My friend in Richmond said she has not gone very far at all.  Don't know where she is today (Sun 8 - 23).

They have only been out since Tuesday.  Tues and Wed nights they were on Riverfront Plaza (except for the big female who spent the night on the Federal Reserve lamp post).  Wed night they were all at Riverfront.  They seem to go between the east and west towers.  The big girl continued to like to fly between Fed Reserve, Dominion, McGuireWoods and Riverfront.  I think they won't be going too much farther than that.  The best place to watch is from the middle of the Manchester Bridge, but it is concrete and in full sun.  The second good place is Kanawa Plaza with the fountain or Dominion Plaza.  It's kind of tricky because the other buildings are private.  We only had free run of the place because we were watching.  I think if you tell people you are watching the falcons, you might gain access.  One other good place was the Riverfront Plaza park like area right on the James River.  The only way is to get through security.

It was very exciting to see them fledge one by one within an hour.  That is me in the straw hat with the scope.  There is four block open space on one side and the James River on the other side.  The only problem was the highway in between.  But they all never even came close to the road.  Of course, busy traffic in Richmond is nothing like traffic in NYC.  The travel time was about the same as going up to Rochester.

Janet, the birds are about a month and a half behind schedule this year.

Here is a video I made of the smaller female climbing the Christmas lights.  I'm not Lou, so just enjoy the idea:

Lucy Climbs the Chrismas Lights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cyacu-e3d4

When I was in Richmond, my falcon watching friend commented that Azalea has not even really left the area.  She made a 100 mile circle in her 8 mile radius.  Her siblings are very far away.  Not to put a damper on Azalea, but she seems to be a homebody.

Thought you might like to see the pen they put up.  It was a very good thing those birds were contained for 48 days.  Those are the two girls.  The top girl climbed all the way up that string of lights to the top.  Next is the young male.  And last is the big girl kakking to mom who is just below her.

It really was just as exciting as being in Rochester.  Lots of great people.  They need more watchers, though.  There are really only two people who watch on the ground and the one lady in the building directly across from the scrape.  Here are a few pictures.  The first two are of the big girl.  She spent the night on that lamp post.  It was all fenced in the Fed Reserve area and almost the safest place she ever could have been.   Next is the one who climbed up those light bulbs on Tuesday and then fledged.  Last is ...

 

We left all five birds in sight last night at 5 pm just before a storm came in.  And every building person who came by was asked to keep an eye on the falcons.  One lady in the Federal Reserve building has neglected her job to keep watch.  She is responsible for some of the rescues.

Here is the VA DGIF (Virginia Dept of Game and Inland Fisheries) link:

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/falconcam2008/

They have been giving updates daily.  All five were seen this morning.  The big, young female can get quite a distance with her gigantic wings, so she is getting into some trouble.  But she seemed to learn very quickly to avoid the windows.  I saw her make a 90 degree turn.  She is beginning to get a hang of the landings, too.  The little male is an aerialist.

Dear All,

I got my fledgling fix here in Richmond, VA.  My pictures are coming.  Here is the article from the Richmond Times Dispatch.  It is only available the day of publication (I think).  My pictures will come soon.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/FALC20_20090819-210606/287081/

Here is the text:

By Rex Springston

Published: August 20, 2009

SLIDESHOW: Young falcons take flight
Falcon flight. Watch young Peregrines learning to fly in downtown Richmond. Keyword: slideshow

Richmond, we have liftoff.

Three young peregrine falcons successfully took wing in downtown Richmond Tuesday and again yesterday.

Volunteers and state game officials watched to make sure the birds didn't plummet into traffic or get into some other kind of trouble.

The only bird that had a problem was a female that tried a couple of times to latch on to windows. The bird would slide away, exhausted but OK.

"She's got a perception issue," said Stephen Living, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. "Falcons didn't evolve with glass."

As he spoke, the bird rested on a ledge under a parking-deck window just east of Kanawha Plaza at Eighth and Canal streets.

The falcons had spent nearly three weeks in a pen adjoining their nest on a 21st-story walkway at Riverfront Plaza, 901 E. Byrd St. The pen kept them from jumping too soon or being blown off.

A game department biologist opened the pen Tuesday morning. All three birds eventually took flight and stayed close to their parents downtown.

"All three are fat and happy and being fed by their parents," said Ray Fernald, manager of nongame programs for the game department.

Peregrine falcons are crow-sized predators that can dive at 200 mph to catch a bird to eat. There are only about 20 peregrine nests in Virginia. A pair has nested downtown since 2003.

Almost as interesting as the falcons yesterday were the volunteers, who kept binoculars and spotting scopes trained on the youngsters and their parents as the birds soared across the sky or perched on Riverfront Plaza and nearby buildings.

One of the volunteers, kindergarten teacher Bonnie Talluto, 65, drove seven hours from her home outside New York City.

The opening of the pen meant Talluto was almost assured of seeing the majestic birds take wing. "This is a sure thing," she said.

Barbara Slatcher, a Hanover County wildlife-rehabilitation expert, said thousands of people around the world have been watching the Richmond falcons on a webcam that the game department set up.

Slatcher said other webcams soon will take her interest far beyond Richmond. "Australia will start to hatch in a little while."


Contact Rex Springston at (804) 649-6453 or rspringston@timesdispatch.com .

Here's the link to the web cam and a picture from just now:

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/falconcam2008/

That's Upstate Bonnie.  Happy BD and how are your falcons doing?

 

Eyasses are due to be released from their pen on Tues, Aug. 18.  Anyone who is an experienced fledge watcher is needed.  You can google Richmond, VA falcons or

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/falconcam2008/

The link is really to the 2009 falcons.  It is quite a story.  I am sorry if others have posted the history.  I didn't mean to duplicate.

Oh I went to her workshop last year at Cape May Autumn Weekend.  Yes, she has the Swarovski 80 HD and uses a Fuji Finepix ....  forgot.  She has it on her site.  But the Nikon P5100 is easier to get.

Caitie, your point and shoots will be just fine.  I would also get the camera mount with the sleeve.  You just put it on the scope and screw the other part onto the camera.  Oh, wait, you have to have threads on the  camera lens.  But people adapt tin cans to use as a camera mount!!

She is quite the smart girl.  Some smart boy will come along soon.  Any visuals?   

I guess it might be worth the $200 investment to get the Nikon P5100.  It really is an excellent camera and one that most digiscopers recommend.  You also have to get the mount which is another chunk of change, but worth it.  The Nikon people are really helpful.  Give them a call.

Trust me, you will want to use the scope as a scope AND be able to quickly get a picture.