcon behaviour. For example,
does the temperature affect the chances of survival? Do they leave
the nest less often on cold days? |
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Temperature
When Peregrine chicks are hatched they need to stay warm through heat
transfer from the parent (this is known as brooding) and be well fed.
This comes with its problems in that the female is better than the male
at brooding more chicks (because she’s bigger) and hunting (because
she’s faster and can catch larger prey). Outside temperature can
play an important factor in which parent broods and which parent hunts.
The format and frequency of data can be key to identifying why peregrine’s
behaviour changes and perhaps even predicting the chicks survival chances.
Humidity
Humidity is wetness in the atmosphere. If peregrine chicks get wet they
will suffer from the cold and will need to be shrouded that much more.
This is because they don’t have oily feathers to protect them from
the wet, and so they would get cold through poor heat transfer.