Our young girl Seneca, the one who fledged as the last one, turns out to be a very very skilled flyer. She was indeed born with it!
Carol P reports live from the Gorge:
I was out very early this morning with Dan S, Jeanne, and Larry O. It was mostly quiet. There had been a few food drops by Kaver, who was on fledge watch himself, while Mariah was elsewhere.
While Kaver was relaxing on his lazyboy, I mean his lilies at the top of the Kodak Tower, Seneca decided to take a spin around the tower, in her turbo-charged body. You would never guess that this young Peregrine was the last to fledge.
We all stood up, tracking Seneca's (at the time we had no idea that it was Seneca) flight with our binoculars. She was so graceful in the early morning, very hazy, very warm morning air. Slowly floating, flicking a wing here, adjusting a tail feather there, watching the gorge below, seeing something.
Something caught her attention in the gorge below. We watched in astonishment as she folded her wings against her body, tucked in her talons, aimed herself downward, and SHE STOOPED! For a moment, we all questioned ourselves. Was this a fledgling or an adult? No way was a fledgling stooping like that. It had to be Kaver coming off of the lilies and passing by his daughter. No way!
This is Quest
We watched in amazement as she stooped from the tower into the gorge. None of us were able to see what she may have been after. All I saw was a gull trying to get out of her way. She pulled up and landed beneath the bridge. Larry, Jeanne, Dan and I ran down to where we last saw her. We were able to get a very good view of her and she obliged us by showing off her pretty silver band. Yep, this stupendous stoop was done by young Seneca. I have NEVER seen a fledgling/juvie, stoop like this before. It was incredible!
All pics by Carol P.
There is more news about the work that has to been at the Kodak Tower and the relocation of the world famous nestbox of Mariah and Kaver. Read all about that on Imprints:
http://rfalconcam.com/imprints/
