Today’s Fledge Watchers:

Morning/Afternoon – Kathy O, Dana, Larry O, Dan, Carol Lukka, Darlene, Carla & JP, Carrie and Carol P. (6:30 am – 4:00 pm)

Evening – Kathy O, Carol Lukka, Carrie, Joyce, Jeanne, Carla and Larry O.  (4:00 – 9:00 pm)

Weather:  Very Sunny, with temps in the low 80’s.  Not much of a breeze.

There was a lot of activity at the nest box, but no new fledges today.  Not even Mike attempted to take flight today.  Lots of flapping by all three, strengthening their wings.  Will tomorrow be the day Mike goes again and will it be Letchworth’s time to fledge.  Only time will tell.

The highlight of the watch was when Sundara finally got the courage to make it down to the wall to join her sister and brother.  It was a beautiful sight.

As I type this report, Mike is on top of the nest box roof and Sundara and Letchworth are running the wall.

Here are some pictures from today’s fledge watch.  Enjoy!

*Please be sure to click on the picture to see the full image!*

*During the evening watch, Mike took some flights around the area and Times Square Bldg.  According to Joyce, he even chased a swift!  When the watchers left at  9:00 pm, he was on the southeast wing ledge.  Sundara and Letchworth remain at the nest box.

Today’s Fledge Watchers:

Morning/Afternoon – Dana, Larry O, Anna, Ron, Ryan, Dan, Willie, Carla, Joyce, Brian, Kathy O, Carrie and Carol P. (6:30 am – 4:00 pm)

Evening – Kathy O, Ryan, Carla, Willie, Joyce, Herbie, Dan, Larry O, Sue, Lukka (Carol) and Shaky (4:00 – 8:30 pm)

Weather:  Very Sunny, with temps in the mid 70’s.  A perfect day for a fledge!

*Please be sure to click on the picture to see the full image!*

I just had a feeling that Mike was going to fledge today and I and many other watchers were correct.  After being held back by Beauty yesterday due to the high winds, Mike was more than ready to take his first flight.

It happened at about 8:15 am.  Mike was at the north end of the wall and he was flapping his wings like crazy, and bobbing his head up and down.  Then, as Dana and I were watching, he took his first flight.  Mike headed north, towards the Powers Bldg.  We lost sight of him behind the Wilder Bldg, so we ran across the parking lot, trying to see where he went.

Just then, Mike was heading back towards the Times Square Bldg, with Beauty and Dot.ca following close behind.  Mike’s flight was strong and he quickly gained height.  He overshot the northeast wing ledge and ended up hanging from the metal grillwork.  Beauty landed on the column above the nest box and Dot.ca landed on the northeast wing ledge, very close to Mike.  Mike quickly got his feet beneath him and settled in for awhile.

After awhile, Mike decided it would be better to join his dad on the northeast wing ledge.  He spread his wings and attempted to fly over to Dot.ca.  But, he missed and fell down the face of the building.  Quickly he flapped his wings and took flight yet again.

Dana and I were on the move again, tracking Mike’s flight.  He ended up turning the corner of the Times Square Bldg, where we lost sight of him.  From in front of the Blue Cross Arena, we spotted Mike on a ledge near the top of the back extension of the Times Square Bldg on the southside.  He was safe and Beauty was nearby keeping an eye on him.

Dana remained on the southside to keep an eye on Mike, while I returned to Aqueduct St (aka “the hole”) to watch the girls, just in case.  We were joined by many watchers during the day.  You can see the list of watchers above.

Here is a picture showing the location of Mike’s first flights.

Beauty and Dot.ca did a lot of flight lessons for the new juvie and his two eyas sisters.  Once an eyas takes flight, they become a juvie or fledgling.  The flying by the adults was spectacular.  Wish you could all see what they can do.

