Week 4 report

My intentions have been to share a picture of the chicks each week of their development. Now that they are out of the nestbox so much, it has gotten tricky to capture a photo of them all together. But, nonetheless, here they are at four weeks old:

Unless we get lucky and catch them back in the nestbox this will probably be the last picture in this format-next week at 5 weeks of age we'll probably have to settle for a photo of them on the ledge.

It really is amazing how fast they grow. Last evening one was finally able to get to the upper part of the ledge: Seeing a chick up here can really make viewers nervous! As each day goes by their feathers grow in more and more. Chances are, by the time they spend any measureable amount of time near the edge of the ledge they will likely have most of their feathers and even if they can't yet fly, will have the "equipment" to glide to the ground should one fall or be knocked off the ledge. Keep in mind peregrines have been nesting on this ledge at the Rhodes Tower since 1993 and we've not had one chick fall prematurely. So, odds are with them. Hope this helps to calm the fears of some of you out there watching!