Note from Bob

I am without Internet while visiting family but wanted to pass along a note from Bob.

"Please rest assured that we are not trying to avoid commenting on Dad's status.

We are continuing to contact and discuss his condition with experts and carefully considering our options. His shoulder and elbow injuries are, after all, serious and we do not want to rush to a decision.

I spoke to Jo last evening and she reported that he is doing well, eating well and behaving calmly. That makes the aforementioned contacts and discussions easier in the sense that we do not have to hastily reach a hard decision as to Dad's fate right now."

Sad News

I am so very sorry to report that Solo did not make it. Here is the official note from Bob Walters of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources:

On July 13, 2013, Solo the only, young-of-the-year peregrine falcon to hatch at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (JSMB) this year, died from injuries received on July 3^rd. The injuries were a result of a high speed impact into the north face of the Zion’s Bank Tower located due south of the JSMB. Following his injury and rescue, Solo was transported to a Salt Lake City rehabilitation facility where supportive therapies were started under the care of Jo Stoddard. X-rays were taken on July 5. While no fractures were evidenced, Solo suffered soft tissue, nerve and spinal cord injuries. These injuries resulted in flaccid paralysis of both legs, incontinence and head trauma. While some slight improvement in the paralysis was detected over the 10 day holding period, other systems began to shut down. He was found dead midday on Saturday.

Robert Walters

July 15, 2013

Bob will try to answer questions if you have any. Please leave them in the comments section. I have no update on Dad. Mom has been seen in several locations over the weekend. No sight of the new male though.

Update from Bob

Hi Everyone,
Just thought I'd move a comment up here that Bob left today.

06:53 - 07:27 a.m. this morning, July 9: adult female (Mom) observed feeding and then loafing on the key icon that precedes the words Key Bank Tower (west face of the Key Bank Tower), adult boyfriend was not observed

FYI - I collected the only, remaining, entire egg today at 1:43 p.m. from the nest box. It weighs very little (contents desiccated?), but I intend to determine if analysis is possible. Who knows ... we may learn something! Adult(s) not observed at ground level in the usual places as I entered the JSMB and no protest mounted at man in (at rear of) nest box by either the adult female, or her boyfriend.

No new news on Solo, or Dad, but I'll update as soon as possible.

RW

Fan Mail from Some Flounder

This blog is written by a VOLUNTEER that puts in 100+ hours of VOLUNTEER time before, during and after Fledge Week with the team, networking with other birding folks, taking and editing photos, updating the blog so that ALL the people who have watched the cameras over the course of the nest season can still feel like they are part of the action... This blog is for the common folk. Those of us who don't need a degree in ornithology to enjoy and appreciate nature. I started it because I was downtown VOLUNTEERING and wanted to share some of the experience. The State of Utah does not pay me for my hours nor do they have anything to do with this blog. NOBODY has a right to complain about anything with this program if you haven't had your 'boots on the ground' during fledge week. (This is written in response to someone who complained that my blog wasn't professional. To the rest of my readers, thank you for being here.)

Phew, now that I got that off my chest. BTW, any further professional explanation of Solo or Dad's conditions can be requested directly from Bob Walters. I am not a wildlife biologist, but I might have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

Here are a couple of photos caught on the cams yesterday of the new male in and leaving the nest box. Note he has no metal bands so he is not a returning juvenile from a prior nest season.

Solo and Dad Update

Bob sent out this note yesterday:

 

"Solo: Xray(s) revealed no lesions, no fractures and no dislocations.

Wings appear okay ... this after Bob mentioned noticing a "mouse" on Solo's right wing when upon the JSMB (east-facing, south interior scalloped edge) before his flight to the window ledge on the west face of of the JSMB and later a report of a drooped wing on that same ledge before the flight where he bumped into glass on the Zion's Bank Tower  

What's next ? continue supportive therapy (fluid and food), see if Solo improves with time. 

Interesting that: Solo weighed in at 790 grams ... on border between male and female weight, JoAnn said that Solo looked huge when compared to Dad, when positioned side to side. So, Solo may not be a male, but a female with skinny legs. I'm convinced that all that heat contributed in a major way to Solo's problems and for that matter maybe it even figured into his Dad's problem too.

We wait and see if improves by staying in touch with JoAnn, just to say it: there is no guarantee that he can re-enter the program and certainly not any time soon.

Dad: Xray(s) revealed a dislocated shoulder (left wing) Xrays and clinical notes have been sent to several experts in the U.S.A. and Joann is awaiting feedback. Dad continues to do well ... eating, etc."

