Fledging Update
Sacajawea and Grace have both made fledging flights. As of this afternoon both are doing well. Linn and Ananta continue to move around the “playpen”, but they could fly at any time. Look forward to reports from the many watchers observing our falcons today!
On the evening of June 21 Ananta made her maiden flight! Watchers will be sending their reports so stay tuned!
-Jess
June 21st, 2007 at 6:34 PM
i can’t wait for the reports! when DO they start hunting on their own? how do the parents teach them? oh my, questions, questions, questions… wish we had cameras all over the area!
June 21st, 2007 at 8:36 PM
This is terrific to watch. Who would have predicted that Sacajawea would be the first to fly. And, then Grace… here I was counting on Ananta all along. Linn is fun to watch, and when I saw her back at the scrape, I realized that all of them could get back there if they wanted to. I’m also curious about how they learn to hunt for food. In a way, this cam site makes my want to learn more about Peregrines. Oh, and thanks again to Shaky’s archive for providing those moments I couldn’t watch when the flight fun begun…
June 21st, 2007 at 9:12 PM
It looks like the babies have flown the coup!
June 21st, 2007 at 9:12 PM
I mean coop!
June 21st, 2007 at 9:20 PM
With Ananta being the first out of the nestbox I thought she might be the first to fledge too. Let’s see if Linn beats he off the tower.
June 22nd, 2007 at 3:35 AM
Hunting is a highly skilled task for a falcon. It takes some time for an eyas to learn to hit the prey with force and accuracy – which is why the first successful hunt is so celebrated among the watchers. One good stoop is wonderful, but being able to do it over and over to survive the first year is the challenge for the fledglings. Once in a while we read about juveniles who are picked up with signs of famine, they are “fattened up” and rereleased – in the wild they would simply starve because the hunting skills are not sufficient. Mariah and Kaver do a wonderful job of showing the juveniles how it is done, they “play” with them, then the juveniles “play” with each other and the surrounding species and even vegetation, all building speed, flexibility, accuracy… It is a fabulous thing to see and our watchers on the ground report with enthusiasm. I am looking forward to that very much.
June 22nd, 2007 at 8:49 AM
The girls have been flying for nearly 2 weeks now!! I tried to write back then to tell everyone but my reply never made it, so I gave up trying to contact you, but I have been watching them! They have been taking rendevous’ one or two at a time. I have watched them everyday, all day, and well into the evening. Yesterday and today…….the nest box has been completely empty everytime I have refreshed the picture and taken a look.
June 22nd, 2007 at 9:11 AM
@Barbara Ananta did indeed beat her sister Linn out of the nest box, taking her first flight yesterday evening. You’ll be able to read details in upcoming Fledge Watch posts.
@Kate – The girls have only just started flying in the last couple of days. Two weeks ago they weren’t capable of flight– their flight feathers hadn’t yet grown in. You were most likely seeing other birds that often perch in the same area. Believe it or not, pigeons often look similar to Peregrines in flight. You can be sure that we’ve been keeping a close eye on all the eyases and monitoring their activity very carefully.
June 22nd, 2007 at 9:13 AM
Yesterday my computer was down and I feel I missed a lot. Then in the evening I got on and NO GIRLS! I felt so sad…. I read many of the comments and new reports and I got “my fix”. I am so new at this that I really feel a little lost and lonely for the girls. I will again get down there on Sunday. Til then….. I need a good pair of binoculars.