First Flight Imminent!

It typically takes red-tailed hawks about 45 days to go from hatch to first flight. The first attempts at flying are known as a "fledgling." By the time this happens they are full grown. In fact they may even appear larger than their parents because juvenile flight feathers are longer on first year birds than they are on adults.

Notice that the tail and flight feathers are most of the way grown in. They are still partially encased in feather sheaths nearer to the body, but each day they are moving closer to being flighted! Notice too that the chicks' tails are brown rather than red---they will not get their easily recognizable colors until their second year. Since these red-tails hatched around April 16th, they are likely to take their first attempts at flight during the last week of May.

In the coming days, the birds will grow increasingly active flapping and stretching to build their strength. They will often stand right at the edge of the nest with their backs to the world, furiously beating their wings. Often the first flight is not intentional, they catch a gust of wind or fall from their perch. They may well coast to another nearby ledge or even to the ground. It is not uncommon for red-tails and most other bird species to spend some time (ranging from minutes to days) on the ground as they are learning to fly.

Their instinct is to go upwards so even birds that fledge before they are fully flighted will tend to climb or flutter onto progressively higher perches. The parents will look for their young through out the fledging process and bring food to them. However the parents cannot physically lift their young and carry them to a safer location.

Obviously this is a very precarious time for them. Perhaps the most hazardous in their lifecycle. However regardless of whether a bird is in an urban or wildland environment, we try to leave them to the direct care of their parents. It is during this next phase that they are going to learn most of the skills that they will need to survive and nobody is better equipped to teach them than their parents.