Baby Courtney has really had some education   These watchers are amazing too!  Courtney may have wanted to police to take action against those rascal crows

there is a falcon on the floor beneath the nestbox walking and perched!

Happy birthday, Shaky!!!!!!!!  Have a great day and a great vacation!!! 

A late night appearance!

Fly free, dear one.     This has been a rough year

Our beautiful girl is still at the nestbox!

There are actually 3 posts but this had a lot of info about young peregrines.

!!! PM Fledge watch report - Baby Courtney checks out OK, no injuries and safely returned to the nest ledges and her parents! The fledge watch has begun!!!
July 19, 2011 - Brampton - Courthouse
Mark Nash Reports:

Tuesday July 19th - PM Report
Quite a day indeed! The Brampton Court fledge watch has begun!! We still stayed on track despite baby Courtney plans and were able to meet with fledge watch crew to go over the rules of engagement and protocols that we operate under while involved in fledge watch activities, and courthouse protocols while conducting these activities in/on and around the property.
After the meeting with lasted aprox. two hours, we all attended the courthouse and met with security and did one further physical examination of baby Courtney to ensure that thee were no further health issues before putting her back to the nest ledge and her parents. The extreme heat and humidify had both the resident adult parents inactive through most of the day, holding up out of sight in the shade to avoid the blazing hot sun. They too, do not do well in this type of extreme heat and humidity and do their best to hide out from the direct sun. Peregrine’s darker feather colouring absorb the suns heat and they can easily over heat especially with the extreme humidify.

Baby Courtney on the other hand, spent a very relaxing day in air conditioning in a stress free environment and was very relaxed. Her final examination went well, and she was again provided with water which she eagerly accepted. She was full of renewed energy, very alert and released back to the upper ledges and her awaiting parents as planned without incident.

Again, a huge thank you to court security, the Peel police and the management group for all of their understanding and support!! These folks are GREAT!!!

While we don’t expect baby Courtney to actually fledge over the next day or two given her young age, but we will be on site all day, every day on the fledge watch until baby Courtney has clearly demonstrated that she can hold her altitude and no longer needs rescuing, and can stay out of trouble from the ground.

For theos that are new to the fledge watch procedures and what is happening, young fledgling peregrines most often end up on the ground during their first flights. They are uncoordinated, too heavy with baby fat, and have not yet developed the mussel mass and flight skills to hold their altitude, let alone get off the ground back into the air and th nest ledge to safety.
When the young fledgling peregrines come to ground, they are unable to get back into the air, and like a young human infant learning to walk for their first time, they are also too naive to understand the dangers that exist on the ground. In the fledgling peregrines case, they are easily predated by other avian and land based predators. Here in the city, there are additional dangers from automobiles, domestic cats and dogs, raccoons, skunks and of course the odd bad guys that are only too quick to scoop up the young peregrine for financial gains.
Some of the young fledglings are stay grounded until they loose some of the heavy baby fat, and further exercise their wings to develop the necessary wing mussels strength and coordination to be able to get aloft again. In the wild - (non-urban nest sites), many of these young grounded fledgling peregrines are in fact predated. Peregrines have a high mortality - upwards of 80% in the first year, with the higher percentage of their mortality at fledge time.
Air movement plays an important role with peregrines, especially the young fledglings. Being heavy bodied birds with smaller wings, peregrines utilize the air movements to gain their altitude, and despite the fact that they are one (if not the fastest animal on the planet), they are actually encumbered in straight and level flight in dead air.
One of the many reasons peregrines nest high up on cliffs (and most recently, on high-rise buildings here in our urban landscapes). Peregrines are the F-16 and F-18 jet fighters that need allot of air space, and lots of attitude. They are not lumbering huge broad winged bombers (or like large / broad winged hawks or owls that can easily gain altitude in dead air). The juvenile fledgling peregrine is further disadvantaged in that it is inexperienced, never flown before, too fat and heavy, and very uncoordinated, and is now on the ground.
The adult parents refuse to feed it and for good reasons! The ground is a very dangerous place, especially for a peregrine! The parents wile attentive and still very protective will attempt to coax the fledgling back to into the air with food, sometimes harass it, and even attack it in an effort to get it off the ground and airborne. Once the fledgling is back at a safe altitude, the adult parents will resume feeding and tending to the fledgling.

We are there to assist and help get the grounded fledgling off the ground sooner than later, as the urban environment holds additional dangers.
Pictures to follow.
Stay tuned…………

I don't know if this has been posted before but nice blog with pictures of Harlie!

http://tarzansgrrl2.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/shes-got-wings-and-she-knows-how-to-use-them/#entries

Kris, thank you!  This is wonderful!

 

omg.  I wanted to hold those babies.  Just to see them dying and vocalizing breaks my heart

http://abcnews.go.com/International/slain-soldiers-fulfilled-dog-united-family-overseas/story?id=14065539

I plan on being at Wild Wings tomorrow (today?) with you all - late notice but as long as my mom doesn't ask me to take her to the doctor tomorrow I'll see you all then.  I'm really looking forward to it!

Great, Susan!!!

It will be great to meet you -- in person. I've met MAK and Brian before --and Carrie. 
I ' ve always had to work -- at least for the past five years -- so I've missed Falcon watchers weekend. 

I'm looking forward to meeting you too! 

I will be joining you all on Friday!!!  The chickadees are awesome!  Dan S, our longtime watcher, sometimes will hide the peanut in the other seeds so that the chickadees stay longer on his hand as they search!

Oh good, I think I also met you, jeanne, last year . I am looking forward to it on Friday!

I think we did, Margaret!!! It will be fun!

Fabulous, Dana!!!!!

Oh wow, now she picks at it. Must be itchy after 3 years....like a cast. We had 3 very very good years of tracking her. Wonder if she and Kendal will stay the Winter or move around. I'm sure he's thinking right now where to go, (on his own), with all that nagging she's doing. Maybe he's having 2nd thoughts!! I would.

Not itchy - it is time.  It served it's purpose and gave us a very, very special gift.  Now it is time for Quest to fly solo without us.

It is a poignant moment for all of us who have followed Quest since she was an egg.   That transmitter has allowed us to share her life, and to follow her escapades and adventures, and finally to share her "Harlequin Romance" moment with Kendal and little Harlequin.   It has been a privilege -- I've said that before. 
I'm happy that she will be a "freebird"  and lose that transmitter, but I think she will stick around her chosen site as her mother did, so  we will be able to keep track of Quest, and Kendal if he comes back after winter break.  Harlequin -- she will be the one we will wonder about.   Maybe she will settle down in Rochester!
And Archer will have three females in town !   Anyone untangle that family tree ?  :-)

so well said, Margaret!!  We have been having our love affair with Quest for 3 years!  What a gift!  And to be able to see her with her mate and baby has been a blessing!  May all three be strong and safe!

It will be great to meet you -- in person. I've met MAK and Brian before --and Carrie. 
I ' ve always had to work -- at least for the past five years -- so I've missed Falcon watchers weekend. 

I'm looking forward to meeting you too! 

I will be joining you all on Friday!!!  The chickadees are awesome!  Dan S, our longtime watcher, sometimes will hide the peanut in the other seeds so that the chickadees stay longer on his hand as they search!