Falcon chicks ready for test flights Calgary

[Donna]

Officials are warning people to be on the lookout for crash landings now that two peregrine falcons nesting on top of a building at the University of Calgary have hatched three chicks.

Between July 12 and 16 the young birds are expected to take their first flights off the ledge of Craigie Hall — practice runs that often result in injury, according to wildlife experts.

University officials are asking any passers-by who find an injured fledgling falcon to contact one the following agencies:

    * Alberta Fish and Wildlife at 403-297-6423.
    * Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. Call the City of Calgary at 311.
    * And if a falcon has to be picked up after hours: Campus Security 403-220-5333.

The female began laying eggs in late April, and by May 10 Pat Young, a biologist with Alberta Fish and Wildlife, had counted four eggs, the university reported on its peregrine falcon home page.

One of the eggs turned out to be infertile, but the three remaining chicks are in good shape and are being fed and cared for regularly by mom and dad, the website said.

Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers banded the chicks for tracking purposes on June 22.

The univeristy's falcon watchers have set up a live link for people to observe the birds on the internet, however the feed is sporadic because of some ongoing technical problems, they said.

"I have had the distinct feeling that they are not so keen on being filmed, as one or more often peck at the camera or the microphone," Elli Jilek said on the website, adding that they sometimes hide behind the camera.

Peregrine falcons are listed as a threatened species. The birds have nested at the university for several years.



http://www.falconcam.med.ualberta.ca/cam2.html Web cam

[MAK]

    So cute!     

[Donna]

Baby peregrine falcons are being watched from around the world, as the chicks learn to fly near their University of Alberta nest.

Each day hundreds of viewers from as far as England, Germany and the United States have been watching the three five-week-old falcons online, born atop the clinical sciences building.

"It's popular. A lot of people get very attached to these birds," said Ian Moore, of the Students' Union at the U of A.

The webcams offer three views, one inside the nest and two outside.

Since Sunday, volunteers have also been keeping a close eye on the birds -- born June 5 and 6 -- as they begin to fly, said Moore.

If the fledglings run into trouble learning to fly, a volunteer contacts a biologist who then returns the falcon to the nest.

Peregrine falcons -- capable of reaching speeds of more than 320 km/h, making it the fastest animal in the world -- were nearly extinct due to the use of now-banned chlorine pesticides such as DDT.

Populations have since recovered but are still threatened, with about 50 peregrine falcon mating pairs in the province.

Last year, more than 14,000 people viewed the webcam, which helps educate people about urban wildlife, said Moore.

"Not a lot of people know about the extent and diversity of wildlife that exists in Edmonton," he said.

Watch the peregrines at www.falconcam.med.ualberta.ca.