New Peregrine cam in Australia

[Donna]

The little Tykes are getting so big!!   

[patsy6]

Why, there's the whole fam damily!  Thanks, Donna.   

[MAK]

Those adults look small! 

[Tapper Gal]

Thanks for the beautiful pictures of this family.I wish them the best of luck in their adventures. 

[Donna]

Published 5 November, 2015 | By Scott Banks
We’ve posted some more video clips of these peregrines (FYI – Peregrinus, subspecies macropus – meaning “large feet� – you learn something new every day!):

Feeding time, with Diamond and the three chicks.

Feeding time, with Bula and the three chicks. Note the difference in size over the chicks – the peregrine male can be up to 1.3rd smaller in stature than the female.

Cuter by the day, although, as you can see in the cameras, that the teenage phase has begun and the main flight feathers are beginning to poke through now. By all calculations (Cilla can back me up here) these chicks have possibly another 8-10 days before thoughts of fledging take over and they chance the 50 metre drop to make their first controlled “solo� flight, which, in the past, hasn’t always been plain sailing. We’ll be watching closely and hoping that the weather improves on last year when Aspro was blown clean out of the eyrie and lost.

changing of the plumage
Published 4 November, 2015 | By Cilla Kinross
Amazing how the moulting appears to be happening so fast, almost as one watches.  Some are changing slightly faster than the others, but this is quite natural and does not necessarily mean they are necessarily maturing more slowly.

Few whole birds have been brought in as prey, but I think it has been mainly juvenile starlings this week, plus a pigeon and a galah, easy to recognise as they only bird round her with pink plumage.

The chicks still huddle together at night and when well fed during the day, but otherwise they scoot around the box somewhat alarmingly (as you’ve noted) near the ledge.

Also getting pretty cheeky.  This was two days ago.

[patsy6]

Thanks, Donna.  They are so cute!  I don't like this nestbox, though.  There's no deck, nothing to prevent them from plunging into oblivion if they lose their footing or get blown by the wind, as some have done in the past.  I hope these little ones fledge safely.

[patsy6]

Getting restless.

[patsy6]

Apparently there is a male named Tardy and two females, named Walga and Tumbler. 

[patsy6]

I see a couple of them are sleeping like grownups now. 

[patsy6]

Okay, I can't watch anymore.  

[AlisonL]

The little male has fledged, apparently successfully. Stay safe, little one.

From Scott Banks:

At about 1.29pm (local AEDT) the first of the fledgings succeeded. For a few minutes beforehand there was unrest and anticipation in the Concrete Hilton but then, with one of the adults looping around the tower the first chick bolted, in a very attractive soaring flight up and around to the left before joining up with the parent and disappearing off our cameras. We’ve just taken a walk around campus in that entire direction for about an hour and couldn’t find any sign of peregrines in the trees or around the grounds (there are now sheep in the paddock just over left where the grapes used to be), which is probably a good thing – the magic of flight probably took over and the young’un is still at altitude! In saying that we returned to check on the tower, only to be berated by an adult on top of the tower, just above the remaining kids. No doubt soon we’ll see them all back together again when it comes time for feeding. There is no concern just yet – the weather is absolutely perfect for fledging (cloudy, but toally calm) and there are no hazards spotted in the vicinity. Carparks and public areas were checked with no signs so far.

In the mean time the other two chicks are rearing and ready to go too, almost bang on estimates of about 39-40 days.

Video of the first fledge, from the site:

http://youtu.be/H1fqf90zgZA

[MAK]

 

[Donna]

  Good luck to the trio! 

[patsy6]

Tardy was not tardy in fledging!!!  HURRAY!!!   

[Kris G.]