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Re: caching by raptors



Peregrine Falcons regularly cache food near nesting or roost sites. Just
before the young hatch the male peregrine often caches more food than is
needed by the female and himself.
Caches are often in grass or moss growing on the cliff face. The female
apparently knows where the male caches food because she will sometimes leave
off incubating or brooding young and go directly to a cached prey item.Since
female peregrines almost never hunt during incubation, she must watch where
the male stores food.
                                         Reece Mitchell
                                         Flat Rock
rmitche2@tds.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "R. O. Bierregaard, Jr." <rbierreg@email.uncc.edu>
To: <carolinabirds@duke.edu>
Sent: Monday, February 11, 2002 10:16 AM
Subject: caching by raptors


> Following on Eric Harrold's question about caching food by raptors, I
> have seen a male Kestrel return to its nest with a vole and, upon not
> finding the female around, stash the vole in the needles of a pine
> near the nest. When the female returned, she went over to the branch
> and got the mouse. She then proceeded to check out other branches to
> see if her faithful provider had left her any other goodies, so this
> was obviously a regular behavior. There are other examples--I don't
> think it's all that rare.
>
> --
>
> Rob Bierregaard
>
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