Bird Cams Around the World

It was Tri-State Bird Rescue's idea to send the birds and the final decision was made by Craig, along with the DE biologist.

Well, this will certainly keep them from fledging early!

first egg hatched 4/26
three more hatched late 4/26 or early 4/27
late 4/28 or early 4/29 last egg hatched

So today is day 43 for first hatching. I know for a lot of males it's day 37 that they fly but I forget what it is for females. I know they're not all the same but the average.

I have not read the information before this post and will go back but i just heard from our biologist and he said the best thing to do with chicks that have fledged prematurely is to put them back where they fledged from or as close as possible to nest, hight enough away form predators. They will beg for food and adults will provide it. He said their likelihood of survival is best with the adults.

Females usually fledge from day 42 to 44 , on the average. these girls went way too soon and that was the reason why they were ending up on the ground. (in my opinion). We had a male that we put back 3 times and then he did fine. He also went too soon.

I do not think hacking is intended for falcons that have flown already.

I have to go out for a bit but will come back and read. I have jsut read all the other information posted and they keep saying birds that have not flown.

.

It was mentioned that it's possible the parents weren't bringing enough food and that's why they fledged early.

I really don't think Tri-State had anything to do with this decision. I'm sure it was Craig and the CCB biologists.

Just a note on Richmond. They use an unorthodox way of ensuring that fledges are good fliers, keeping them in a cage until the are past the normal date. The cage is over the nest box, and the parents feed through the cage. This year, they are opening it for our single girl at 48 days. I'm sure that's about the time they keep them every year. They are extremely good fliers when they release them this late. We really don't have any incidents with buildings after the first few flights. So keeping your two from fledging for a little while has some benefits, especially if they don't have all their feathers out yet. I'm sure Craig didn't want them staying with Tri-State any longer either.

I know for a fact that Tri-State called Craig to get his approval to send them.

...that brings up one more thing...When I first started watching these cams, that was one of the very first questions I asked..When the males fledge, do the females feel they have to follow...The answer I got was no. Each bird knows when its time for them to take that "leap of faith"...of course, we know there are quite a few instances of accidental fledges because they lose their footing or go all wild and crazy on the ledge and slip off...

We're trying our best to see if they were sent today. If they were already sent, there's not much we can do...

Well, that is very interesting. They must have felt that they weren't ready to fly, but there was no reason to keep them in rehab longer. I sent Libby an e-mail earlier, so I'm sure I'll hear back tomorrow on the details. Rehabbers generally don't have much clout with biologists, but Tri-State works closely with Craig, so I guess he trusts their opinion.

The birds went today. :(

If you are interested, here is an old CCB report on transmitter falcons that were hacked. First year survivorship is about 50%, which is the same rate as falcons fledging naturally. What was most interesting to me is many of the eastern shore falcons returned to their natal grounds. When I asked Libby about this, she said that they may be imprinted to their natal location in the nest (by stars etc.)