06-09-2023 Fledgling Update

Every year fledging week is tense, crazy, and very busy. Each year is a bit different, but this year really gave us some surprises. The reader’s digest version is that all four juvies fledged, were grounded, and are now in rehab.

We think the first female (Black R / Blue 83) got airborne accidentally when she jumped from the top of the nest box and missed the parapet on Monday evening (June 5). She most likely spent the night low or on the ground before she was found Tuesday morning in front of Tempo Vino Winery.

The second female (Black P / Blue 01) fledged Wednesday morning (June 7) and flew to a nearby building. Later in the day she had another short flight, but her third flight ended with her on the ground in front of the Fifth Third Bank on East Michigan Ave. The Peregrine patrol saw her fly and immediately went searching for her. An alert passerby noticed her first and called right away and she was rescued within minutes.

On June 8, the first male to fly was Black X / Blue 25 with a short but strong flight in the morning. He spent the day on a nearby building but was getting restless by early evening. Again, the Peregrine Patrol saw him fly and went searching for him right away. A helpful passerby spotted him near the Kalamazoo Building and alerted the search team. Again, we were fortunate to have him scooped up safely within a few minutes.

Also on June 8, the last juvie (Black X / Blue 26) had a short flight which amounted basically to coasting to the Skywalk. We have learned from previous years that when a bird is in that low location, they will end up on the ground. Much to the delight of the folks who were watching, Rebecca landed on the skywalk with food and fed the juvie there. She typically does not fly to such a low site and it was a rare treat to look down on a Peregrine at close range. The Patrol team was watching him into the evening, and he made his move shortly after 8 PM and ended up on the ground in Farmer’s Alley. He attracted many admirers as he strutted and hopped around but thankfully stayed away from busy streets and was corralled in relatively short time.

We feel fortunate that none of the birds had serious mishaps or injuries during their rather unsuccessful flights. They are all now at Flight Camp at Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center (https://www.facebook.com/wildsiderehab). I’m not sure if there is a family discount, but we are grateful that they could accommodate this group of teenage goofballs. Wildside is a nonprofit that does a wonderful job with falcons as well as many other species. If you are able to offer them support, I know it will be put to good use. The goal is to get the juvies back home as soon as they get a clean checkup and pass their flying test. We checked on Rebecca and Kewpee and they were at Peregrine Central probably wondering what happened.

We have been considering names and were getting settled on naming them after Greek and Roman gods. But now, I am thinking maybe we should consider something in the Famous Troublemaker category!