FALCONS: The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced Monday that its first baby falcon of 2017 hatched around 4 p.m. on Easter Sunday.
The DEP hosts a live falcon cam in Harrisburg, where a couple of peregrine falcons use the 15th-floor ledge of the Rachel Carson State Office Building to nest.
“Look for white spots on the eggs which indicate that the second hatchling will arrive very soon,” the post suggests to cam viewers. “The close camera views are provided to get the best coverage of this fascinating point in a Peregrine Falcon’s reproductive cycle.”
The female falcon laid four eggs this year, but a small hole appeared in one of the eggs earlier this month, and the birds have pushed it aside.
Watch at www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/falcon/
METEORS: If you’re up during the wee hours of morning at any point during the next week, check out the Lyrid meteor shower.
The Lyrid meteors are visible at the end of April because that’s when the Earth meets the orbital path of Comet Thatcher, from which the meteors generate, according to the EarthSky.org.
In the article “All You Need to Know: Lyrid Meteors,” the organization writes, “It’s active each year from about April 16 to 25. In 2017, the peak of this shower — which tends to come in a burst and usually lasts for less than a day — is expected to fall on the morning of April 22, with little or no interference from the slender waning crescent moon.”
But there may be some interference from clouds.
The National Weather Service in State College reports that the night of April 21 — Friday night — is expected to be mostly cloudy with temperatures dropping to a chilly 36 degrees. Saturday’s forecast is calling for partly sunny skies, so we imagine it’s possible the clouds could break before daylight.
The largest number of meteors will be visible in the hours before dawn, according to EarthSky. For more information on the Lyrid meteor shower, visit the organization’s website.
