Sunday, July 17, 2011

Official 'Watch' Over

Yesterday, my son, Doug, accompanied me downtown for our volunteer dinner/social which took place on the dining patio near the birds. Afterwards, he taped me with his Flip camera while we watched flights. A couple things to note: 1) It helps to view this video full screen and at 720p because the birds are flying higher, 2) Be sure to take your motion sickness pills before viewing, 3) I need to go on a major diet or maybe cameras really do add 10 pounds. There is an almost crash at minute 5:40 but the bird does a great job of clinging to a window, and at minute 7-something there is an illegal street crossing that I would appreciate you not reporting to the police {grin}.

So in all, we saw a kid sitting on the Temple, who was either Charlie or Bobbie because its 'cap' was so dark, and a bird sitting on a high skyscraper that everyone was saying was Amelia. Then my son captured at least two kids flying, but one of them was probably Amelia because when I looked, she was gone off the sky scraper after that flight was taped. So, I am pretty sure we saw three kids last night.

The offical 'watch' on these juvies is now over. But anyone who stops by to watch flights should probably send an email to Bob of what they see, but really the kids are doing very well and there is probably no getting  hands on them anymore. They have not learned to hunt, that we can tell. My best guess is that they will be hanging around Temple Square for another week, maybe two. I am still working on getting Bob to participate in the Q&A. I may have to make an appointment at his office next week :)




Thursday, July 14, 2011

Bob on Local News and Falcon Update

Bob was interviewed by Fox13 News yesterday. You can find the video here:
http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/kstu-salt-lake-city-falcons-downtown-fledgling-falcons-learn-to-fly-20110713,0,4870506.story

And here is Pomera's report for the day plus a photo of Sally sitting on a scallop and then flying off Tuesday around 1:30:

Greetings -

Lots of shenanigans by the Flying Zambinis tonight. One bird crashed into the window of The Roof. She took some subsequent flights and seems to be okay. Three of the young are accounted for as of quitting time tonight with one MIA, who is likely safe and not too far away.

We may not mount an all day watch on Friday, but will at least check in on the birds morning and evening. 

Best -

Pomera

Falcon Update

Here is Pomera's report from yesterday (my son is visiting this week, so I will not be downtown as much, blog postings will be slower):

Falcon Followers -

Every day is a new adventure with the falcons!

When I arrived downtown this morning at 5:40, I found three of the young birds raiding the pantry at Charlie's Cafe and the other one right above them on the roof. This corner of the JSMB has been designated as such because it's where the parents stock lots of pigeon goodies. Charlie was the first to discover the cache and initially had the place all to himself. The girls have since discovered what a fine dining experience this little corner cafe offers and Charlie is again at the mercy of the hungy sisters.

It's nearly impossible to tell the birds apart at this point. I just refer to them collectively as the Flying Zambinis. There were four birds (three young and one adult) in the air at 6:00 a.m. They put on a marvelous show. Too bad I wasn't awake to enjoy it!

Two birds showed signs of increasing wing strength this morning. One landed on the roof of a lower building, but was able to generate enough "umph" to lift off after she realized she had strayed outside the food drop zone. A second bird landed seven stories up in one of the JSMB window sills. After alternately admiring herself in the glass and snoozing for a couple of hours, she made a shaky takeoff, lost some altitude, but eventually pulled it out.

I just spoke with Bob and learned that all four young birds are accounted for as of 9:00 p.m. Keep your fingers crossed for no late night antics from these characters.

And in the for what it's worth column, I got my pink slip today. It came in the form of a parking ticket with a pink return envelope. Be careful on those meters downtown - parking enforcement agents (formerly called meter maids) rule!

