Now there are four fledglings exploring the canyons of downtown Seattle and flapping from perch to perch to check out what ever interests them. The last female left the security of the nest ledge Saturday morning. She is the youngster who was so late to develop; she now is as big as her sisters and is going through the normal stages of early flight. The female that got into trouble last week was released over the weekend, also, and appears to be in good shape. The male fledgling and the first female to fledge are flying strongly; the other two, as expected, are a bit slower, but we expect them to catch up soon.
They are still totally dependent on their parents for food. Usually, a peregrine makes its first kill after it has been on the wing for over three or four weeks. This does not mean that it will be able to support itself from then on; the process to independence is a gradual one, and the adults will continue to supply food, though in lesser amounts as time goes on. Peregrines time their nesting so that their fledglings are on the wing when the vulnerable young of their prey are also first flying. The inexperienced falcons then have a decent chance of catching them, once they make the connection between chasing birds, killing them, and eating them.
June 19, 2000
June 16, 2000
16 June
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.
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.
June 14, 2000
14 June
Now there are two on the wing. One of the females fledged Tuesday, June 13. Our video tape pinpointed the time: 0931. She stood on the edge of the ledge, spread her wings, pushed off, and she was airborne. She ended up on one of the 48th floor balconies on the her home "cliff", where she spent most of the day. Late in the afternoon, she had an adventure: she hopped off the balcony, briefly grasped a window frame with her talons while flapping wildly, and then slipped down the window, flapping all the way, until she ended up at the east 45th floor terrace or "bulge." We see a variation on this theme every year, as they discover that they can't cling to the walls and windows of the building.
The male who fledged Sunday spent most of Tuesday running, flapping, dozing and eating up on the "Hat" - the pyramidal structure on top of the building. Early this morning, he was back on the nest ledge, visiting his unfledged siblings.
The adults are providing all their food, so they're both busy hunting for their foursome; when they're not hunting, they're often found on high perches, looking for any potential aerial threats to their young.
The fledglings are clumsy flyers at this stage, and their landings are equally awkward. It will be a few weeks before their feathers are fully grown. They don't need to be sleek and fast at this stage; they just need a lot of practice on the wing.
Stay tuned for more on fledgling progress and prowess.
The male who fledged Sunday spent most of Tuesday running, flapping, dozing and eating up on the "Hat" - the pyramidal structure on top of the building. Early this morning, he was back on the nest ledge, visiting his unfledged siblings.
The adults are providing all their food, so they're both busy hunting for their foursome; when they're not hunting, they're often found on high perches, looking for any potential aerial threats to their young.
The fledglings are clumsy flyers at this stage, and their landings are equally awkward. It will be a few weeks before their feathers are fully grown. They don't need to be sleek and fast at this stage; they just need a lot of practice on the wing.
Stay tuned for more on fledgling progress and prowess.
June 11, 2000
11 June
Our male eyas has fledged! The Sunday observation team located him on the 45th floor terrace on the east side of the Washington Mutual Tower at 6:20 this morning. This is below the nest ledge, which is at the 56th floor level. His three female siblings can look down at him from the nest ledge. Although males are smaller than females, they develop faster. They usually fledge earlier than females and are stronger fliers at the time of fledging. Which one of the females will go first?
We look at their feather development and behavior on the ledge as a guide to who will fly first, but, to some extent, temperament determines this; they go when they're ready. The most visibly developed is not always the first. Going by past seasons, we expect that Bell will stay close to the fledglings until they are proficient enough on the wing to start chasing her. She often is right behind the most recent fledgling as it flaps from one perch to another. Both adults become extremely aggressive toward anything they perceive as a threat to the fledglings. Their usual targets are the Glaucous-winged Gulls that nest downtown; it is a treat to watch diminutive Stewart smack the much larger gulls.
We'll update the site as the others fledge, so check in frequently.
We look at their feather development and behavior on the ledge as a guide to who will fly first, but, to some extent, temperament determines this; they go when they're ready. The most visibly developed is not always the first. Going by past seasons, we expect that Bell will stay close to the fledglings until they are proficient enough on the wing to start chasing her. She often is right behind the most recent fledgling as it flaps from one perch to another. Both adults become extremely aggressive toward anything they perceive as a threat to the fledglings. Their usual targets are the Glaucous-winged Gulls that nest downtown; it is a treat to watch diminutive Stewart smack the much larger gulls.
We'll update the site as the others fledge, so check in frequently.
June 3, 2000
3 June
It's difficult to describe the steady transformation of the eyasses as more and more feathers poke through their down every day. You have to see it to believe how fast they change. Three of the eyasses are approaching fully feathered, while the little one is still mostly white fluff, but changing rapidly.
This is not the first time we have had an eyas that is smaller and less developed than its siblings; we had a similar situation in 1997. That eyas was slow to develop, also, but was a lively, healthy youngster at fledging time. The eyasses are both beautiful and comical at the same time. White fluff billows out from beneath their fresh new feathers and their heads wear fuzzy crowns of down, but the dark malar stripes emphasize their beautiful dark eyes, and they are beginning to show watchful, intent awareness of the world beyond the ledge. That awareness is limited, though. They appear fascinated with flying birds, yet they don't recognize those birds as food; food is still a dead bird, fresh or leftover, provided by a parent. It's not until after fledging that they will begin to make the connection.
They are five weeks old; we expect that they will fledge in about a week.
This is not the first time we have had an eyas that is smaller and less developed than its siblings; we had a similar situation in 1997. That eyas was slow to develop, also, but was a lively, healthy youngster at fledging time. The eyasses are both beautiful and comical at the same time. White fluff billows out from beneath their fresh new feathers and their heads wear fuzzy crowns of down, but the dark malar stripes emphasize their beautiful dark eyes, and they are beginning to show watchful, intent awareness of the world beyond the ledge. That awareness is limited, though. They appear fascinated with flying birds, yet they don't recognize those birds as food; food is still a dead bird, fresh or leftover, provided by a parent. It's not until after fledging that they will begin to make the connection.
They are five weeks old; we expect that they will fledge in about a week.
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