Tracy, we were wondering last night if you know where Princess and Ivy hang out at night since they aren't at the nestbox?
Princess and Ivy almost never hang out at the nestbox unless they have eggs/chicks in the box. On the sign below or on the other side, on the nestledge, on the Hydro sign on the overhangs of the Sterling Building, occasionally on the tower though that's a little too exposed mostly. The Radisson signs are their most usual perches however - they will sit on the outside edges so they are easy to see but will also go further "in" so they are harder/impossible to see from the ground. Given how much Ivy likes the Hydro sign, I suspect he does the same there too.
TPC, Could this be the first sign that our (chicks) no longer need their birthplace? What has been the earliest the falcons have begun migration? Please say to me and all they should be here for at least another month.
The kids haven't "needed" the nestbox since they fledged. That they came back wasn't need, it was a decision. We've had other chicks that never return to their nestsite. This year's gang has been pretty good at coming back though. The advantage to this site vs say the nestledge is that it is up high and high is always popular as a landing/roosting/launching spot. And since the adults like the towers, the ledge is close by.
As for migration - 2nd week in September is I think the earliest we lost sight of the whole gang ... the kids will go off and wander about before heading south. The adults may wander off or they will stick tight before leaving to go south. Last few years its been hang out then leave for the adults - all the kids left earlier.