Best -
Pomera

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Comparing Markings

One of the questions that comes up a lot is how we can tell the four juvenile falcons apart when they are flying and up on ledges. Well, we can't all the time and its getting harder now that they are all about adult size. We used to be able to tell Bobbie because she had some down left on her and Charlie because he was flying sooner and he is smaller. But unless they perch together, its really difficult to tell. One way we can tell, if we can get a scope on them, is by their malars, those dark mustaches they all sport. I spent some time blowing up photos from banding and hope it will help ID them, but really they look very similar. Charlie has small little dark 'v's' off his malars towards his beak and his mask is dark. Sally is very light, her mask stops at the corner of her eyes and leaves very light cheeks. I will print these off and show Bob (because the poor guy has no time to get near a computer these days) and see what he things could help us ID the juvies. If anyone has more, clear, photos of Bobbie, please email them to liz@utahrox.com. I could only find two and they aren't very clear. I would also like one of the four in the nest prior to fledging, all lined up in a row.
All Four Juvies from left to right top to bottom: Amelia, Charlie, Sally, Bobby

Amelia banded on July 6 (flednged 7/6/11 at 6:18am)


Charlie banded on July 7 (fledged 7/7/11 5:57am)

Sally banded July 7 (fledged 7/7/11 at 6:15am)

Bobbie banded July 7 (fledged 7/7/11 11:00am)


The Story of Bobbie in the Tree

There are so many funny stories told while watching the kids, as well as lame wildlife jokes by Bob - I will have to post some of them in the future. I particularly like the story about the badger walking the streets of Salt Lake.

Anyway, this is a story about Bobbie. When I arrived at Falcon Central yesterday at noon, everyone was buzzing about Bobbie having landed in a tree (unusual for a Peregrine and probably not her intended landing spot) and that it was almost dark so there was nothing they could do. They had to leave her in the tree (which hangs very close to a busy street) and hope she would be ok. Bob enlisted the help of a horse and carriage driver (who was staying downtown until midnight) who used to live on a farm and knew how to catch chickens :) and gave her a cardboard box, a towel and some duct tape and asked her if she found the bird to do her best to catch it and call Bob. Well all ended up well, Bobbie was still there at 5:45am when Pomera came down on Tuesday morning. She soon after hopped up the tree and flew off. Disaster averted! Here's a video of John (and Nate his brother) telling the story of Bobbie in the tree. Thanks, John, for letting me tape you :)

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Flight Videos

I am in the process of uploading several videos taken this evening, so check back tonight and tomorrow on my YouTube channel. It was beautiful this evening with the lights and sky. Check out my video channel here www.youtube.com/cardlizzy  Tomorrow I will try to add more notes, but for tonight, I am too tired! When I left downtown, two kids were at Charlie's Cafe (a knickname for the corner of the building where they seem to be fed a lot) and one was sitting at the feet of the golden stature on the center spire and the last one was on the north face of the Temple.

There is a juvenile bird who made a good landing on the top right spire basket.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Flying High

There were so many great flights from the kids today! It was so fun to watch them keep trying. The picture sequences below are so blurry, I was just snapping away hoping my camera could keep up. Well, it helps you get the idea anyway. There was some crazy landings, linke the one on the Angel Moroni's trumpet. I have a couple close up photos at the bottom that came out nice but most of these are just to give you a brief glimpse. No major notes today. All kids accounted for, flying well, and eating. Someone even said they thought there was a mid-air food exchange between adult and juvenile. That's great progress!

Parents flying side by side

Juvie (and all the rest of photos are kids unless noted)










Adult

Questions for Q&A

I haven't told Bob yet, but I have secret plans to interview him (hopefully one or two on video) and ask all your burning questions, hee hee. So here are the questions I have collected so far (feel free to email or leave more questions in the comments section of this post):
  1. Do babies and parents from prior years return or elsewhere in SLC area?
  2. Do Peregrines migrate? Where/how far? Will these migrate?
  3. Do parents and kids keep flying further and further away from the nest each day?
  4. When will they be gone for good?
  5. How long do parents watch over babies?
  6. Is Bobbie ok? What happened right after falling backwards out of the nest?
  7. Did Sally really hurt her wing?
  8. Where do our falcons go in winter?
  9. How do the volunteers identify them by name when they are perched so high or flying?
  10. Do we know where past babies are from being banded? Any news from afar?
  11. How do they learn to hunt and when?
I will be working on getting these answered on Wednesday when I am off work. Yay!
(Posting pictures in a little while - MANY kid flights this evening!!)

