What a difference a week makes! The day after banding, the 3 week old chicks had lots of down and were just beginning to test their wings…..
The chicks are leaving their nestbox and walking around the skyscraper ledges, affectionately called “ledge-walking” by falcon fans. Remember, the falcons' nestbox is 13 stories up on their skyscraper - but don't worry, they won't fall off. Falcons are cliff-dwellers and are adapted to high places, so the chicks instinctively know how to avoid falling over the edge. The following picture shows 3 chicks from a previous year on different ledges. They were just learning to fly.
Photo by Scott Wright
One week later, the chicks are losing their down and are almost as big as dad! The following picture shows Buckeye feeding Spirit.
Photo by Scott Wright
Here they sent dad off to hunt for more food.
Photo by Chad and Chris Saladin
By now we are beginning to be able to tell which chick is which because of their size. Mr. Harvey Webster, Director of Wildlife Resources at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, tells us: “As the … chicks grow, a size difference will become readily apparent between them, only it will be the female that is bigger. In most raptor species, the females are larger than males. In Peregrine Falcons, the males are called tercels or tiercels as they are one third smaller than the females. This is called reversed sexual size dimorphism, reversed because usually males are larger than females in vertebrate species.”
Besides size, the biggest change is the appearance of the chicks, as they lose their down and it is replaced by brown juvenile feathers.
The chicks are growing very fast and require LOTS of food. The chicks scream loudly and constantly at their parents for food. As the chicks become strong enough to feed themselves, the parents are able to spend more time away from the nest hunting. The peregrine falcons’ keen eyesight (believed to be seven times the power of human vision), great speed, hooked beak and powerful talons make them excellent hunters.
Photo by Chad and Chris Saladin
To watch the falcons live go to: http://www.falconcam-cmnh.org/news.php Our thanks to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for sponsoring the FalconCams.
Today’s photos come from Scott Wright, volunteer peregrine nest monitor, and from the new nest monitors who are helping Mr. Wright, Mr. and Mrs. Saladin. The ledge-walking picture is from falcon fan, Jennifer.
Mr. Webster has told us that the female peregrine falcon is larger than the male. The following information comes from the Canadian Peregrine Foundation website: "A study conducted at Cornell University demonstrated that females are more efficient hunters, because they can catch larger prey species, and therefore need to make fewer hunting expeditions, and as a result conserves energy. However, during incubation and while the chicks are young, the female spends most of her time at the nest, and does little hunting. The male therefore ends up providing most of the food during this time. The result of this is that when the chicks are young, they are fed small birds such as sparrows and starlings, whereas when they are older and need more food, the female begins to hunt again and brings larger prey such as pigeons and ducks." For more information visit The Canadian Peregrine Foundation at: http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/
Photo by Scott Wright
Watch the FalconCams closely to see the chicks out exploring their ledge. And watch them grow!
