Author: Matt Perry

The official Fledge Watch starts tomorrow (Monday) and it looks like it’s beginning not a moment too soon. Comet certainly looks like he’s ready to go at any time. For the last couple of days he’s been checking out the platform on the west side of the box (dubbed his “veranda”). Today he really seemed at ease tromping around on it; he tested his wings there and even had a snooze. Today’s surprise was to see Skye become just as comfortable with the platform on the east side of the box. Several times we had all three nestlings in separate compartments. The adults made food drops sporadically during the day – but always at the nest box. Only once did Astrid stay and do a feeding, and that time it was only Orion that got any attention. The other two youngsters ultimately did eat. In fact I think that Comet ate an entire Cuckoo. A few times Astrid and Ares seemed to be tempting Comet to fledge. They did some enticing flybys and then perched on window ledges beneath the box. Today was not the day though. Perhaps tomorrow? Hope to see some of you Downtown this week. It should be very interesting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The days of all the chicks being together in the nest box are rapidly coming to a close. Lately the young falcons are engaging in incessant wing flapping and they are getting increasingly curious about what’s happening outside of the box. Yesterday morning, the eldest, now named “Comet”, actually left the nest and perched for a while on one of the new platforms attached to the side of the box. He came back after about a half-hour and joined the others. Right now as I’m writing this, the 2nd chick to hatch, named “Skye” is perched on the very edge of the box. It seems that we can’t begin our Fledgling Watch soon enough! The youngest of the 3, named “Orion” still has a lot of white down feathers and hopefully she won’t try to rush things too much. Though our Watch doesn’t officially begin until Monday, if anyone wants to come downtown to help keep an eye on things over the weekend, your help would be much appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

The Peregrine chicks are feathering out in a big way. They currently have the “salt & pepper” look as they molt into juvenile plumage. All are now showing color on their faces and even a moustachial stripe. The chicks are not all at the same stage of molt – the first hatched chick is more advanced than the other two. His behavior is also slightly more advanced. He’s the one most likely to be standing close to the box opening and watching out for a parent flying in with food. All the chicks have been contending for food fairly evenly these days, although occasionally the first and third hatched chicks seem to sit out a meal. The second hatched chick, which we believe is a female, is the most aggressive. This morning she snatched a small meal from her father and proceeded to finish it all by herself. No one including Ares complained.

 

 

The typical dynamic at the nest box has been for Ares to bring in prey and for Astrid to take it and proceed to feed the nestlings. There are variations on that theme. For instance, sometimes Astrid comes back with her own prey and doesn’t need to grab it away from Ares at all. The rare thing has been for Ares to get a chance to feed the chicks himself. Usually when he tries, Astrid appears out of nowhere, swipes the food and gets on with the feeding. Ares is then sent on his way with a stern look and a loud screech in his ear. Yesterday something new happened – Astrid came back with a pigeon that she presumably caught, and after a long plucking process (which the chicks impatiently witnessed), Ares came into the box with his own contribution. Both parents then went on to simultaneously feed the nestlings – something we can’t recall happening before. We have the video for it. It’s 32 minutes long, but it’s really pretty good. Please check it out, and do note how aggressive the chicks are getting now.

Recently it seems that the Peregrine adults go most of the afternoon without feeding the nestlings. However, the young are not being deprived. They are simply being fed more in the morning – and sometimes the very early morning. In fact, today at 1:30 AM, Ares brought food to the nest. Two hours later another meal was brought in, and two hours after that, yet another. The old saying “the early bird gets the worm” seems apt for the falcons. Although it’s possible that Astrid and Ares are drawing on stored food in order to conduct these feedings, more likely they are hunting at these hours. The light pollution of the city has allowed and encouraged Peregrines to become efficient nocturnal hunters. This is one advantage they have over their cliff nesting counterparts,

The plumage of the nestlings continues its quick evolution. We see now the ends of feather shafts opening up into brand new feathers. Dark masks over the eyes of the nestlings have also become distinct. It’s getting easier to believe that in just 2 weeks these birds will be on the verge of fledging.