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Pomera's Nightly Report

Wow, things can change fast. Here is Pomera's report of events today:

The day was very slow until about 7:30 p.m. and then all hell broke loose. The birds all started flying at the same time and it was hard to keep track of them.

#2 Charlie is quite proficient and the least of our worries. #1 Amelia was the first to fledge and has been slow to fly, but did quite well today. #3 Sally's footwork has improved greatly and she made some very nice landings today. We were able to keep track of these three birds reasonably well.

#4 Bobbie was another story. She took off to the south down Main Street which is one of the worst places the birds can be. A big thanks to Jon and Susan Everts for tracking Bobbie until she flew into a construction area. From there, Bob donned a hard hat and with the help of Metro Security, was able to locate the bird. Long story longer, he coerced the bird to fly from this dangerous area. Bobbie made her way over to Jon's quadrant and he made a fabulous pick-up.

So to summarize, we left three kids on the temple and Bobbie went home with Bob tonight. Bob and Bobbie - kind of sweet, huh ;-)

Sunday's Photos

I will be working Monday and Tuesday, but hope to get to the grounds for photos during lunch each day. Sunday was a quiet day. Early in the morning, Bobbie, who had spent the night on the North Visitor Center, took a low flight out over North Temple Street, where a truck honked and she veered off to the side and landed on the grass. She was captured and both Bobbie and Sally were released onto the Beehive around 9am and stayed there until afternoon when Sally flew over to the Temple. Amelia stayed on the Temple all day. Charlie disappeared until about 2pm then reappeared on the Temple. We are not sure where he is hiding out when he flies off. There were several fly-by's by the parents trying to get the big, lazy girls to fly.

Amelia on Temple (photo provided by Robin Galli, Sandy, UT)

Bobbie and Sally released on Beehive.

Bobbie and Sally on Beehive, south face, after being released.

Adult flying over.

Adult flying off Eagle Gate Building.


Adult on Temple w food in beak.

Adult food handoff.



Saturday, July 9, 2011

Saturday Activities

Updates from Friday late day: I don't have all the birds identified in this story but one bird flew into a construction site and Bob got a call that a worker had the bird in a bucket. A bird flew over to the map, which you can see in the video, missed and slid into the gardens. Was retrieved. At another point a woman who is a volunteer for the church kept telling our people that she had a bird on the sidewalk across the street. They kept telling her, no, it couldn't be because they had all kids accounted for, but Steve finally went over just to make sure and sure enough, she had one of the kids. Amazing. Later in the evening, a woman called and said she absolutely new where Charlie was, she had spotted him and an adult on the west side of the Temple. She was right, Charlie was finally found and stayed put all night.

Sally came down one more time and Bob just decided to take her home with him instead of risking putting her back up. So this morning he waited until about 9am to take her back up and when he did, Bobbie, who was still up on the Beehive, flew off to the Temple and remained there the rest of the day. So Charlie and Bobbie are both on the same spire of the Temple, Charlie on the West face and Bobbie on the North.

Amelia had been on the map building all night and all morning until about noon. She followed the shade as it moved along the edge of the building, laying down in the shade, then five minutes later having to get up again and walk 12 inches to the shade and lay down again, until finally she flew back over to her favorite spot sitting under a spotlight. When Sally was released at nine, she immediately flew off southeast, both adults followed her, herding her back west where she smacked into the Zions Bank Building. She ended up on a sill in the shade. She stayed there for about 30 min then flew over towards the nestbox, glanced off onto a sill. Ten minutes later she flew over to the admin bldg and was fed by an adult. That was when we noticed her wing looking funny. She stayed there for a long time, walked the whole perimeter then made a flight again southeast, but looped around to land back on admin bldg just one ledge lower which put her in shade. At this point I left because all kids seemed to be in shade to hang out for the afternoon.

