Banding Scheduled for Friday, 5/26
The adult female delivers a meal to the chicks. The offspring are mostly full grown now, although they still have quite a few feathers to develop!
Now that the chicks are approaching four weeks of age, it is time for them to receive their leg bands. We (DWR Biologists) will be accessing the ledge on Friday, May 26th to band the chicks and install the pen that is used to prevent premature fledge events. As part of our annual monitoring efforts, we will also determine the sex of each chick and measure and weight them. The camera will be turned off around 9:00 AM on this day and will be turned back on once the chicks have been banded and returned to the newly deployed pan.
Some attentive Falcon Fans may have also noticed that the chicks have begun leaving the nest box at will. At this age, it is likely that they will spend more time out of the box and exploring other locations along the ledge. This is a normal part of peregrine falcon chick development and has regularly taken place in past years with other broods. Don’t be alarmed if some or all of the chicks are at any point not in view of the camera as there are several other structures along the ledge which they can rest under. Additionally, the adults will continue to keep watch of the ledge as well as deliver prey items to their offspring.