I got the banding details from Nik Kalejs, the DNR biologist who did the banding:
- Male. Federal band 1156-26750, right leg; color band Black C over Blue 72, left leg.
- Female. Federal band 1947-33165, right; Black 35 over Blue K, left.
- Male. Federal band 1156-26751, right; Black C over Blue 73, left.
- Male. Federal band 1156-26752, right; Black C over Blue 74, left.
So, like the adults, any falcon with a blue number is male and a blue letter is female.
The chicks are 28-30 days old today, so hopefully we have a week or so before any of them tries taking off. Generally, the only visible down on the chicks when they fledge is a tuft on their heads. Amazing to think that one or two will be there by this time next week! Note that the female will be larger than her brothers and take longer to take off due to her slightly higher weight. Look for Mom or Dad to fly in front of the box with food in their talons, to coax the chicks into taking off. The adults will feed the chicks for the next month or more, dropping food off on nearby ledges. Once the juveniles are flying better, they will try to take food from their parents. It takes some practice to learn how to catch a bird on the wing, but by the end of the summer, they will be independent and migrating by themselves.
On a related topic, Nik checked on the Kent County Courthouse nest box. He found an adult falcon sitting on eggs. While this is late for peregrines to be hatching chicks, it is not unknown here in GR. Back in 2011, the courthouse pair had a single chick that hatched on June 6th. I think this is more common with first time pairs, when it takes them longer to decide to make it a match.
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