This has been a wonderful week for downtown observers, because our whole peregrine family has been very active and visible. The fledglings have concentrated their activity amidst the buildings near their home cliff, and, of course, the attentive and watchful adults have been near by. The youngsters are much more proficient fliers than even a week ago, so the adults have resorted to being close but inconspicuous, to avoid being pestered about food.
The fledglings still see their parents as sources of food; they learned that at about five days, once their vision was good enough to see the adults bring them meals. As they've matured, they have become more aggressive when they want food. They need that aggression to be effective predators, but right now they're directing it toward their parents rather than toward prey. They don't realize that those birds they instinctively chase are food! Soon, they will begin to make the connection and start re-directing their aggression toward catching and killing prey. Most fledglings make their first kill after three or four weeks on the wing. The male will have been on the wing three weeks Sunday, and the female is a few days behind him. Meanwhile, they have a great life with no responsibilities. They have nothing to do but sleep, eat, fly, and explore a multitude of new perches. They are energetic and entertaining. Every day, downtown observers look up to see every conceivable juxtaposition of fledglings and adults swirling over and around the skyscrapers. Some of the fledgling play has been on the rough side; the male bopped his sister on the head in flight, and she shoved him off a ledge. The lessons here will carry over to adulthood. Males, with their superior flight ability, can dominate females in the air, but the larger females dominate on ledges, where they can push the males around. As they range further afield, we will see less and less of them, so these days are special.
