Hobbies - England / RSPB New Forest

[The Peregrine Chick]

Very cute chick    Are they like peregrines at all when it comes to flying?  Meaning do they require days of training or are they like other birds and they just leave the nest and have no problem flying on the first try? 

looking at some of the recent photos, I would suspect that hobbies are like American Kestrels, they jump from the nest in the week before they can actually fly and then they run around on the ground (in Wpg that means parking lots frequently) and then they start to fly - its thought that the running around helps strengthens wings since they are cavity nesting birds and not much room for wingercising.  But I'm not a hobby expert by any stretch just seems most likely ....

[carly]

Thanks Alison.  I tried looking it up but couldnt find much detail out.  I hope the little guy/girl has a successful fledge...such a little cutie.  I always feel more for the ones alone.

[Alison]

Are they like peregrines at all when it comes to flying?  Meaning do they require days of training or are they like other birds and they just leave the nest and have no problem flying on the first try?

No-one answered your question, Carly. I don't know the answer, since I have never seen a Hobby falcon fly, but I think they would need the same type of flight training time as peregrines. I don't think it would be an instant thing. Since the nest is in a tree, the chick will have a chance to start by branching - climbing and hopping around on the branches of the tree, and making short flights back and forth, before making an actual flight. Also, this nest must be closer to the ground than most peregrine nests.

[carly]

What a beauty 

[Alison]

The ever-changing little Hobby falcon chick: tonight, there was still no sign of a parent as darkness fell:

[BirdLover]

WOW, that little one has sure grown.  I haven't been able to get on this site for the last week or so.  Thanks for the pics.   

[Alison]

This lone kid is just easy goin' and enjoyin' life in the fast lane! 

Except when a parent brings food; then he/she eats with total concentration and as if he/she hasn't been fed for days. Judging by the ever-increasing size of the chick, there has been plenty of food.

Feathers are coming in fast now:

[allikat]

This chick is sooo cute....exploring new things in the nest and has a great hairdo...
I got to see one of the parents come in to check up on their kid...then "disappeared like a F art in the wind".
This lone kid is just easy goin' and enjoyin' life in the fast lane! 

[carly]

Very cute chick    Are they like peregrines at all when it comes to flying?  Meaning do they require days of training or are they like other birds and they just leave the nest and have no problem flying on the first try?

[BirdLover]

This wee one is certainly getting big.  It has the beginnings of the mask already.  How quickly they grow. 

http://www.newforestgateway.org/Wildcam/LiveCameras/tabid/117/Default.aspx

[Alison]

The lone chick is growing fast, and wing feathers are starting to appear;









Mom keeps trying, but it's getting difficult to cover the chick:

[allikat]

  and another 

[sami]

Proving that Moms know best......

[Alison]

Mom left the chick alone for a little while in the evening.

A slight wing coordination problem:



Mom came back with some food, and the chick ate as if he hadn't eaten for days.



Immediately after the meal, Mom decided it was bedtime. She didn't take the remaining piece of food out of the nest, which surprised me, but a minute later she ate it.



The chick had other ideas about bedtime:





Mom had the last word:


 

[allikat]

Awwww.... how can you not fall in love with them!!!!