Category: Awesome

On July 4th Tres was brought back into town after spending a full week at Kindred Kingdoms – a Wildlife Rehabilitation facility in Pennellville run by Jean and Len Soprano. Tres’s release went off without a hitch. We were able to introduce him back into the family’s territory by putting him through the hatch at the back of the nestbox. From there he hopped onto the box’s perch and after only a minute, took to the sky again. His flight was strong (as was the wind) and it led him east toward the County Building. The Fledge Watch volunteers followed, and after some searching, found him perched on the roof on the building’s south side. After about 1/2 hour, Astrid and Ares came over to check him out. Astrid made low flights over him and even hovered above him. Ares did the same, and then Tres began to call. Both parents took turns landing briefly on the building thus allowing the fledgling to approach them. That was all it took, and Tres was accepted back into the fold. His parents soared back to the home “canyon” and Tres joined his 2 siblings on the State Office Building. He actually flew up and adeptly landed right between Leda and Indi. I guess he was anxious to relay his alien abduction story!

 

Lately there’s been a lot more running around involved for some of the Fledge Watch volunteers as they try to keep track of where Leda and Indi are going. For the most part the family have restricted their activities to a 2 to 4 block area, which is considerate of them! Indi’s flying continues to improve. She is the largest of the family (noticeably bigger than her mother) and her sizable wings are proving a great advantage in keeping her aloft. So far her flights are not of long duration, but she continues to practice flapping (while perched) in order to strengthen her wing muscles. We are now reasonably certain that Leda is a male and not a female as first thought. Seeing him in flight next to his mother and Ares has allowed us to make size comparisons not possible when the birds were together in the nest box. Leda’s flights are amazing to watch. His aerial maneuvers are becoming more and more graceful and precise. Also, the length and frequency of his flights have greatly increased. He often skillfully lands right next to (within inches)  his sister or his father. Landing next to Ares is usually a plea for food and is accompanied by shrill begging calls. Leda has recently started chasing after his parents. On Wednesday he went after Astrid and even kept pace with her for a few moments, which is no mean feat!

I don’t have an update on Tres yet, but I expect to hear from the rehabilitator today. We await details of a reintroduction plan.

Parents and babies have made it through this mornings storm and are set up to wait out the next line of thunder, lightning and rain as they stay tucked into the window ledges of the State Office Building – one of their favorites places to hang out!

Still waiting to hear when Tres will come back to us – will keep everyone posted.

This evening should be great for watching them fly – come down and join us!

Astrid and Ares stayed very close to Leda and Independence during the storm. The fledglings were a little nervous during the storm and the wind made us a little nervous for them but all are well.

Yesterday at around 2:00 PM, Indi became the 3rd and last of our Peregrine chicks to fledge. Her maiden flight was strong and led her from the nest box over to a high window ledge on the State Office Building. Prior to the fledging, Leda had been sitting next to Indi on the box’s perch. She took off first and led the way. Indi is the largest of the clutch and her sizable wings provided a lot of lift. She had no problem staying high and her landing on the State Building – though not perfect, was not too scary.

Meanwhile Leda is gaining more and more expertise – not quite to the point of showing off, but close. At one point when Ares landed on a high ledge with food, Leda flew in and landed right next to him. Her father seemed most interested in feeding himself, but every 3rd bite or so was offered to his eager daughter.

The report for Tres is all good. No broken bones or any problems were found. He is fiesty and eating well. There are plans to band him and return him to his family. I will give more details on this when I have them.