[Birdtalk] Falcon Central

[Pomera Fronce]

Good Morning -

Keeping track of the falcons yesterday was like trying to herd cats!

Butch (#1 bird to fly) was put back up on the beehive yesterday morning.  After resting in the shade a good part of the day, he flew again and crashed again.  He was taken to the rehabber, checked out okay and will be taken back up for release again this morning.  This is crash number three for Butch.

Gabby (#2) is still perched on the administration building where she has been since she flew from the nest box on Sunday morning.

Cassidy (#3) flew yesterday and tried to perch where there were no perches.  She made a soft landing in the flower beds.  She was picked up, banded and taken on an elevator ride up to the beehive where she spent the night.  She safely flew to the administration building this morning.

Etta (#4) is a hoot!  If any of you watched the birds through falconcam, this is the young one that hatched last and is noticeably smaller and flufflier than the other three.  Well, at about 10:00 a.m. yesterday, she decided she didn't like being in the box alone.  Normally before the birds take their first flight, they come to the edge of the box to flap around and carry on.  Not Etta...she came to the edge and was in the air without any warning.  She crashed lightly into the administration building and came down safely on a wide ledge.  

This morning, she flew and landed in one of the canopies of the JSMB.  As the team was trying to figure out what to do, she hopped down to the ground on her own.  She has been picked up and is in the process of being banded.  Oh, and by the way, she isn't a she, she's a he.  Perhaps his new name will be Sundance.

If you want the thrill of a lifetime, come down and see these guys.  They are just too wonderful for words.

Pomera

P.S.  The falcon parents seem remarkably calm for having four such wild and crazy kids.  They're just doing what falcon parents do through it all.

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