06-18-2025 Dot’s first flight

After a long week of baking in the hot sun, we finally got to see Dot make her first flight – just as the storm arrived! Sometimes these teenage falcons are so predictable. After sleeping all afternoon in the heat, Dot felt the invigorating rush of the incoming storm, held out her wings, nodded twice and lifted off. As falcon watchers the only thing better than sweating for a week waiting for a bird to fly is chasing around in a thunderstorm trying to find her! (And I wonder why it’s hard to find volunteers to help)! She did land safely on the roof of the City Centre and eventually moved to a place where she was visible. Still invigorated by the storm, she was holding out her wings and actually lifted off the roof several times by the strong wind. Thankfully, she finally folded her wings and settled down a bit. She spent the night there and was fed multiple times by her parents. There is a video of her getting ready for takeoff.  I could not seem to get a still photo to load.

Dash is doing well and ready to come home. We didn’t want to bring him home on Wednesday knowing that a strong storm was coming. Thursday is Juneteenth and we don’t have access to the building where the nest box is. So, we are planning to return him on Friday.