Lunge has taken his first flight! Nest monitor, Mr. Wright, was at the nest yesterday and stayed most of the day. He reports that when he arrived he “Could not find Lunge. Did not worry until a few hours had gone by. I opened windows in the Great Hall and took photos of the ledge were he could be hiding. No dice. Went and got a hard hat to check out the 4th floor roof behind the clock where you will often find a fledged young bird. No dice. As I was going to head down to the street, Mr. Bir (an employee in the building) found me to let me know a bird was on a window ledge on the 6th floor. It was Lunge and he was OK.” Thus, Lunge’s first flight was from the nestbox ledge on the 12th floor, down to the 6th floor.
Mr. Wright, tells us: "A young falcon's first few flights are fraught with danger. I have had to rescue and return a few young falcons to the nest after they ended up in harm's way. Some years NONE need to be assisted - and some years one needs much help....... this is normally the last hatched and it has had to struggle for food. Males have less body mass to grow and often fly first. Females, on the other hand, hardly ever end up on the ground (where they shouldn't be). The females are 1/3 as large as the boys, so they take longer to develop. I have had to rescue more males than females."
Who will fly next? Will it be Strike or Cirrus? Can you tell which is which in this picture?
“He walked back and forth under the nest and his siblings”.
“Watched him for a few more hours. He then flew over to the hotel on the narrow ledge that runs under the 12th floor ledge. Lunge was soaking WET and flew from the 6th floor about 50 yards to the Hotel on the Square into strong winds. He was able to gain 5 floors (well 5 and a half floors) in height, just missing the 12th floor ledge. SW and Buckeye came in and flew past him a few times”.
Here is Lunge on the hotel ledge after his second flight, with Buckeye flying overhead to watch over him.
“Lunge then started to walk toward the nest on the narrow ledge that runs around most of the building under the main 12th floor ledge”.
In the following picture, SW came at Mr. Wright, who was just inside the window, warning him to stay away. Mr. Wright bears some permanent scars from falcon talons from his many years as peregrine nest monitor, and he is careful to heed their warnings.
Stay tuned for more fledging news……….
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.
Photos are courtesy of Scott Wright, volunteer peregrine nest monitor. They may be used by children for school and/or personal projects, but please give Mr. Wright photo credit. All others must contact Mr. Wright directly for permission to use his photos.
“Lunge walked about for awhile and then took a long nap. Strike and Cirrus were beak touching just above him.”
