Almost Time to Fledge

Wow, what a difference a few days makes!  Here is Bolt (N/34) up on the ledge platform and boy, is he looking more and more like a "grownup" peregrine every day!!

While he does have a lot of brown juvenile feathers he still has a lot of the white fluffy down, too.  Peregrines usually take their first flights around the age of 40 days.  Even then, the males, being smaller, will typically take their first flight before the larger, heavier females.  So, given that we could expect Bolt to "bolt" first!  He certainly is the most developed of the 3 nestlings.

The first hatched chick will be 40 days old on June 4, so we probably won't see any first attempts at flight until next week.  But just in case I have already alerted the Rhodes Tower, Columbus Police Department, the Ohio State Patrol and other key individuals downtown that might encounter a young falcon in distress or may have one reported to them.   While Columbus doesn't have an official "fledge watch" this system has worked well for many years as these entities have direct contact information for the Division of Wildlife in case a falcon emergency is reported to them.  Hopefully, all the nestlings will do well as they transition into fledglings!