Here are the latest updates on the kids which was sent out my another volunteer, Pomera. I appreciate getting Pomera's updates every evening because I usually have to leave the grounds by 2pm and feel so left out of the evenings activities. Following the updates are many photos from today with captions.

Here's the latest on the falcons as of tonight at 10:00 p.m. The number by their names designates the order in which they fledged:

#1 - Amelia (female) - took her first flight since fledging early morning on July 6th and is currently resting on the temple.

#2 - Charlie (male) - fledged early morning on July 7th. He has literally "found his wings" and has been flying up a storm. At last report, he had made his way up quite high on the Church Office Building where we hope he will settle in for the night. In retrospect, we needn't have been worried about Charlie's well being when he went MIA. He knew where he was and so did his doting parents, but it's tough on the watch team when we don't have them in sight.

#3 - Sally (female) - fledged early morning on July 7th. Has taken the most hits - nothing serious, however. She "crashed" yesterday evening and it was too late to take her back up for another try. So she went home with Bob. Same scenario tonight. This bird's no dummy. I'm thinking she couldn't turn down another night of Walters' hospitality.

#4 - Bobbie (female) - slipped out of the box midday on July 7th. She's doing really well given how young she was when she took her first tumble. She is currently on the roof of the north visitors' center.
Bobbie on North Face JSMB 7:30 am, just in front of that red, white and blue shield on the right side of the spade. When Bob brought Sally up to release her, Bobbie spooked a bit and flew off the curley cue and over to the Temple where she sat around the corner from Charlie for most of the morning.

Amelia on the 'wailing wall' so called because she's been there for days just crying but won't fly.

Volunteers: Nate and Jack starting duty this morning.

Finally, Charlie is found. Isn't he pretty? He sat in this spot all morning on the west side of the Temple.

I believe this is Mom, keeping watch over Charlie, just above him.

Volunteers: Cindy and Pomera keeping track of Charlie.

The guy on the left is Bob Walters, the one who organizes all of us and kept Sally overnight. Volunteer June is seated

All the volunteers meeting up for a break. On the right of this picture just across the street is the brick building Bobbi sat on all day yesterday and where she got picked up by a construction worker after flying into the pit.

This is Sally, who once again is sleeping at Bob's house because she can't stop crashing into buildings. This is just before taking her up to be released this morning at 9:15 am.

This is Sally after being released and immediately flying off Beehive, looping once with adults and crashing into this building and sliding down to this sill at 9:25

Guess who? Sally of course, after glancing off JSMB, she is now sitting on Admin Bldg with what looks like a hurt wing, now at 10:20.

Amelia, who would get up and move to shade every 5 minutes as it moved along this wall. When she got within 10 squares of the street, she got up and flew over to the wall in picture below.

Larger view North, note the map I refer to a lot and this is also the 'wailing wall'. Yes, Amelia is in this photo just at the edge of the shade.

This is the view looking East (I was on 10th fl of JSMB, the Admin Bldg is just across and there is Sally, sitting about 1/3 of the distance over on the edge going south.

Amelia, who finally flew off the wall!

Amelia, back up on the wall, under her favorite lamp. She sat in this spot a lot yesterday too.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Peregrine = Pilgrim = Wanderer

Well, Charlie the wanderer has been found. Great news! More details tomorrow. In the meantime, I wanted to feature a French blog about Peregrines that belongs to a reader, A. Yassin who left a comment asking me if banding was the same as ringing, their term for IDing the falcons. Please take a stop by his blog, these photos make mine look ridiculous. They are incredible. Peregrine in French is Pelerins. Depending on your browser, there is a translate button at the top of the page that changes it all to English. Amazing. Well done, Yassin!

http://fauconline.blogspot.com/