Our four youngsters have now been on the wing for over five weeks. In a few short weeks, their flight skills have progressed from the slow, tentative, flapping flight typical of beginners to razzle-dazzle that approaches that of the adults. A juvenile in the air is often indistinguishable from an adult, unless the observer can get a good look at plumage, or its behavior (such as food-begging from an adult) gives its age away.
Young peregrines are supposed to make their first kills after 3 or 4 weeks on the wing, so all of them probably have had that very significant experience by now. This does not mean that they are self-sufficient. It is still much easier to get a meal from an adult than to have to catch it. As time goes on, the adults will be less and less inclined to deliver meals to their offspring, but this is not an abrupt transition.
Other than having to learn to catch more of their own food, the youngsters have an easy life. They have ample time to play, and they do. They do not yet have the challenge of living around the edges of other peregrines' territories, and the adults still intercept threats such as other peregrines, red-tails, and eagles.
They are still very social. Nearly all of our reports from downtown are of more than one, whether perched near each other or swooping and diving on one another. They, of course, fly all over downtown Seattle, but often perch on or near their home cliff. Unlike some years, though, we have had very few reports of their visiting the nest ledge. We expect that they will remain downtown for several more weeks and gradually disperse.
