MN / Oak Park - 2009-10

[Alison]

Belinda paid a momentary visit this morning:



Followed by Brent, who spent a lot of time posing at the nest today:

 

A beautiful juvie visited:

 

[carly]

Very nice names  and good idea to raise funds for charity to name them.

[Alison]

Here are the names for the three juvies:

Alex.      CBNum:   R/36.      FID: 1687-21378. F
Alida.     CBNum:   *U/*W.   FID: 1687-21335. F
Madison. CBNum:   *U/*V.   FID: 1687-21336. F 

Banded on 6/03/2009. This event marked the 1,000 falcon hatched at a power plant. The falcons were named by Mary, a plant employee who won the naming rights in an auction to raise money for United Way. The falcons are named after her nieces and nephew.

[Alison]

The three juvies are not around much any more, but one visited the nest this morning:

 

[Alison]

All three juvies were around the nest area yesterday.

A portrait of one of them:



One was on cam early this morning, but this evening none were visible:

 

[Alison]

Glad to hear your lost female was "baking" somewhere safe Alison!! (check out post # 70 for the reference).  Nice to see she is back at the site and you can probably afford to be a bit optimistic that her time alone and her return are evidence that she is beyond the worst of her fledging!

Congrats!

Thank you, TPC, for the encouraging comments about the fledgling who was missing! Nine days is a long time between sightings. I didn't see all three together today, but did see at least two together.

 

 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Glad to hear your lost female was "baking" somewhere safe Alison!! (check out post # 70 for the reference).  Nice to see she is back at the site and you can probably afford to be a bit optimistic that her time alone and her return are evidence that she is beyond the worst of her fledging!

Congrats!

[Alison]

Good news at the King Plant today. I was checking the dailies, and suddenly there were three juvies visible! The last time I saw the first one who fledged was June 25. It had been so long, I really thought something had happened to her.

 

Brent and Belinda were both around too:

[allikat]

Beautiful, just beautiful!!!

[Alison]

The two fledglings are continuing to explore their surroundings.

Who could resist this face?

 

 

[allikat]

Excellent shots of them Alison.  I wish them luck! 

[Alison]

Thank you for the reply, TPC. I do realize how high the mortality rate is during the first year. As far as I know there is not a fledge watch here - since the nest is at a power plant, I'm not sure they would want people running around on their property, for security reasons. Some of the plant employees do try to keep an eye on the birds and will search on the grounds if need be.

The other two chicks are on the move.

 
Out on the perch                                             

 
In the catwalk area, with a parent watching over them

 
Back to the perch

[The Peregrine Chick]

Unfortunately Alison, that's why there is such a very high mortality rate among hatch-year birds.  Nestboxes and webcams and volunteers can only provide so much support, ultimately, its up to the fledgling itself.  It is also possible that the chick had an underlying problem and that is what caused the chick to fledge earlier and/or run into difficulties during fledging.

[Alison]

What are the chicks' sexes?  Females fledge after males because it takes them longer to get to full development.  If she flew early then she could be holed up until she is more fully "baked" ... the parents will feed her so long as they can find her ...

They are three females, which is why I am concerned about the first to fledge. Also, one of the cam operators at King is really good about moving the cam around to check on other possible perches or problem areas, and there has been no sign of her. Both parents have been bringing food for the other two frequently, and perching where they can watch over them.

[The Peregrine Chick]

What are the chicks' sexes?  Females fledge after males because it takes them longer to get to full development.  If she flew early then she could be holed up until she is more fully "baked" ... the parents will feed her so long as they can find her ...