West Winnipeg - 2011 / Beau & Jules

[The Peregrine Chick]

Sad news this morning ....

Polo fledged last night just before we lost the light to the cameras.  He ended up on the Viscount Gort which is where we found him this morning.  He was on the lowest roof and Dennis and I were discussing what would be his best (aka safest) routes off the roof and he chose one that was not the safest.  He was okay until he tried to land on a decorative standard (like a light standard) and couldn't get a grip and fluttered down to the ground.  Had he landed on the median and stayed there for a minute or two we probably would have been able to get to him in time to prevent him from running afoul of the traffic.  Unfortunately, he didn't.  He fluttered down and into traffic and was clipped by a car that didn't have time to react it was that fast.  He died on impact.  Dennis and I got to him a minute or two later but it was too late.

This is the same kind of accident that Fyfe and Carson experienced and the kind that kills the most fledgling peregrines, a low roof and a poor choice.  For Fyfe it was a nearby building, for Carson it was luck he didn't hit hard enough to kill or paralyze himself and for Polo it was inexperience and a poor choice of direction.

[des]

Great pictures Tracy.   Glad to be able to see Polo, Jules, and Beau.
Does he have a transmitter on him? The first picture kind of looks like
there's a long wire behind him.

//??

[The Peregrine Chick]

1704h

Its windy in West Winnipeg and Polo is napping on the shelf on his nestbox in the sun and mostly out of the wind.  This morning he was a crazy little boy bird playing with bits of meals in his nestbox (these birds are extremely neat this year) but for most of the day, he's been hanging out inside the box out of the sun.

Mom and Dad visited throughout the day, napping, watching, chatting with kid ... at the moment I suspect an after school snack is about to come in ... usually happens that way, kid is asleep, parents wake him up with food, kid can't get back to sleep and has delusions of flying .... 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Polo has retreated to the shaded interior of the nestbox, Beau has moved a bit down the wall to watch whatever peregrines like to watch for fun ...

[Kinderchick]

Wonderful to see your photos of Polo, TPC.

[Doreen]

Great pictures Tracy.   Glad to be able to see Polo, Jules, and Beau.
Does he have a transmitter on him? The first picture kind of looks like
there's a long wire behind him.

[Saoirse]

That's one nice-looking chick -- and a handsome dad, too, of course!

[The Peregrine Chick]

Polo & Beau

[Leana]

Thanks for the photo!  We finally get to see Polo...well, sort of!    I think I just may need to take one of my "detours" when I'm out again today...

[GCG]

  What an incredible photo, TPC. Thank you for that. As well, a great big phantastic "Thank you" for this update. Beau and Jules are as much like us than we ever knew. Ah, parenthood!

[Saoirse]

It's a great picture -- Mom vigilantly watching over chick -- even if chick is about ready to leave the nest and fly. Is the roof relatively low, or does it just look like that in the picture? Whether Polo decides to take off today or wait another day or so, my fingers are crossed for safe flights in his future!

[The Peregrine Chick]

Jules and Beau are staying closer because they had such a hard time of it earlier in the season.  They are much more relaxed now and behaving more like they did last summer but they still aren't going far from Polo, too much time spent protecting him to quite get out of the habit so quickly.  He's 38 days and looks very ready to go and here it is nearly 11am and Mom is sitting not 18 inches away from him.  They had breakfast together about 20 minutes ago and then she cleared her remains (he was till working on his) and then she came back.

He's napping on the platform at the front of the nestbox right now and Mom is still within him, watching the world go by.

[RCF]

He's been up on the roof edges already and running about and since he's a solo, I expect he won't stay too long before he wants to follow after his parents.  Having said that, his parents are much more attentive than either the Brandon or Radisson parents - he's never gone more than a couple of hours without a parent 100ft or less from him.  Might make him hang around a bit longer, if one is around, he doesn't get as lonely as solos usually get.

So, TPC, do you think that Jules and Beau are staying closer to Polo than the Brandons or Radissons because he's on his own or because that's just their nature?

Thanks susha, I was going to ask the same question.  Are they really that more attentive because there is only one chick?  I always saw at least one parent near the chicks in Brandon when I was watching.

[susha]

He's been up on the roof edges already and running about and since he's a solo, I expect he won't stay too long before he wants to follow after his parents.  Having said that, his parents are much more attentive than either the Brandon or Radisson parents - he's never gone more than a couple of hours without a parent 100ft or less from him.  Might make him hang around a bit longer, if one is around, he doesn't get as lonely as solos usually get.

So, TPC, do you think that Jules and Beau are staying closer to Polo than the Brandons or Radissons because he's on his own or because that's just their nature?

[Liz]

It poured!  Finally, I say.    Good practise for the boy.