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!

I got there before 6. Dan S. was there and had witnessed Mariah chasing after a pigeon. (I think that is misspelled). Kaver was on his flower (one of four flower ornaments atop Kodak Tower). Two juvies were in the scrape and one was on the leftledge with one on the right. A little after 6, I noticed a brown speck going from the scrape, looked and sure enough, the juvie on the right was not on the ledge, she went to the floor below, what we call the playpen. One was on a perch and the left ledge had a juvie. Another was still in the nest. Larry joined us and we figured we had another juvie in the playpen since the left ledge was empty. Carol came by to check on all. Kaver periodically came off the flower and did a couple of stoops, coming up empty. One stoop was above the parking lot in front of us so that was exciting! Mariah was on the north smokestack. The juvies did a LOT of flapping. Lots! The little one in the scrape kept going back and forth. Larry said if we didn’t know better, we would think it was two in the scrape instead of one. We did see some flapping on the playpen from all over so these little gals were definitely exercising. Lisa M. and another Kodak person were also there. There was a lot of kakking especially when Kaver flew off the flowers in view of these hungry little ones. Mariah left the stack and when she returned she was on the rail of the playpen. We presumed the juvies were nearby. Kaver had been on the front railing at one point but was basically on a flower. Lucy came for the next watch. Mariah was there on the railing (I told Lisa, I always feel better when Mariah is there)!, two juvies in the playpen, one in the scrape, one on the perch and Kaver on his flower. Active little ones this morning!

Jeanne

The girls are taking their first steps out of the nest box. Beginning this morning, first Grace (on the left in the picture above), and then Anata made the short hop onto the perch rail just in front of the scrape. Though she wasn’t the first to leave, Ananta has proven to be the more adventurous sister, spending nearly all day out of the scrape even and venturing onto the ledge to the right of the box. So far, Sacajawea and Linn have approached the edge, but haven’t yet followed their siblings out of the nest.

     

In the wild these journeys away from the scrape are called “branching”, because they often involve the eyases moving onto branches of nearby trees. Since there are no branches on the Kodak tower, regular falcon watchers here in Rochester have coined the term “ledging”, for obvious reasons. The first photo above gives a good indication of the girls’ size. They’re pretty much fully grown now, every bit as big as Mariah, who has just dropped off some late breakfast. All that’s left to do now is for them to build up their flight muscles and endurance. If Ananta sticks to her venturesome ways she may hop down to the catwalk soon. The others will follow at their own pace. These falcons have different personalities, and some are more daring than others. Linn, who was most likely the last to hatch, will probably be the last out of the scrape, but that’s by no means certain. Now’s the time to dust off our unofficial Imprints motto, Specto Subitus— Expect the Unexpected!

Once out of the nest box, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether the eyases will return or not. In past years we’ve seen them stay outside in all kinds of weather, including heavy rains and high temperatures. There’s no need to be overly concerned about that, though. These falcons are well protected against the elements, and Mariah and Kaver will drop food to the eayses as needed to ensure that they stay fed.

For those who wanted to attend the Fledge Watch orientation meeting yesterday but were unable to, all is not lost! You still have an opportunity to sign up for the fledge watch. We’ll be posting the schedule of available watching timeslots just as soon as we get it compiled. Even if a shift is already filled, feel free to show up then. More eyes are always helpful when the juveniles start flying. We’ll also be posting some helpful instructions for a successful fledge watch, including some downloadable quick reference documents. Meanwhile, keep your eyes on the eyases!

The eyases are about seven to ten days from fledging, or taking their first flights. Nearly full grown, they’re getting more independent and daring. Soon they’ll take their first steps outside of the nest box. The perch rail in front of the box is likely to be their first stop, but it won’t be long before they take short hops up to the roof and to the small ledges on either side of the scrape. From there, they’ll venture down to the catwalk a few feet below the nest box. The catwalk goes all the way around the steeple at the top of the Kodak Tower, and the eyases may spend several days there before making their first flights. Even after they fledge, they’ll return to it for several days. Camera 1 comes into its own when they make the move to the catwalk, which longtime falcon watchers have dubbed the falcons’ “playpen”. The camera’s ability to pan, tilt and zoom allows us to cover most of the south and east sides of the catwalk to keep tabs on the adventurous eyases.

The nestlings are now old enough to feed themselves by grasping prey with their feet and tearing at it with their bills. Voracious as always, they jump on food as soon as it’s delivered. Mariah and Kaver have stopped going into the nest to feed the eyases. Instead, they land on the perch rail outside the nest box and transfer the prey to the nearest eyas. The girls aren’t bashful about getting their fair share either, as the picture at the left demonstrates.

The eyases are always hungry, and now they’re mobile enough to be on the lookout for Mariah or Kaver bringing food. Whenever one of them appears in the sky, whether they have food or not, the nestlings are likely to begin wailing. When they wail for food they’re loud enough to be heard all the way down onto the street below, sometimes even over the traffic noise!

All that food is being used to build up their flight muscles. They’ll soon need them– fledging is expected to begin somewhere around the 20^th of June. To get in shape for fledging, the eyases have already begun exercising their wings with furious flapping and stretching.

