FALCON FLASH
Dateline: Cleveland, Ohio
May 30, 2012
Click here to read what happened earlier
Stay tuned for more fledging news.
Watch the falcons live at: http://www.falconcam-cmnh.org/news.php
Our thanks to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for sponsoring the FalconCams.
The first picture of the fledgling teetering on the edge is courtesy of Mr. Scott Wright, volunteer peregrine nest monitor. All other photos are courtesy of volunteer Mrs. Saladin. Photos may be used in any non-commercial publication, electronic or print, but please give photo credit.
Uno got herself into trouble over the Memorial Day weekend and was found on the ground 12 stories below her nest ledge. Falcon fans always worry that a gust of wind will catch a flapping fledgling’s wings and send it off the ledge before it is ready to fly, and that may be what happened to Uno.
Mr. Harvey Webster, Director of Wildlife Resources at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, tells us, “Fledging is always a nervous time as there are many perils in learning how to fly in the canyons of the city, starting with the fact that the young are 12 stories up. The winds in the city come swirling around the buildings and can form treacherous eddies and downdrafts. And yet this is a rite of passage that every young falcon must face.
First flights are usually short distance affairs from ledge to ledge and roof to roof. But within the next week to ten days (she) will be flying over Public Square. And although (she) might continue to spend the night at the nest box, (she) will become independent of that site. (She) will continue to depend on (her) parents for food for the next 4-6 weeks.”
No one saw what happened, but someone found Uno on the ground and took her to a nearby wildlife rehabilitation center. They checked her over and found no signs of injury. This is Cleveland’s Public Square, below Uno’s skyscraper home.
Of course, you’ve noticed the big change in Uno’s appearance as she loses more and more down. She looks kind of funny now with little bits of down here and there and down “pants”……….
The Ohio Division of Wildlife brought her back to her skyscraper home and put her out the window onto the ledge. Do you think she liked her ride in the car and her ride up the elevator to the 12th floor? Volunteer nest monitor, Mrs. Saladin, was present when she arrived, took the following pictures, and reports the details for us. Here is Uno just after she was released out through the window.
She immediately stepped out and started exercising her wings......
and “flapping on the edge”.
She called…………
And SW brought her some food that had been stashed on a nearby ledge. Peregrine falcons save food in a “cache” so that they will have it on hand when needed.
Mrs. Saladin reports Uno ate only a little.
Sara Jean Peters, of the Ohio Division of Wildlife (retired) tells us:
“Like children learning to walk, flight is a series of experiments...some successful, some not.
Chicks typically exercise their wings, flapping in place, hopping and flapping, and running and flapping. If their nest is on a cliff, updrafts can actually catch under the extended wings and lift the birds up into the air and to a higher ledge. There are updrafts in the city as well, although the ledges aren't as numerous.
A chick that flushes from the ledge and takes flight too early may end up on the ground...a risky place in the city as well as at the foot of a cliff. It takes more muscle power to fly UP than out. Muscle development comes with age and exercise. The first flight made by an older chick will probably be more successful than that made by a younger chick. Landings, a very important part of flights, take lots of practice regardless of age!”
Despite her first flying experience that landed her on the ground, it looks like Uno is ready to try again.
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