Not much activity to report for the hour. Mariah and Kaver did some flying, trying to coax the eyases off the building, but there were no takers. Thick cumulus clouds obscured the sun much of the time and stiff winds kept the weather unexpectedly cool. These are not the best conditions for fledging flights– the eyases will have little enough control when they fly, and strong gusts could prove dangerous.

There was some wing flapping from the trio in the playpen, but not the level of activity that we’d associate with birds on the verge of fledging.

Sabrina fledged on June 19, 2006, so we’re a day past last year’s first fledge. Sabrina was especially adventurous though, and probably a male to boot, so it’s not too surprising that none of this year’s brood have gone yet. Last year, Aura and Rhea Mae fledged on June 23, so I’m guessing we’ll see a flight from one or another of this year’s juvenile falcons in a few days.

We’ve posted information for those of you who might be interested in joining the Fledge Watch. Read it here.

This morning Sacajawea took the plunge, hopping from the nest box to one of the cameras before joining Ananta and Grace in the “playpen” beneath the nest box. Little Linn got a visit from Mariah who brought breakfast, but hopefully she’ll join her sisters before long as well. First flights should come any day now, so keep watching!

UPDATE: 11:30AM It looks like Linn has left the nest box! She’s sitting on the ledge to the left of the box. Things are likely to start moving very quickly now, so stay tuned for more reports from our on-scene watchers!

-Jess

I came down this morning expecting to find other fledge watchers, but saw no one until I had to leave at 11:40 (to volunteer at the soup kitchen), so here is my very unofficial report. It was fairly cool and windy, marvelous soaring conditions for experienced flyers. Mariah and Kaver made many short flights, a few loops then back to the tower – they might have been saying, “Look girls, this is how to begin – a short distance, then back home, but please – No Stacks!” I could see one eyas, presumably Linn, on the perch, and in the playpen some wings, often two sets at a time but never all three simultaneously. The calm behavior of the parents indicated all was well. From shortly after 10 until 10:30, everything was very quiet. One parent was on a ledge above the rockets, the other on the last “K” of the Kodak sign. Linn was on the perch and another eyas on the center light in the playpen. Then the short periodic “demo” flights began again. At about 11:00, Kaver chased something very large, a turkey vulture I think. At around 11:30, Linn moved to the ledge at the left side of the nestbox. There were several short hops and bouts of wing flapping visible in the playpen, but no flights.

Sacajawea Gets Watchers’ Hearts Pounding

Dan, Jeanne, Lisa and myself were at the Bru watching Sacajawea exercise on the scrape roof. Earlier at least two times, Mariah and Kaver had been flying back and forth in front of the scrape and giving the eyases training lessons in what falcons can do.

Anyway, thru a combination of sources, we knew that two eyases were in the playpen (Ananta and Grace), Sacajawea was on the roof of the scrape and Linn had perched and then hopped to the side of the scrape.
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There was an hour of good watching at lunchtime today before some seriously dangerous weather rolled through downtown Rochester. No flights from the fledglings, but Mariah and Kaver put on a bit of a show, while Sacajawea and Linn did some wing flapping. Read all the details and view pictures here.

This is my first time ever doing this, so please bear with me and accept my apologies for any missteps. Upon arrival to the fledge watch, it was soon discovered that two of the young girls were in the nest box whilst two others were flitting about the playpen. There was much wing exercising to be witnessed – Ananta being the biggest showoff. Mariah kept a close watch from either the railing or the lightning post above the nest box. She would occasionally fly about, but no food exchange was noted – much to the dismay of the wailing ladies each time Mariah approached them in flight. Binoculars did not allow for the identification of each juvenile, unfortunately. The warm and bright sunlight was abruptly dismissed by a torrential downpour and darkening of the skies. This did not phase our falcon family in the least, but did make for difficult observation. We certainly had our share of excitement when three fire trucks came roaring up and parked themselves just outside the Kodak building. Apparently one of the web cams was sporting a bit of fog that was mistaken for smoke, and speculation was made as to the nest box being on fire! The Kodak security guard verified with the fledge watchers that all was indeed well, and denied access to the fire crew that was eagerly pushing to approach the nest box – imagine the irreparable damage that would ensue from a visit complete with axes, hoses and hardhats!! No juveniles fledged during this watch, but two of them were indeed mobile along the nest box and catwalk.

Julie Lowe

Ananta and Grace have both made the hop down onto the catwalk “playpen” below the nest box. They’ll most likely wander around there for a few days until they’re ready to fledge. Sacajawea has been making hops out to the perch rail, and she’ll probably join her sisters in the playpen soon. Linn, the youngest of the eyases, may take a few more days before she’s ready to hop out of the nest box.

-Jess

Only two birds remained in the nest box at 7 AM. Sacagawea was on the perch to the left and Linn remained in the box. That Ananta and Grace were in the playpen was made obvious by the occasional appearance of their wings as they walked around and flapped to strengthen their muscles. Linn came to the front right of the box and then returned to the back several times. Frequently Mariah and Kaver flew in to check on things, bring food, etc. Though one meal was retained by Mariah who took it to a BeeBee stack and ate it. Around 8:30 AM Kaver perched on one of the lilies and Mariah on the playpen railing to the southeast. The parents were still in these positions when our shift ended at 9 AM.

It was an eventful watch tonight. At one time or another, I was joined by Brian H., Ginny and Trish, Kathy O., Lisa McK., Carol P., Ellen, Dan, the Davisons, Brian’s apprentice – Gary, Tom and Babs, and various passers-by (whatcha lookin’ at?).

When I arrived at the Kodak visitor parking lot, Sacajawea was on the perch outside the nestbox; Linn was inside, peering out from time to time; Kaver was at the rocket level of the Kodak Office tower; there was no sign of Grace and Ananta, nor of Mariah. Set up shop in the parking lot, right near the corner of Platt and State Streets.
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When I arrived for my watch, Lisa, Dan S. and Jeanne were there; they updated me on recent events. Ananta and Grace were in the playpen, Linn in the nestbox, Sacajawea on the perch, Mariah on the playpen railing and Kaver on the north stack of Beebee Station.

The watch was mostly uneventful – which was just fine by me since it was the first I had handled alone! Sacajawea made several hops from the perch to the nestbox and back; she exercised her wings vigorously several times on the perch. Wings were occasionally visible in the playpen. There was a great deal of kakking. At 9:45 Mariah dropped off food in the nestbox, where Linn was, and Sacajawea hopped back in to eat her share. Actually I could not see what was happening at all well from the ground – I saw an adult arriving, presumably with food, then lots of wings; then the adult had gone and Sacajawea had disappeared from the perch – the food might have been dropped in the playpen, and Sacajawea might have jumped down there to get some, for all I could tell! So I was very thankful for the brochure with phone numbers, and for Carol P. who was able to check the Falconcam and tell me what had really happened, when I called her!

Several other fledge watchers, including Jim P. and Dana, stopped by later. We could not see any more playpen activity and wondered whether Ananta and Grace had moved around to the shade on the north side. Maria returned and went into the nestbox with Sacajawea and Linn. At the end of my watch, Barb, Shaky and Carol P. had arrived. All the falcons were very quiet – perhaps taking a siesta in the noonday heat!