Update on the Brandon chick that crash landed when it fledged ...
First is that "it" is a "he". A "he" that has been named Paden after the gentleman who rescued him. I rarely name birds after living people because we have had such tragic luck in the past doing that (knock on wood). But when the chick was ready to be released, he was most certainly not any of the names I was considering and RCF reminded me of the chick's rescuer and once the chick well and truly stabbed me with a talon, I realized that he did need a more unique name and that he might be able to thwart the kinda-curse we have had going for the last 20 years (knock on wood). So chick is now Paden.
Paden's recovery was great, all the rehab folks at Wildlife Haven were very pleased with his progress. We did consider taking him back out to Brandon - Wingo and Hurricane have had not problems with their little brood this year but we were concerned that after a month plus away, he wouldn't get the support he'd need - not that they would necessarily neglect him but we couldn't be sure if Wingo and Hurricane were still in the feeding/training frame of mind given that the rest of their offspring appear to be pretty independent as well. Imagine sending your kids off to college and then having a toddler running around the house.
So the folks at Wildlife Haven got him flying and made sure he was eating properly (including live prey) and we arranged for him to be hack released at a location where we could give him the option for some additional support (food) if he wanted it. He was kept and feed at the hack location for 4 days to get oriented and then he was released. He took off like a shot which isn't unusual and he was flying great. Question is if he will come back over the next couple of weeks for some food or if he has decided he wants to make a clean break from us and do what young peregrines are hardwired to do at this age - fly, hunt, eat, sleep, and repeat. We know he has the basics worked out, he's in good health and condition and we have got the best safety net we can provide for in place if he wants/needs it.
Unless he returns for a nosh, it is unlikely that we will hear anything of Paden for the next year. And no news is good news. Unless it is RCF reporting he's turned up at McKenzie Seeds!
