Bird Cams Around the World

Bad news first; Sausal has been found dead, and her band number called
in. We don't have details, but it appears she collided with something. She hadn't been seen in several days, so we had feared that she'd had a fatal mishap. Likewise, Tilden has not been positively identified for
about the same period, and is also presumed dead, since at this age,
young falcons are usually still dependent on their parents for food.

The good news is two-fold: First, Makya continues to thrive, following his parents on longer forays away from the bridge and making his own
attempts to capture prey. He plays in the air with his parents and is
generally a pest, begging for food and knocking Haya off her perches
when she ignores him! Hiko and Haya have proven to be good parents from start to finish, and their bridge is a good territory.

The other good news is that the loss of
young falcons is no longer a tragedy, as it was forty years ago when the species was critically endangered. The population has now recovered
and new pairs like Hiko and Haya are setting up in territories all
around the world. Fledging mortality is a normal and even necessary
part of population dynamics and natural selection
processes in a healthy population. I know this won't comfort
those of us who are personally very invested in these particular birds,
but we should celebrate the presence of these fantastic birds in our
cities, and thank the people who made it possible.

Let's hope it's not Evet's window. She would be feeding the falcon. (Bad, Bonnie)