New Guy?

Mary Anne caught some video of a bird in the box this morning. At first I thought it was Mom, but something seemed different. I cropped an image from it and also took an image from a June 20 video of Mom. I think these are two different birds. I pasted video below as well. Any opinions?

July 4 Update

Bob said that there is nothing new on Solo. He is due for x-rays tomorrow. He said that one our watchers was downtown today and saw Mom and the new male. I hope to go there tomorrow to get a photo. This is another photo shared with me from the rescue of Solo on Tuesday.

Happy Independence Day to all.

Solo Injured

I hate to report this. Bob sent this note out today. Say a prayer, light a candle, send good thoughts:

"Unfortunately, Solo bumped/clipped the north face of the Zion's Bank Tower mid-morning today, July 3. He appeared to recover from the "hit" and then fell upon the "easternmost" awning above the sidewalk at the South Temple St. entrance of the Zion's Bank Tower.

Solo was taken to JoAnn, examined and is now scheduled for an x-ray on Friday, July 5.

There is a window of time of seven days in which the adult female will maintain fidelity/interest in the young-of-the-year, nest site, etc. So, Solo will not go out today or tomorrow and we'll see, if and when, based on what JoAnn determines via the x-ray, close observation and monitoring of Solo, TLC, etc.

I'm going to monitor the adults (note plural, not singular) with some regularity.

P.S. it's unknown if Solo has an injured wing (this was reported elsewhere earlier today) and there's no new news on Solo's Dad, except that he is eating well = has a healthy appetite"

Solo's Adventures ~ Mon/Tues

Hi! I hate Mondays and Tuesday, because I have to act like a normal person and work, haha. A couple years ago I reached a point where full time work, hobbies and a grandchild became just too much to handle, so something had to give. Guess which I chose to give up?

The point of that is that I ran out of time on Monday and Tuesday to do updates, since I also spent 5 hours at falcon central helping out. So here is an update covering Sunday night, Monday and Tuesday and this morning.

When I left Sunday, Solo was still on that North Office Bldg (NOB) sitting under an exhaust fan, cooling off, staying out of the sun. Dinner was delivered by Mom, and he stayed there the rest of the night. On Monday morning, the crew lined up again on North Temple awaiting some movement from him. Mom started some flyovers, we assume to encourage him to get his butt up and start moving. He did! And then he was lost. For about six hours.

When he left NOB, he flew over to the Church History Bldg, then from there flew just a bit west and sharply south through the gap between Relief Society Bldg and The Temple. And nobody saw where he went. A search of all the walkways, gardens, rooftops, and ledges turned up nothing. That starts to get worrisome. But our only choice is just to sit tight and wait for that happy phone call that someone spotted him. In the meantime, I went up to the 10th floor of JSMB where a nice man let me sit in the NW windows where I could look out over all the area where he disappeared. No sign of Solo at all. About 3:30 the phone call came. A maintenance person spotted him on the ground near the iron fence between The Temple and the Reflecting Pool. He must have been hanging out under the bushes in the shade.

But wait! When Bob went over to pick him up, he noticed two adults on the NE corner of JSMB! The intruding adult male was back, hanging out with Mom. The usual events played out, Solo was picked up, boxed and taken back up to the Beehive for release. Not five minutes after release he flew off the south end of JSMB headed for all the glass on the Zion's Bank Bldg! He hit lightly then veered over to the scrollwork on West Wing JSMB, SE corner, see picture below. After we were sure he was staying, I took the elevator back up and grabbed a couple pictures. Mom delivered dinner and she sat nearby and called loudly. Was that reassurance to him that she was there or calling for the new male? Who knows but it was loud and went on for awhile during his mealtime. He ended up taking a quick flight around to the west face of JSMB to a window ledge and he has been there since. I just talked to Bob and he was fed this morning, although much of it fell to the ground. Looks are it's a Sora Rail (go look that up on google ). Bob said it's very possible that the new male is helping hunt out on our wetlands/bays.

NOB where Solo spent the night under cooool fan, July 1.

Mom keeping watch from COB on July 1.

Solo after being 'toweled' near The Temple garden area, photo credit to Salt Lake City Peregrine Falcon Facebook page.



Solo resting after glancing off Zion's Bank, July 2.

Uh, dinner is just a few feet away. But Solo isn't hunting yet. Mom delivered dinner soon after this.