I’ve been practicing flight shots with my new camera.  🙂

Kathy O, Anna and I walked around to the southside of the building to check on Mike.  We found Dana and she pointed out his location.  He was on the move.  Back and forth on the ledge, with wings out.  He was trying to get up to the roof above his ledge.  From there, he could walk all around the building.  Finally, he made his way to the roof.  Always under the watchful eye of his watchers and parents.

I ended my watch at 4:00 pm.  By the time I left, Mike had made it up a few levels and back to the wall on the opposite side of the building from the nest box.  He had a good view of his two sisters and he found some shade to take a nap in.

After I left, Mike finally made it back to the nest box.  Beauty brought in food and that is all it took for Mike to make the short flight across the front of the building to the nest box platform.  A beautiful flight and landing.  He joined his sisters for a small meal.

Here are some more pictures from my fledge watch.  Enjoy!

Today’s Fledge Watchers:

Morning/Afternoon – Kathy O, Lisa, Dana, Larry O, Anna, Ron and Carol P. (5:30 am – 4:00 pm)

Evening – Lisa, Kathy O, Ryan, Joyce, Sue, Dan, Carrie and Larry O. (4:00 – 8:30 pm)

Weather:  Sunny, cool and VERY windy, with temps in the low 70’s.

The day started out very early (5:30 am) for this watcher.  Kathy O and I were on watch in the hole, while Lisa met the Channel 10 folks on the corner of Exchange and Broad.  They were there to see what happened during a fledge watch.  We did not get to meet them.  Maybe next time.  The falcons were quite active while they were here.

The winds were extremely high, and Beauty was determined to keep the eyases grounded at the nest box.  She kept them well fed and remained with them during most of the day and afternoon.  I was really happy she did this.  With winds like this, it is too easy to have an accidental fledge.  So, as of the time I am typing this report, all are still safely at the nest box.  We’ll see what happens during the evening watch.

There was a lot of flying lessons for the eyases by Beauty and Dot.ca.  The winds did not bother the adults at all.  In fact, they really enjoy them!

The highlight of my watch was to see a very classic food exchange between Beauty and Dot.ca over the Blue Cross Arena.  Dot.ca flew in clutching prey, and Beauty flew out to meet him.  She flipped upside down (talons up!) and grabbed the food from him.  After that, she cached the meal for later use.

Here are some pictures from today’s fledge watch.  Enjoy!

*Be sure to click on each picture to see the full image.*

Today’s Fledge Watchers:

Early Morning – Dan and Larry O (5:15 – 7:00 am)

Morning/Afternoon – Kathy O, Dan, Ron and Carol P. (8:00 am – 4:00 pm)

Evening – Pat, Lisa, Carla, Shaky and Larry O. (6:00 – 8:30 pm)

Special thanks to the not local watchers helping by letting the local watchers know what is going on, on camera – Ei and Annette

Weather:  Cloudy, damp and rainy, some sun, with temps in the mid 80’s, area under a severe thunderstorm and wind warning, late day to 11 pm.

Another fledge watch with no fledges.  I was really hoping that they would wait to fledge tomorrow, with the possible bad weather coming through.

The highlights of the morning/afternoon watch.

We got to see Dot.ca stoop off the top of the Times Square Bldg, low over the pavement in front of us and then zipping up to continue over the river.  He did this not once, but twice!  So thrilling to see!  Definitely in hunt mode.

Letchworth made her way out onto the wall for the first time, joining her brother Mike.  It was fun to see the two youngsters flapping and running down the wall together.  Soon, Sundara will join them.

Near the end of the watch, Beauty took off and returned about 10 minutes later.  She landed on top of Camera 1 (aka Pan Cam).  She looked a little funny up there.  Turning and twisting and spreading her wings out and ….. I zoomed in on her with my camera and saw that she was soaking wet! She had taken a bath and was preening her wet feathers and drying out her wings.  lol

Here are some pictures from today’s fledge watch.  Enjoy!

*Please click on the pictures to see the full image.*

I also wanted to include some pictures of our bathing Beauty!