Jersey City

[Bonnie]

Mike reported our first fledge!!  He is pretty sure it is Lady Liberty aka Libby.  Men were up working by the scrape again so he is not sure about Hudson.  Libby was happily bouncing and of course eating on top of 10 Exchange Place which is a block away and another safe building for the fledglings.  She is a very aggressive female.

Seems we have fledglings all over the place.

[Donna]

Mike reported our first fledge!!  He is pretty sure it is Lady Liberty aka Libby.  Men were up working by the scrape again so he is not sure about Hudson.  Libby was happily bouncing and of course eating on top of 10 Exchange Place which is a block away and another safe building for the fledglings.  She is a very aggressive female.

Seems we have fledglings all over the place.

And the fun begins! Good luck.

[Kris G.]

Mike reported our first fledge!!  He is pretty sure it is Lady Liberty aka Libby.  Men were up working by the scrape again so he is not sure about Hudson.  Libby was happily bouncing and of course eating on top of 10 Exchange Place which is a block away and another safe building for the fledglings.  She is a very aggressive female.

Seems we have fledglings all over the place.

And the fun begins! Good luck.

Like Donna said, have fun and hope they all stay safe!

[Bonnie]

Not sure how this is going to post, but Mike got a picture of Legs in his barn in West Virginia.   Here is the report and link:

Here's Legs!! (Kim Steininger was kind enough to forward the pic to me)

http://www.peregrinefalcon-bcaw.net/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=719&start=340
(photo credit: Three Rivers Avian Center, 06-16-11)

I double-checked his leg band with some pics Kathy Clark forwarded from Tri-State last week, and it's definately him! Per the update Kim got, Legs is in a flight barn with 3 other NJ chicks from a Delaware River bridge site. Not sure when he will be transferred to the hack box, probably not too long I would guess.

Way to go Legs!!! 

[Kris G.]

Not sure how this is going to post, but Mike got a picture of Legs in his barn in West Virginia.   Here is the report and link:

Here's Legs!! (Kim Steininger was kind enough to forward the pic to me)

http://www.peregrinefalcon-bcaw.net/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=719&start=340
(photo credit: Three Rivers Avian Center, 06-16-11)

I double-checked his leg band with some pics Kathy Clark forwarded from Tri-State last week, and it's definately him! Per the update Kim got, Legs is in a flight barn with 3 other NJ chicks from a Delaware River bridge site. Not sure when he will be transferred to the hack box, probably not too long I would guess.

Way to go Legs!!!  

Legs is looking great, Bonnie! Really cute! Thanks for posting!  

[Bonnie]

This year's excitement is about a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10.  I am 75% sure I saw both Libby (right) and Hudson (left) on the ledge on 10 Exchange Place.  An adult did deliver food and ate it or the kids took over when I wasn't looking.  No other birds in sight.  They just looked back at me and the buildings.

I am still keeping my fingers crossed and praying to Jack, the angel, that these are really the fledglings.  I am 100% sure one is.

[Bonnie]

I thought I had posted before this that Mike had seen the whole family owning the Jersey City skies this past week.  In any case, Mike saw them again on Saturday and

Ah, hem!  Yes, Mike and I finally made a watch TOGETHER!  The dog caught a skunk on Friday night and I had to make a vet visit on Saturday for the rabies booster.  Plus, nails, toes, hair, local festival, all that stuff got in the way.  Yes, I don't always watch the falcons, just most of the time.

I had to stop at Riverside Church on the way to Jersey.  Then I had to stop at 101 Hudson to visit with my security girlfriends before meeting Mike at the pier.  I had to give the ladies an update about the kids.  They were thrilled that the birds made it into the skies in spite of the window washers and maintenance workers.

And here are some of my pictures of the action alongside 101 Hudson when we were walking back from the pier and circling the building.  Libby and Hudson were right over Hudson St.  We have our fingers crossed that they seemed to have learned about windows and sides of buildings.  In one of the pictures it looks like our Lady Liberty's wing tip was touching the building.  I'll post the whole sequence so you kind of get a feel for the one minute action.  They are quick.

I'll save the 9-11 memorial pics for September.  Even after 10 years, I can't bear to edit them right now.

[Kris G.]

Great action pictures, Bonnie! Thanks for sharing!

[Donna]

Excellent pics Bonnie. 

[margaret]

They are wonderful, beautiful pictures, Bonnie.  Thank you for sharing!   

[MAK]

Great pics as usual Bonnie,thanks! 

[Bonnie]

Thanks for the nice comments everyone.  And Donna, the last picture is going to be the tattoo on my ankle/leg.  I feel it is a metaphor for the recovery of the peregrine and the hope we place in the young.  And I named the birds after things I love, Hudson and Lady Liberty.

BTW, everyone loved the tattoo I got in Rochester last year!!  Too bad it washed off.

[Donna]

Oh nice tattoo choice Bonnie. Can't wait to see it. I'll get my Kaver in due time.

[Bonnie]

Legs, our third falcon who went to rehab at one week old, is being returned to Tri State Bird Rescue and Research to become an educator bird or a falconer's bird.  Problems with his tail feathers and head and he bonded to humans.  Glad they checked carefully before releasing him.  He was at Three Rivers Avian Center in West Virginia.  Very interesting stuff about peregrines there.

[Bonnie]

Legs continues to be watched over by Jack, the angel.  Here is the reply I got today from Dr. Miller at Tri State.  Posted with her permission.

Hi Bonnie,

Yes, the little falcon from Jersey City ("Legs") is returning today. Two
other falcons are en route to WV from north Jersey, and our driver will
be returning with "Legs" in tow.  I've discussed his case with Wendy (at
Three Rivers), and he just isn't developing like all the other falcons.
He also, unfortunately, wasn't interacting well with them (as if they
sensed he was different).

Fortunately, we do have a home for him. Phung Luu, a world-renown bird
trainer, will be taking him and training him for use in avian and
environmental educational shows. Mr. Luu is a "bird whisperer" if there
ever was one, and I'm thrilled that he wants to take this little guy and
give him an important job as an avian ambassador.

As an aside, I'll add that Phung will be holding a live bird show as
part of Tri-State's 35th anniversary celebration on 23 July (He started
his avian career as a volunteer here when he was in college at UD). You
can find out more about this at: http://www.tristatebird.org/bbq

Thanks for your continued interest and concern for "Legs"!

Erica

Erica A. Miller, DVM
Staff Veterinarian
Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Inc.
110 Possum Hollow Road
Newark, DE  19711
Sun, Tues, Wed, Thurs
www.tristatebird.org
www.eow2012.org