June 3, 2008: Fledglings in trees, on buildings

As of 8:00 this evening, both fledglings were perched high in large maple trees about a block apart, one on 5th avenue and the other on 6th. They were easily located by their frequent begging calls.

Video: View Raptor Cam LIVE

Their parents could be seen flying and soaring nearby riding the air currents around Big Pink. We saw mom visit both youngsters although she did not deliver any food while we were there.

Later she perched on the corner of the roof on Big Pink where she could look down from high above and see both of her children. There was very little traffic and the calls of the young echoed off the buildings drawing confused looks from pedestrians passing below.

People who stopped to take the time to look up were likely to be treated to a pretty spectacular view of the fledglings in the trees and their parent soaring overhead. It was really cool to see how many people had been tracking the birds via webcam -- several people stopped to ask if these were the “birds on TV.” The fledglings were clearly watching the pedestrians as well.

Audubon received calls throughout the day from people reporting sightings of the fledglings. At one point one of the birds was practicing her flying by jumping back and forth between the ground and a bike rack.

At another point one of the birds perched on the edge of the building for so long that building workers grew concerned that she might be having problems… but eventually she flew off.

The fledglings will spend lots of time during the first few days just perching and checking out their world. They are curious and everything is new to them. Remember just six weeks ago these birds were eggs!

For those interested in seeing these birds in person, I recommend going down to 5th and Oak around 7:30 p.m., when the city is relatively quiet. Just look up and listen and you will probably find them pretty quickly.