Tag Archives: Diamond is injured

Updates on Diamond and Grinnell

Diamond slept in the scrape box last night. She continues to limp and her wing feather was drooping a bit this morning when she was feeding Yarruga. That said, the fact that she fed Yarruga instead of having Xavier undertake it seems, in my untrained eyes, to indicate that she is feeling a wee bit better.

It is a bit foggy in Orange. Diamond and Yarruga are waiting for Xavier to deliver breakfast.

Here comes Xavier! Yarruga is 28 days old. She knows when the parents make certain sounds that a prey delivery is coming. Look, she is calling with Diamond.

Xavier has arrived.

Sweet Xavier. Diamond is pulling the breakfast over. Yarruga doesn’t think she is going fast enough and wants to help! Diamond did not stumble nearly as much as she did yesterday. That is so good to see.

Bye Dad. In the image below you can see that the right wing is a bit droopy.

However, in the image below, taken 5 seconds later, the wing tips are crossing as they should. This is very good.

Breakfast is over. Both need to clean their beaks.

Ah, Yarruga has found some scraps on the gravel. It will not be long until she is wanting to self-feed all the time. She is really growing fast.

Is there another word for cute? Maybe it is Yarruga.

At this stage she reminds me of a Christmas ornament I have that is a fluffy sheep.

The Mercury News reported on Grinnell:

//www.mercurynews.com/2021/11/03/uc-berkeleys-beloved-peregrine-falcon-injured-in-turf-war/

The Daily California is reporting on Grinnell as well.

https://www.dailycal.org/2021/11/02/uc-berkeleys-male-peregrine-falcon-injured-in-fight-against-rival-falcons/

Grinnell who is 8 years old and has been the mate with Annie for 5 years on University of California at Berkley’s Campanile had to undergo minor surgery and is being treated with antibiotics. One of the spokespeople said, ““Raptors heal relatively quickly … so Grinnell might be fit enough to start working on moving and flights so that he can be released,” Schofield said. “He will need to put on some extra weight to make sure he can fly strong enough to be released.”  The clinic at Walnut Creek will release Grinnell back on the UC-Berkeley Campus but not at the Campanile as the intruders are there.

I have quoted ‘intruders’ as indicated in the news bulletin. This morning UC Cal Falcon cam is only stating one male falcon and that it went into the scrape and is wanting to court Annie.

UC Cal Falcons will hold a Q & A session giving updates on Grinnell’s condition and the territory issue on Friday at 2pm. If you are interested, you can set a reminder on the link below.

I will be reporting on the announcement as soon as the session is over if you cannot attend on line.

Send good positive energy out to these two amazing birds. Swift recovery and back home with Annie, Grinnell.

It is sunny and just a lovely cool day on the Canadian Prairies. All of the Slate Eyed Juncos are gone from the garden but 3. Junior got to enjoy the corn cob this morning without Dysons’s interference, and there are still some Canada Geese on the golf course nearby. Most of the migrating birds have now left despite the fact that it will be 10 degrees C on Friday.

Take care everyone. Thanks for joining me.

Thank you to Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots.

How is Diamond?

Diamond is the female at the Charles Sturt University Peregrine Falcon scrape box on the University’s water tower. Her mate is Xavier and their only chick this season is Yarruga. Yarruga is 27 days old today. Its name means ‘Sunny’ in Maori.

Several days ago Diamond injured herself, probably in a hunting incident. Her right wing was a bit droopy and she continues to have difficulty putting all of her weight on her right foot. Her mate, Xavier, has often taken over the feeding duties of Yarruga because feeding requires putting pressure on the feet to hold the prey and pull up to get the bites off for the chick.

Yarruga was particularly hungry this afternoon. Diamond was on the ledge of the scrape watching over her baby, trying to get some sleep, and also attempting to keep the weight off the right leg.

Instead of writing how Diamond is doing, I thought it was just best to take a few video clips so you can see for yourself. They do say a picture is worth a 1000 words.

Here is the first one. Diamond has been resting on the ledge of the scrape. She has kept her right leg slightly elevated and has been able to sleep some. Yarruga is hungry and, since this is the big growth spurt for Yarruga, she sees a parent and thinks it is dinner time. Poor Diamond. Yarruga is prey begging.

Xavier brings in the Starling that was left over from an earlier feeding. The falcons have a place where they stash food. It is a great idea. They never waste a single bit of the prey they kill for food. (We could all take a lesson from them!). Diamond wants to feed Yarruga. The following two clips are from later in the feeding.

The feeding went on for some time. This is the last bit of where Diamond finishes feeding Yarruga and then flies off with the rest of the Starling. Despite the fact that she doesn’t like Starling (prefers pigeons and parrots), it would not be easy for her to hunt now while she is healing so she will happily eat the Starling leftovers.

It still appears that Diamond is in a lot of pain. She is really limping but her wing appears to be better. It must be difficult because she wants to take care of her baby. I think that is why I actually believe she is improving. She could have flown out and let Xavier feed Yarruga but she chose to do it herself. It is going to take some time for her to heal and we need to continue to send her our best and most positive wishes.

A quick glance at other nest news:

The 367 Collins Street ‘Four’ decided to run along the gutter and let us have some really good glimpses of how they are growing and changing today. Remember when you look at them that they are precisely one week older than Yarruga. It is hard to imagine that they were mostly covered with white down a week ago! Here they are wanting to fly – and way too soon, they will.

The down is really coming off. They are so curious about the world outside of the scrape. Mum and Dad have been doing aerial demonstrations for them. This is something that the adults do to try and entice the eyases to fledge.

The Port Lincoln Osplets will be banded, named, and at least one will get a sat-pak on Monday 8 November, Australian time. Remember! It is possible that we will only get to see the event on tape. It is exciting. I cannot wait to see if Little Bob is a female with those thick stubby legs!

Just look at the size of Dad’s wing. Together they would be wider than the nest! He is bringing in the second fish of the day. Now when Mum begins calling the chicks join in. It is really sweet.

Mum is so quick to pull that fish off Dad’s talons. I often wonder if the males ever get injured when this happens.

Today, Little Bob is more interested in watching Dad go down to his man cave on the deck of the barge than being first in line to eat. That is almost shocking.

The trio are pancaked. They have eaten so much. Mum brought another fish in at 13:50 – their third of the day. On average, the osplets have 7 feedings a day so far. Fantastic parents. Can’t say enough good things about how well they have worked together this season.

There has been no new updates on WBSE 27 since 1 November, Australian time. When I hear anything, I will let you know.

Thank you for joining me and checking in to see how Diamond is progressing. We just have to be patient – and that is hard when we see her in pain. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Charles Stuart University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac, and Port Lincoln Osprey Project.