Trouble-free fledging? Not this year...
The second female fledged sometime after mid-morning yesterday, off camera. By 9:00 PM, she was under a car in the loading dock at a building across the street from her home "cliff". Sometime, somewhere, she hit something and ended up on the ground. She appeared to have a concussion and some type of problem with a wing, and she is now under the evaluation and care of a vet.
This reminds us how vulnerable these young birds are - to buildings, windows, strong updrafts and downdrafts, and their own inexperience with flying and landing. Their parents can't protect them from these things, nor can we. All we can do is pick them up when they crash and see if they can be fixed.
The third female, the slowest to develop, is still on the nest ledge; she looks healthy and lively. From her vantage point, she can watch her siblings in flight. She'll join them when she's ready to go.
Stewart and Bell are delivering prey to the her and her fledged siblings. They stay close to the fledglings, but that will change when the youngsters are stronger flyers. Then they begin pursuing their parents in hopes of attaining more food. They don't realize that they'll soon have to learn to catch their own.
