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As the weeks proceed it is getting harder and harder for the falcon watchers to track Skye and Comet. They are both disappearing from the downtown canyon for increasingly longer periods – sometimes not even returning at nightfall. Most likely they are spending that time exploring and hunting. We know for a fact that Comet has been doing some of his own hunting for weeks now. Even though Skye may still be somewhat hampered by his injury, he too has been witnessed pursuing prey. Also, his appearing on high perches on a variety of buildings gives us confidence that he is getting around sufficiently. The independence of the immature falcons is in part prompted by their parents’ ceasing to provide as much food as they used to. Just a week ago, many ledges in the canyon held prey – most caught and cached by Ares. Now those cupboards are bare and the youngsters are forced by hunger to do more than just beg to their parents. Based on last year’s experience we expect that the immatures will leave the area by the end of August. It seems that Comet is skilled enough to leave at any time, but he may just choose to remain in the prey-rich environment of the city, at least for a little while longer. Skye will likely stay longer in order to properly hone his skills and increase his stamina. This is the time that our remaining Fledge Watch Volunteers will be experiencing serious falcon withdrawal. It’s hard to believe this breeding season is nearly wrapped!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ten days after his return to the Downtown canyon, Skye is finally flying better. He’s still not doing many fancy maneuvers, but he’s going much longer distances and taking shorter rests between flights. Also, for the first time since his accident, he was seen sparring with his brother. While the air show they put now is not nearly as fast or as raucous as what they’d been doing before, it’s still encouraging to see. Unfortunately, Astrid has not gotten over her partial rejection of Skye and continues to haze him. On Saturday evening when Skye landed on top of the nest box, he was subjected to swooping raids by his mother. She wasn’t diving at him with the intensity that she greeted Orion’s return with, but none-the-less it was troubling to see. After a spate of diving, Astrid went over and perched on the State Office Building. A few minutes later Comet came in from the north and unceremoniously displaced his mother from her perch. It wasn’t clear if he did this in Skye’s defense or if he just did it for the hell of it. Soon after, Ares came in with prey and both Comet and Skye gave pursuit. All 4 birds were up together and Comet successfully took the prey in a mid-air transfer from his father. As Comet and Ares broke off from the group and returned to the State Building, Astrid took the opportunity to dive at Skye. He tried to land on the County Building roof but was too low and ended up grappling onto a very narrow strip below a window. He hung there like a huge bat for a minute or so and then made good solid flight over to the State Building where he landed safely on a high window ledge.

On Sunday Skye was seen making some longer flights, including one that took him all the way over to the Stanley Theater. Later in the day he was back on Hotel Utica, perched right next to Comet. The challenges for Skye remain daunting. His flying is improving, but it needs to be near 100% for him to become a successful hunter and to enable him to migrate south in a month’s time. His poor relationship with his mother is a complicating factor. Hopefully it will not stymie his progress.

 

 

Skye was absent from the usual part of the Downtown canyon for about 35 hours beginning Wednesday morning. That morning he’d initially been seen feeding on something on the Courthouse roof. After that he made a direct and somewhat labored flight over to the State Office Building where he put down on a high window ledge. Astrid, who apparently still hasn’t decided if she wants him around, hazed him with some swooping. After some close passes, Skye flew off to the south and out of view. Thankfully, Astrid didn’t persist and go after him. However, following that incident, and despite great effort on the part of our fledge watch volunteers, no one could locate him for a day and a half! Since Skye has not yet fully recovered from the accident that grounded him over 2 weeks ago, he has been depending on his brother and father to bring him food. That makes him very vulnerable, and it’s crucial that he stays in the canyon where he can be seen and tended by his family. He continues to fly, but very sparingly. When he does he usually  follows a very direct course between high building perches. It is believed that the bruising of his wing muscles will heal and his flying should gradually improve. He certainly has been getting a lot of rest!

Meanwhile Comet has been doing his flying stunts by himself or with his parents. On Tuesday night he made an incredible dive straight down from the top of the State Office Building. As he plummeted he twisted and turned and managed to up his mother from her low perch. Since the recovery from the dive took place out of view, the watchers were relieved to see Comet moments later chasing his mother through the canyon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since his release on Friday evening, Skye has been taking it slow and easy in the Downtown canyon. He does a limited amount of flying and plenty of resting, which is pretty much what the doctor ordered. Sometimes when he flies his wing beats are shallow and he seems to tire quickly. Obviously his wing muscles need some more time to completely recover from the injuries sustained over 10 days ago.  Initially Astrid seemed to be rejecting Skye, but has now largely relaxed her objections to his presence. However, she is still not above diving at him from time to time. Ares has been only marginally protective of Skye, which is in stark contrast to the  degree of protection he afforded Orion when she came back to the fold. It’s really been Comet who has been Skye’s lifeline. Brother Comet has taken on the role of protector – not hesitating to chase Astrid away when she gets too rambunctious. Comet has also been seen bringing food to Skye. On Monday morning, Skye needed to abort a landing on the roof of the State Office Building. Visibly tired, he retreated to the top of the County Building. And then from the other side of the canyon, Comet came in with prey (it’s not clear if it was something he caught himself or found) and brought it to Skye who flapped his wings in anticipation. That is one good brother!

 

 

 

About nine days after his accident, Skye was returned to the Downtown canyon at around 6:45 Friday evening. He didn’t wait long before taking to the air again. He left the release site on the roof of the Adirondack Bank and headed for Hotel Utica where he made a perfect landing on that buildings higher ledge. Before long, Astrid, who had been perched on the State Office Building, made a few low passes or swoops. It wasn’t the most welcoming move she could’ve made, but next to her aggressive response to Orion’s reintroduction a few weeks before, this wasn’t too bad. Meanwhile, both Comet and Ares made no moves. Watchers on the ground didn’t know where Ares was, but Comet had flown in a little earlier and was perched on the east face of the State Office Building. By an hour later, Skye had flown a few more times – landing on the State Building, the Adirondack Bank and Hotel Utica once again. Astrid dogged him once or twice during these flights, but thankfully, she didn’t drive him too hard or force him into any reckless landings. When Ares returned, both he and Comet took a turn flying with Skye. Their interactions were more encouraging. Skye even shared a window ledge with his brother for a few minutes. In assessing Skye’s flights, we were a little concerned that he was showing some stiffness in one wing – meaning that he is not exactly 100 % yet. Still he managed to maintain height, perform evasive maneuvers and land with no apparent difficulty.

For the next week we will require Fledge Watch volunteers to observe this situation. We have no reason at this point to believe that Skye will be rejected by the family, but given that possibility and the fact that Skye’s flying is not yet up to full strength, he may just need some spotters for a little while.