Part 2. D6 fledges like an angel!
What can I say about D6 except that I doubt I will ever see a Peregrine fledge as gracefully as D6. That is in stark contrast to the 2017 fledge of D2 (aka K2) who had to be shamed into fledging by her brother. In a panic she threw herself off the cliff with feet out, wings back and a scream of terror coming from the depths of her soul. But, in 2 seconds she righted herself and off she flew for quite a long flight.
This photo is of D2 and is a flashback to 2017
Fast forward to 2019.
3rd year sibling D6, a big female, appeared to have planned it all out. For a couple of days she changed her focus from her siblings and the nest to the river, the cliffs and the horizon. She stood at the cliff's edge and gazed outward and the change was palatable. Her sisters watched and it was clear that they were not ready to fledge.
She would bob her head as she brought this new big world into focus. She worked her wings hard and ran, skipped and hopped the length of the nesting ledge. There is a hint of down on the top of her head but otherwise it has all floated away. Her malaria or "mustache" marking is very thin compared to the others. We hope that will continue to be her identifying mark as she explores the cliff and takes her first flights.
BJ and Dee seemed to sense the change as did her siblings. Dee perched in places she never had before almost like she was also analyzing where the three would be landing, where she should offer food to entice them to the safest locations. The atmosphere was charged and we all felt it. All were waiting......
Both parents brought in bird after bird with some of them surely alive from the crazy scrambling I heard at the back of the nest. There was no doubt that she was ready and just waiting for the right atmospheric and wind conditions. She probably wasn't going to fly when there was no wind and the humidity made air heavy.
The next morning I arrived for a very early kayak launch. I reached the launch location in the dark and prepped my kayak by the light of my car headlights. Launch was into the dark but soon first light reached me as my eyes adjusted. The paddle was beautiful with water like glass, a chorus of birds increasing their song with every stroke of my paddle and the occasional slap of a beaver's tail added percussion to the symphony of dawn.
My arrival at the nest site was perfect as got my camera and binoculars ready and watched D6 in her last minutes of warming up her wings as the light got just bright enough for me to see her.
Then she stood at the edge and waited. A couple of times she raised her wings and squatted down but it wasn't quite the right time. She relaxed and waited. Finally, as I felt the slight breeze come up as the sun rose and I watched her raise her wings, squat down and then she gently rose without hesitation or effort. I know she must have flapped her wings a few times but I don't remember seeing it. I only saw this vision rising up, catching the air and soaring like she had done it a hundred times before. She headed upriver, turned toward the cliff at a break in the trees, passed through and glided out of sight. I kept saying to myself "AMAZING! SHE'S AMAZING! SUCH GRACE!" Then it came together, "Amazing Grace" was her name for the day.
All was quiet on the cliff. D7 and D8 continued wingercising and run-flapping the length of the cliff nest. D6 was checked on by the parents andthere were food deliveries. Late in the day she took a short flight into a tree near the cliff nest where she may have spent the night.
I thought D7 would fledge the next day and she came close several times but it never happened. She wasn't ready.
Next: D7 and D8 fledge 2 days later.