Fledgewatch June 9th Updates
The pen is scheduled to be opened on the morning of June 9th which will allow the four falcon chicks to fledge the nest site at will. As always, we will be posting details from the day here, so check back in periodically to look for updates on the chicks. Please note that these updates are being written by staff on the ground whose first priority is to monitor the birds as they take their first flights. With that in mind, there may be a delay in our ability to report out, especially during periods of high activity. We have a map highlighting various hotspots of activity from previous years, found here. You can use this to orient yourself as to the various locations of the birds throughout the day. We appreciate your patience and wish our fledglings the very best!
Update 1 (10:30 AM): The pen was opened around 9:35 am. White was the first to leave the pen at approximately 9:50 am and was followed shortly after by Yellow. Both birds were on the ledge for a few minutes with Yellow falling off the building ledge and thus fledging first. He found his wings quickly and circled the Plaza a few times before ultimately landing on the East Riverfront Tower where staff has eyes on him. White fledged shortly after Yellow and headed straight to the Truist building. He hit a south facing window but recovered quickly and was immediately upright and alert where we are currently monitoring him. Black left the pen at about 10:10 and is now perched on top of the camera. Plum is still in the box.
Update 2 (12:30 PM): As of this writing, Plum remains in the nest box and White is still in the south facing window alcove of Truist. Around 11:30 AM both Yellow and Black (who was alternating position between the pen roof and the ledge) left their respective perches in close sequence to one another. Black landed on the roof of the Riverfront West Tower where he stayed for a few minutes before taking flight. He flew to the east side of the Federal Reserve, made three failed landing attempts, and skittered down the side of the building. At the moment, we are unsure of his whereabouts and have staff on the ground looking for him. Despite the failed landing attempts, the impacts appeared to be minor and as such we are optimistic about his condition.
Yellow took flight and attempted to land on both the HCA and Towne Bank buildings. These landings were unsuccessful and the bird ultimately ended up grounded in the parking deck across from Riverfront. It was captured quickly and evaluated by DWR’s wildlife veterinarian. Showing no signs of injury during the evaluation, it was returned to the nest box with Plum around noon. It spent a few minutes in the box before getting on the ledge and then taking flight again. Unfortunately, this time it took off and flew straight to the Dominion building where it collided with the building and died on impact. This unfortunate event represents the worst possible outcome that could be expected from this much anticipated fledging event and underscores the critical need to monitor the progress that young urban falcons make as they leave the nest.
Although we are all disheartened by this loss, we will continue to monitor and provide updates on White, Black, and Plum as we can.
Update 3 (3:00 PM): As of this writing, we have the three fledglings accounted for. White is currently on top of the Bank of America building where roughly an hour or so ago the adults delivered it a prey item. Plum has left the pen and hopped around the ledge and nest box but has not yet fledged from the tower. Black was spotted around 2:30 pm near Kanawha Plaza. He once more made a landing attempt at the Federal Reserve and failed before ultimately flying back towards Riverfront and landing on a residential balcony of the Locks Tower where we have a team watching him.
Update 4 (7:45 PM): At approximately 6 pm, our FledgeWatch team concluded monitoring efforts for the day. At the time of our departure, each fledgling remained in the same location from our last update — White atop Bank of America, Black on the Locks Tower balcony, and Plum atop the nest box. Prior to our departure we witnessed various unsuccessful attempts from the adults to coax the birds into flight again. After we left for the day, the adult male was observed on camera delivering a prey item to Plum which she ate atop the nest box.
We will resume again tomorrow with another day of monitoring and updates.
White perched on the south-facing side of the Truist building as of 10:30 am.