06-09-2019 All three juvies have fledged
All three chicks have fledged
Forgive the delay in sharing the news. I will give you a rundown of the last two days.
Friday morning (June 7) shortly after 7, the first chick fledged and was observed by DC and RV. This was Black 40/Blue C. (We are still looking for name suggestions). He had a strong flight but circled around the bank and couldn’t be seen from the deck. DC called AZ for assistance and they went in search of the juvie. In the meantime, yours truly (GW) arrived. RV and AZ left, and neighbor N spotted the chick on the roof of the Peregrine Building (appropriately named but has nothing to do with our birds). GW took a position on the sidewalk to watch the juvie who was walking along the edge of the roof, poised over East Michigan Ave. The juvie and GW stayed there for over 5 hours while JC kept tabs on the nest box from the parking deck. He eventually flew to a low perch on the G antennae and was now visible from the parking deck. He stayed there for a while but didn’t have a comfortable perch and flew toward the deck (GW ducked) and circled west over the mall (where there was an art show in progress and lots of out of town visitors). GW ran down the 6 flights of stairs, met by NN and they split up and started looking. Shortly after, WS texted from the deck that he could see the bird on the back side of the Mall Plaza Building. So, GW ran back up the 6 flights of stairs where we had a good view of him. AZ returned and GW, enticed by her spouse and the promise of food, left for the art hop and dinner. The chick stayed in place through AZ’s watch. GW returned to check on him after dinner and found him in the same spot. But, while watching him, he took off and flew back toward the mall and all the festivities. So, GW ran back down the 6 flights of stairs and scoured the area. Maybe spotted him on the roof of the City Centre building, but couldn’t get a good perspective or see detail, as the light (and energy) were fading.
Saturday morning (June 8) two chicks were fed on the parapet ledge then one (Black 38/Blue C) disappeared. When driving into the parking ramp, GW received a call from a local business to alert her about a chick on the dumpster behind their store. GW grabs her towel and gloves and runs down the 6 flights of stairs, across the mall to the back of the store and is informed by two construction workers that the bird left 90 seconds ago. But they got a great photo of him standing on the roof of a car and provided a good description of where he went. He flew low, almost grazing the ear of one guy, used the alley as a runway and flew low across Rose Street (thankfully did not get hit by a car). He was headed towards a church between Bronson Park (and the Art Fair) and Michigan Ave. GW headed in that direction and thankfully spotted him on a low roof of the Baptist Church. So, another fledgling watch began. He was restless and looking toward the street and after several hours, he managed to jump up to a slightly higher roof, then to a rain gutter, then slowly worked his way up the steep roof to get to the peak. GW’s spouse arrived to visit the Art Fair and deliver the requested water and sunscreen since hers were in the car back on the deck. The chick then flew towards the Courthouse and out of sight. He was not spotted on the courthouse from the ground, so GW went to the Radisson parking deck to get a view of the courthouse roof. GW’s spouse then earned more spousal points by spotting Rebecca circling the Southeast corner of the Comerica Building. GW ran back to the Mall parking deck and up the 6 flights of stairs and sure enough, there was the juvie on the SE corner. He stayed there for a couple hours and then, encouraged and escorted by Rebecca, he flew towards the 5/3 bank and appeared to land on the far side. Just then AZ arrived and went to see if she could spot him. In the meantime, GW happened to look at the roof of the bank to see a juvie peeking over. We were not sure if this was the first or second fledgling but getting to the roof is a very good accomplishment. GW left to check out the Art Fair and get a little respite from the sun. While GW was on her way home after stopping for milk, AZ called to say the missing chick had reappeared and landed on the parking deck (after almost knocking AZ over). So, GW delivered the milk to her well deserving spouse and returned downtown where the chick had moved to the support base for the electronic billboard over Olde Peninsula. For a few hours, we knew where all three juvies were. The chick eventually flew to the Haymarket Building, accompanied by Rebecca. That is a good safe perch, but he only stayed for about ½ hour. He then flew south to the Medical School but couldn’t quite reach the roof and dropped out of sight. AZ looked but could not spot him before she left.
Sunday morning (June 9), KK arrived early, and GW planned to stop by to help spot the two fledglings (One was on the bank and one on the medical school). While on her way, she received a message from KK that the last chick had fledged and was now on the deck. JR arrived and we all watch the chick for a while, and, as predicted, he finally figured out to use the deck as a runway and took off. However, his flight was low and not very strong. He made it to a low level of the G antennae but did not have a good perch and hung upside down briefly before dropping down and disappearing. GW and KK went down to the street to look for him with no luck. JR and WS then went to look for him. AZ and NN arrived to look. GW lucked into an old friend who was going to his office in the 5/3rd building, so was able to look down on the roof from a different angle, but still no juvie. After looking for several hours in the rain, the search party took a breather. The juvie is still missing.
I will post photos after the craziness slows down!
