Wednesday, June 9, 2010

They're still on the nest - yay!

After all the excitement over the weekend about whether any of the eyasses would take their first flight on Sunday or Monday, we still have all three on the nest on Wednesday afternoon, June 9.


I use the term "on the nest" loosely as they are literally bouncing off the walls - or at least the ledge - as they jump increasingly higher in their trips from nest to ledge and back again.

I commended John Blakeman for his call on Sunday that they still looked to be a few days away from fledging.

John replied:

"Yes, they just looked too immature [on Sunday] to be flying off just yet.

Getting much closer now, though. One of them, with a childish impulse, could jump up into a wind gust and find herself wafting out into the Philadelphia skies at any time.

But the haggards continue to provide ample food, so hunger is not much of a motive. They could remain as nest hang-abouts for another week if lots of prey continue to be dropped off.

Nothing certain now. Feathers are getting close to uniformly hard-penned. First flights can happen at any moment now.

--John Blakeman



Here's a picture from this morning of some of that ample food that the tiercel continues to tirelessly deliver.

2 comments:

  1. Your blog photos are incredible. We have been watching Peregrines in Idaho since working with the Peregrine Fund in 1984 and a live streaming cam in a nesting box in Boise has allowed us to see the growth and development from eggs to fledgelings since 2009. We also occasionally watch Harrisburg, Pittsburg, Wilmington and other nests.
    We established a blog last summer and organized a volunteer group of fledge watchers to protect the new flying predators from the usual urban problems of traffic and congestion.

    http://peregrineflight.blogspot.com

    May we link your blog?
    Thank You.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, of course - would love you to link.

    ReplyDelete