No fledge today, but the little guy is mostly free of fluff and quite active.  He gets in and out of the nestbox with the greatest of ease.  Both parents have now become very territorial in preparation for the first flight.  I got kakked at a lot.

Paul

Wondeful surf, warm temperatures -- Catherine thought this was the best Memorial Day Weekend ever.  I thought it was the perfect beginning to summer.

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Enjoy!

Paul

Here'a another trip to my local falcon site.  It was a very hot day, but well worth the visit because the whole family was out.

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Paul

I finally got around to posting our New Yourk photos.  No falcons, but some good views of Pale Male and a very old kestrel.  In fact, the bird theme was prety strong.

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Enjoy!

Paul

Gorgeous setting, Paul!  Has he fledged yet?  I see you got an ID band number on the female-do you know the names/origin of the parents?  Thanks for sharing your pics with us!

You are most welcome.
As of last Sunday, he had not fledged, but was out of the box..  Here he is with his mom.

Paul

Try this link:
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Come along with me for last week's Banding Day!

Bring your sunscreen.

Paul

[rochfalconflyer (Lisa McK):]

rochfalconflyer (Lisa McK): Just  left Burlington saw 2 young falcons, 2 adult falcons and many baby gulls.   Plus black crowned night herons.

Link:
http://twitter.com/rochfalconflyer/statuses/79193320164818944

The adventure begins!  Can't wait to learn more about all these nest sites.

Paul

It's after dark now in Toronto, but I was able to enhance a dim image that shows that several shapes, probably Quest and Harlequin, are still in the nest tray.

Paul

In other words, is New York's most productive peregrine territory ripe for a turnover? If a new tiercel were to show up at the NB and court Beauty, would Archer be able to put up a defense?  

Paul

Would this increase the possibility of endangered Whooping Cranes being shot by mistake?

Paul

Banding Day!

Craig Koppie, of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service visited my local nestsite today.  Out of five eggs laid, the Cabin John Peregrines produced one male chick, estimated at 24 days old.  Last year, there were three chicks, so this is a bit of a surprise.  Thinking of Mark's comments regarding Ontario falcons, I wonder whether fertility will turn out to be statistically lower this year over the East coast.

Lots of kakking and flying around by the parents, as you can see.  I don't think either bird actually made contact, but the female came very close, sometimes within an inch. It looked like she was deliberately trying to intimidate while avoiding the risks of actually coming to blows.  Surprisingly, the female spent a lot of time perched close to the intruder, yelling at him.  Quite a difference from both Mariah and Kaver and Beauty and Archer, who always remained airborne.  Craig has so many peregrine sites that he no longer has them all memorised, but thinks that the female is from New York City and the male from a bridge between New York and Pennsylvania.  He said he would look up the bands and email me the info.

Afterwards, Craig told me some great peregrine banding stories while he was packing up his climbing gear.  He has been involved with peregrines for at least thirty years, going back to the time of the reintroduction. The common theme was 400 foot towers and angry, swooping birds. The New Jersey and New York females seem to be particularly aggressive, with the second female at the Legg Mason tower in Baltimore being the most memorable.  His assistant, Randy, who was documenting the banding, had some good tales of his own.  He is a very good falcon photographer, frequently getting flight shots good enough for a band reading.

It was my first banding day, and an unforgettable experience.  Craig was impressed that my binocular strap was adorned with a GVAS Rochester Fledgewatch tag.  This shows the importance of wearing Rfalconcam gear whenever possible.

Paul

   They fly in and steal our hearts, sometimes they break our hearts and sometimes they rescue our hearts!    Thank you for sharing!

Here is one from yesterday to rescue our hearts:

Just before the start of the 5:30 gathering at Main and Mission, one juv flew
off the top of PG&E and circled back, landing on top of the second column from
the left on the south side. He didn't stay long and flew east.

Shortly after that, we saw one on the window sill on the second column from the
right, south side. It sat there for an hour while nothing much happened and
people gathered. We had that one in the scope to show people but it didn't show
us enough to get an ID, other than juv.

Then the action started: two adults, food, two juvs. One adult landed on the
east side, about 8 windows down from the top, several bays over from the left.
White pigeon feathers floated over us. A juv flew in, a second juv flew in, an
adult flew out, the pigeon fell, both juvs flew when there was nothing on the
ledge to eat.

Then all the action was over the middle of Mission between Steuart and the
Embarcadero. An adult and both juvs, a food exchange, attempted landings, stuck
landing, adults being bounced off ledges by enthusiastic juvs, and more flying
and talon tag in the air. We were still on Main and Mission at that time and
the action would move out of our view on both sides of the street.

It was getting cold so we started down Mission to our clubhouse, stopping to
watch a wailing baby get handfed on a window ledge---the juv that had just done
an in-air food exchange was now being fed morsels and wailing like a baby!
It's hard to grow up and it seems equally hard for these parents to let their
babies grow up.

Dan and Lil (housekeeping aside!) have been such excellent parents. More food
coming in than the babies can eat. Feathers beds for sleeping eyases. Watchful
Mom on the nest ledge. Watchful Dad on 199 Fremont for 36 hours. Gulls and
redtails and crows banished from the airspace.

Many of us had a difficult time losing George and Gracie. Some of us still
mistakenly call Dan 'George'. We call the juvs by the names of juvs-past when
we're tired and the action is frantic. But we've come to really love and
respect the ways of Dan and Lil and can even sometimes see the advantages of
plucking in the nest when all you can see on camera is the eye of the eyas
peering out from a shifting mound of feather bed.

Stay tuned for more.

Fledge party to come -- tentatively, like last year, sometime in the summer.


Paul

Last year, they had two infertile eggs.  If the same happened this year, the margin for a hatching would have been a small one, especially given the long gap after the first egg.  If there is a nest failure, it won't be from lack of good brooding -- they both did a good job of staying on the eggs no matter what. 

Maybe Beauty and Archer have a handle on the situation, given their recent mating.  I wonder whether Rochester might have its first reclutch?  Specto subitus, and all that.

Paul

It's possible that an infertile egg is starting to decompose.  It's possible that a fertile egg is starting to pip.  The one thing that is sure is that something is happening to the egg.

Paul