A few of our viewers have written comments indicating that one or another of the eyases has already flown. It’s still a little early for that, and none of the nestlings have left the scrape yet. It can be hard to see them in the nest box, especially when they crouch behind each other. Fledging is as important as hatching, and you can rest assured that we’ll let everyone know when the young falcons take their first flights. In the meantime they’re being fed regularly and the girls are growing stronger every day. Keep watching and maybe you’ll see one of them take their steps beyond the nest box!

On Saturday, June 16 at 9:00 AM the Genesee Valley Audubon Society and the Rochester Falconcam will host the annual Peregrine Falcon Fledge Watch orientation meeting. Each year volunteers take turns watching the fledglings in their early weeks of flight. The Fledge Watch helps to ensure the safety of the young falcons by monitoring their flights and even rescuing them if they get into trouble. Fledge Watch volunteers have rescued a number of fledglings over the years including MaryAnn (2000), Alkyonis & Grissom (2004), and Skye (2005).

Fledging is an exciting time for the falcons, but it’s a dangerous time for them too. Untried flight and landing skills, lack of endurance, and a host of natural and man-made hazards await them when they leave the safety of the nest box on the Kodak tower.

Volunteering for the Fledge Watch is a great way to learn about falcon behavior in person, not to mention an excellent opportunity to enjoy some time in the great outdoors and make new friends. As a Fledge Watch volunteer you’ll receive training in how to rescue a downed falcon, and you’ll have the ability to post your observations on Imprints! You’ll also have a front row seat for some of the climactic experiences of the falcon ‘season’ as the juveniles learn to perfect their flying and hunting skills.

The orientation meeting will be held at the Gallery in the Center at High Falls, 60 Browns Race, Rochester, NY 14614 at 9:00AM on Saturday, June 16. We hope you’ll join us there!

-Jess

Many thanks to everyone who entered the Rochester Falconcam’s Eyas naming contest. We received over 300 entries from as far away as Australia! There were so many great names it was difficult even to whittle down the list, to say nothing of actually choosing the final names. This year with four female eyases, our male name finalists were unfortunately out of the running by default, but it’s just another of life’s little surprises.

Banding began around 10:00 AM, a little later than the team had planned. We were just getting ready to get the eyases from the nest box when Mariah arrived with food. Anyway, we had to wait for her to finish feeding the eyases their third breakfast of the morning(!), and we were obliged to operate on falcon time instead of our own schedule.

Mariah is well known as an aggressive falcon, especially in defense of her territory and her eyases. This year was no different. She launched attack after attack at the wildlife technicians from the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation as they removed the eyases. In the picture at the left you can see how we used lawn rakes to protect the backs of the workers. The rakes were held like shields. Mariah dove at them and peeled away at the last moment. In this way we kept the workers safe, and also minimized the chance that Mariah might get injured in a collision with a member of the banding team.

     

The best way to ensure her safety was to retrieve the eyases as quickly as possible, and that’s just what we did. Inside, Barbara Loucks and Mike Allen of the New York DEC took each eyas in turn and applied aluminum identification bands to each of the birds’ legs. These ID bands will help scientists and others to identify the falcons after they leave the area later this summer. Each eyas also received a quick health check. You’ll be happy to know that all were found to be in good condition and, not surprisingly, well fed too!

As each eyas received its band, its name was announced to a group of school children and others watching the banding through a live video feed in Kodak’s lobby. If you missed the names, you can find them at our Banding Day page. We even took a couple of the newly banded eyases down to the lobby so the children could see the young falcons up close. The Rochester Falconcam is dedicated to educating the community about the Peregrine falcon. Our outreach efforts with local schools help to involve upcoming generations in protecting our natural environment. Journalists from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle were on hand too. Read their story and watch a video of the banding.

     

After all the eyases had been banded and named it was time to return them to the nest box. Once again the team ventured out to face the wrath of Mariah and Kaver. As before, once the eyases were safely returned to the nest box, we human invaders retreated. Mariah landed in the nest box almost immediately to check on her eyases. Before long, they were being fed again.

2007 marks the tenth year that the falcon chicks in Rochester have been banded. We’re grateful to everyone at Kodak and the NYS DEC for their support, and to our many fans around the world for tuning in to watch all of the excitement! The next few weeks will see the eyases continuing to grow. Their white downy feathers are already being replaced by dark brown and tan juvenile plumage. Before we know it, they’ll begin exploring the area outside of the nest box, and by the third week of June they should begin to take their first flights. I’ll talk more about fledging, and what you can do to help ensure the safety of these eyases in an upcoming article.

We hope you’ll join us on Thursday, 31 May, starting at about 9:45AM Eastern time (that’s TOMORROW!) for special coverage of the 2007 Banding Day event. Be sure to watch the action on the Rochester Falconcam cameras (use the Mulitview page), and go to our 2007 Banding Day page on Imprints where we’ll reveal the winners of our eyas naming contest! The Banding Day page will be active tomorrow, and we’ll include a link to it in the News Flash on our home page.