Manitoba Peregrines > West Winnipeg Peregrines
West Winnipeg - 2012 / Beau & Jules
dupre501:
9:15 pm - Beau & Jules at the Tower.
The Peregrine Chick:
--- Quote from: Pense on July 12, 2012, 22:30 ---That was a good question Stormy.
TPC, thanks for the great detailed explanation of the process of how the juveniles progress
to hunting on their own.
What is the usual length of time that this whole process takes? I realize that each bird is
different so you can't really generalize but just wondering. Has there ever been an occasion
when it has taken an exceptionally long time for this instinct to "kick in" for a juvenile?
Enough that it has caused concern?
--- End quote ---
Not so far - the hardwiring kicks in about the same time for them all, though one may be a bit lazy and keep coming back for a free meal. But that too is no different from chicks-with-parents, there is often one chick that begs for food long after their siblings are off causing mayhem and chaos of their own. Sometimes adults will beg food from their mates in a manner that is reminiscent of chick behaviour - Chase in Edmonton is a good example, Madame begged food from T-Rex the first summer she spent with him (non breeding) and there are others. They get over it. They have too or they are not mate material and get ditched.
Pense:
That was a good question Stormy.
TPC, thanks for the great detailed explanation of the process of how the juveniles progress
to hunting on their own.
What is the usual length of time that this whole process takes? I realize that each bird is
different so you can't really generalize but just wondering. Has there ever been an occasion
when it has taken an exceptionally long time for this instinct to "kick in" for a juvenile?
Enough that it has caused concern?
The Peregrine Chick:
--- Quote from: Stormy on July 09, 2012, 19:38 ---Hi TPC - I have a question . . . how will the chicks know how to hunt without being taught by the parents?
--- End quote ---
Sorry Stormy, buzzed right by your question!
How do the chicks learn how to hunt? Like flying, it is hardwired into their little brains. The chicks just one day step off wherever their nest is and they fly, poorly at first usually and they get better. Then they start chasing things - usually its their siblings (a continuation of chasing and nibbling at each other in the nestbox or nestledge at the Radisson) and their parents. Then the parents will encourage the chicks to chase them with food and they will start to transfer the food in mid-air, forcing the chicks to develop skills for catching/grabbing things in mid-air, then they start to chase/grab/catch other things from grasshoppers to whatever hapless bird crosses their path when they are "in the mood". Then the catch is recognized as food and the chicks start to do it on purpose for the purpose of food on tap (so to speak).
Without their parents, the chicks will start to chase things on their own. They are provided food daily for weeks, so like the chicks-with-parents, the hardwiring will kick in and they will start chasing things on their own and the rest is the same as the chicks-with-parents. They are provided with food for longer than the wild parents will provide their chicks, so they won't be left in the lurch, they will have more time to practice and work on their skills than their wild-chicks-with-parents neighbours. In fact, the hacked chicks will let the attendants know when they have had enough food-deliveries. The amount of food (Japanese quail) starts to drop off as the chicks start hunting and then when they don't come back for food, that's that and the food isn't provided at the site any longer and the chicks are on their own.
Now is having a parent around better for hunting skills? Hard to say. Remember, all the wild peregrines in Canada and the US are descended from hack-released, captive-bred birds - no parents taught any of them how to hunt. And Beau, he's a captive-bred bird that was hack-released into the wild at the same age as his kids. He turned out well. And even though we don't know anything about Jules, given the type of band she has on her leg, it is entirely likely that her background is much the same as Beau's.
The Peregrine Chick:
--- Quote from: birdcamfan on July 12, 2012, 21:33 ---Gee I hope those chunky monkeys can get off the ground!!
--- End quote ---
I almost couldn't stuff one of the females in the buckets I normally use to move chicks and if it hadn't been "new" to her, I'm pretty sure she would have figured out all she needed to do was skooch (sp?) her wings up a bit and she'd have had her wings free and clear and she'd have been gone!! :o
As for chunky, not quite and given the size of their wings, methinks they could carry off a small car! Actually, they are more the size of chicks we had for most of our years - it has really only been since Princess arrived that we have had consistently small chicks ... though it could well have been T-Rex's genes that got it rolling, he was from the first nest and he was smaller than all is siblings - he then potentially passed it along to Trey (who was smaller but not as small as his Dad) and then with Princesses all the genes fell into place and we have had small successful birds.
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