Two Peregrine falcon chicks that hatched last month at the old Macomb County Building in Mt. Clemens will be watched by a Monroe rehabilitator for about a week after they safely navigated to the ground today after a gust of wind may have caught their wings while they were exercising them.
Harwell and Martha were found unharmed on the ground near the administration building between 9 and 10 a.m., county spokeswoman Lisa Martino said.
The pair lofted about 11 stories, but didn't have the muscular strength to fly up to their nest, said Christine Becher, southeast Michigan nesting Peregrine falcon coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
She doesn't know who found the pair, but a first responder who lives nearby was notified and called Becher. A volunteer went out to check on the pair.
Becher said the pair's brother, Packard, is hunkered down on a nearby ledge. He may have made a good flight Tuesday and this morning, she said.
Becher said the chicks are nearing the time that they will fly on their own. They flap their wings to practice, like exercising. Harwell and Martha may have been doing that when a gust of wind caught them and they floated away, Becher said.
"On the ground, they're kind of stranded. The parents can't help them," she said. "It happens. It's pretty common."
Becher said the chicks can be returned to the nest, but she was a little reluctant to do so today, concerned that another gust of strong wind might take them out of the nest again. They will be with a rehabilitator that the DNR uses and will exercise their wings to make them strong enough to endure an upward flight and to fly without incident.
Becher said the pair then will be returned to their parents, Hathor and Nick, who will accept them back into the nest.
click pic to see image
Pay Attention Jemison & Callidora: NO flapping when the wind is blowing! 
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