FALCON FLASH
Dateline: Cleveland, Ohio
June 8, 2015
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He paddled and drifted and paddled and drifted until he was almost in rescue range……
What a difference a week makes! At about one month old, Ely and Dipper’s chicks are losing their down, exercising their wings, walking, and they are almost as big as their parents!
"As the chick fell in front of her, Cuyahoga reacted as if she wanted to reach out and grab the chick in flight, but helplessly hovered above him as he free fell to the water!
The little guy paddled and paddled and his little wings are already powerful…..
Volunteer nest monitors Mr. and Mrs. Saladin report, “…the first three weeks is marked by bone development in young peregrines and the next three is focused on feather development, so this fun in-between stage has the youngsters looking awkward as if they have bad mohawks or ended up too close to a ball of exploding cotton”.
“We urged the chick on like swim coaches as he approached the buoys. Both adults continued to dive in back of him as he stroked, perhaps playing a part in determining his route. As he came to the buoys, he somehow found the smallest of channels between the linked buoys and a dilapidated old bulkhead and paddled his way through”.
Mr. and Mrs. S tell us “…..we had been able to see four chicks in the HMB nest box that are now approximately four weeks of age and were just starting to emerge to the front opening of the box and looking to step onto the porch. Well, one small chick took a very big step and ended up tumbling out of the box right as mom, Cuyahoga, flew up in front of him and as dad, Bolt was on the railing above and he went
plunging toward and into the Cuyahoga River below!”
"We headed quickly over to the closest angle near shore and watched anxiously as Cuyahoga went after any gull that flew within a large radius of the chick and she and Bolt took turns swooping toward the water near the chick, instigating him to move and controlling the air space. And then as we saw the chick bob on the water we were beginning to wonder how long the chick would remain afloat …….”
“….as the freighter headed his way the little guy began paddling with his wings, lunging with breast-stroke movements toward the west shore north of the bridge!”
The peregrine youngsters will soon lose all their down, they will continue exercising their wings and muscles by doing lots of flapping, and they will race and flap along the building’s ledge. This can be a dangerous time as sometimes an air draft can catch a young falcon’s wings and they fly before
they should…….. or sometimes they take a wrong step. Just such an incident happened yesterday at a nestsite we have reported on earlier this season, the Hope Memorial Bridge. Mr. and Mrs. Saladin report that at first all seemed normal as Cuyahoga (Mom) flew by and Bolt (Dad) and 4 chicks were doing their normal peregrine activities.
Mrs. S continues, “I removed my shoes and socks and emptied my pockets, prepared to enter the water if he could make it out of the dangerous path of the freighter, but it soon became clear that he was going to make it at least to the buoys strung about 10 feet out from the shore. The chick even got a fortuitous push toward the shore from the wake of the freighter as it sliced through….” He was almost there but exhausted.
“We both grabbed sticks from by the bank to extend toward him and/or steer him to us for pick-up, but amazingly just after I put down the camera and picked up a stick he headed straight for the outstretched hands of Mr. Saladin at the water's edge!”
“Mr. S scooped him up and held him close as I ran to get a towel and the carrier from the car. From near the car I could see both Cuyahoga and Bolt flying right over Mr. S in defense, swooping on him as he was holding the chick while standing on the bike path at one point and then watching and calling at Mr. S from low perches on the bridge and on the telephone poles lining the road……… as Mr. S held him in his arms close to his body and talked to him saying, "It'll be alright, buddy", despite the quivering chick coated with wet down”.
Mr. and Mrs. Saladin put the little guy in a box and took him to the Medina Raptor Center, where he was placed in a warm donut cushion and given food. They have nicknamed him “Phelps, the little King of the Cuyahoga River” after all-time Olympic record holding swimmer, Michael Phelps.
He appears to be okay, but it was a very stressful ordeal.
Stay tuned for falcon news…………….
For the complete report, visit Mr. and Mrs. Saladin’s Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/ChadandChrisOhioPeregrinePage
Thanks for the wonderful photos and commentary from volunteer peregrine nest monitors, Mr. and Mrs. Saladin. Most of all, thanks to them for their unwavering and heroic support of peregrine falcons.
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