Oh how quick the little ones grow. Tomorrow is banding day for these five chicks.
Here is the post on the website:
As a quick alert to all of the Wilmington Peregrine Falcon Webcam viewers, the chicks will be banded tomorrow morning between 10:00 and 12:00. Craig Koppie, USFWS Endangered Species Biologist, will be heading up the banding process, assisted by Anthony Gonzon from DNREC’s DE Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.
If you are tuning in at that time or are so motivated to tune in after reading this post, the activity level in the box during the banding will be really revved up. The 4′ x 6′ box juts back into a narrow hallway and the chicks will be accessed by a door in the back of the box, no one will be repelling down from the rooftop in this procedure, thank heavens! Craig will be removing, if all goes to plan, four chicks at first, leaving one in the box to help calm the parents. Once removed, the chicks will be processed and banded in an expeditious fashion with weighing, measuring, sexing and overall health evaluations performed. Once completed, the banded chicks will be returned and the last chick will be removed, processed and returned to the box.
With all of this activity in the box, the adults will be actively trying to protect their young and will be quite vocal and active. Good time to plug for some live audio……….hmmmm……next year?? Anyway, the entire process is quick, thorough and non-harming to the chicks and should provide some real exciting viewing!
