What a day it has been in the world of raptors. Eyes have been glued to the streaming cam for the 367 Collins Street Falcon scrape in Melbourne for several days awaiting fledge – and now we have it.
One of the females flew at 09:27:26.
Adult arriving.
Female preparing for her first flight:
Congratulations. There might well be at least one more fledge today in Melbourne. Well done.
Thank you to Dr Victor Hurley and Mirvac for their streaming cams that allow us into the wonderful world of these very much urban raptors!
I have had the most wonderful notes from so many of you worrying about the little peregrine falcon that hatched at 367 Collins Street. We were all so delighted with the prospect of four fledges and watching the parents work 24/7 to keep them all fed and protected. You have watched, stayed awake and worried wondering what can be done for the baby, if anything.
The researcher for the Victoria Peregrine Falcon Project issued this statement today:
As people will have noticed the remaining nestling (a male) is struggling. I don’t know exactly what is going on. From my experience it is most likely a heavy *Trichomoniasis *infection. This is not uncommon in urban and industrial settings where introduced prey species make up a higher proportion of the diet. It is now too late to intervene and approach the ledge as this is guaranteed to lead to this nestling jumping off of the ledge to a certain gravity induced fate. In fact the disease has probably already progressed too far. To approach it once it is too weak and malnourished to make that jump will also be too late to actually prevent it succumbing to this disease. I have consulted with people whose experience with this species and disease I respect and they have reconfirmed the merits of this approach which has been adopted at 367 Collins Street for some years now. As it becomes increasingly obvious that the disease is progressing I will be recommending Mirvac to then switch off the live feed. Little will be gained by watching its last hours or days. It is worthwhile recalling that there is almost by necessity a relatively high mortality within top order predators in their first one to two years of life. One consequence of this is that the environment does not become over-populated/crowded by predators which will be constantly attacking each other and may also then locally wipe out one or more prey species. With this in mind it is worth recalling that approximately 66% of juvenile Peregrine Falcons die in their first or second year. In Victoria 13% of the mortalities recorded of juvenile Peregrine Falcons are due to *Trichomoniasis *infection. This is based from 146 known mortalities. On another note I would like to firstly thank Leigh for creating this site, inviting me to participate and hosting a really enjoyable and hopefully informative Q&A session again this year. To volunteer moderators and all those who contributed observation data on incubation and the feeding/diet studies you guys rock! You have maintained order in a social media environment prone to dischord. Finally, I thank everybody who has joined this group to create a positive online community working within the rules and watched this wonder of nature play out. Looking forward to a new Mirvac web site and camera format next year. Take care and be kind to others.
Victor Hurley, 12 November 2021
Here are those beautiful peregrine falcons at a happier time:
Take care everyone. I will bring you up to date on the other nests later today. This is a very sad day for Melbourne. We wish the parents and the three other extremely strong fledglings the very, very best.
As 8 November was beginning to reveal itself in Melbourne, all four of the 367 Collins Street Peregrine Falcon chicks were at the end of the ledge, near the scrape box where they had slept during the night.
At 06:34, Victor Hurley confirmed the first fledge of the 2021 season.
It was absolutely perfect. The sibling on the ledge did not even notice!
and off.
Interestingly, at 08:41:00 when the camera was turned to the other side in anticipation of catching more fledges, there were three falcons at that end and one at the other.
So, did the bird that fledged return? or did it quickly run down to the other end when the camera was turning?
With the camera now pointing to this gorgeous penthouse view of the falcons, we may never know.
These three entertained themselves, bobbing their heads, eating, and watching Mum and Dad do some aerial manoeuvres.
They ate and found scraps of food.
They love walking along the ledge.
In the image below, notice the difference in size. Yes, there is the camera angle and one in front and another behind. Victor Hurley suggests that there are two males and two females this year.
The one in front is likely the much larger female. The smaller male at the back. I think I will go so far as to add that it was probably a male that fledged first also. That tends to be the norm.
They are, of course, perfectly capable of flying. That one flew from the ledge overlooking the street to the window ledge. No problem.
So will these three stay or will they go?
It is nearing 11:10 in Melbourne and all three are on the ledge of 367 Collins overlooking the river.
It is hard to believe that they were ever small fluff balls like they were on 22 October, 17 days ago.
Oh, they still have their pink bills and legs. It is 8 October. The image below was precisely four weeks ago.
This was 1 October. We were all worried that the little one wouldn’t get enough food. That was a bit silly. 39 days ago.
It has been another fabulous year for the Mum and Dad and their chicks at 367 Collins Street in Melbourne. Victor Hurley has given us wonderful information on the FB page of the group, sharing all of his knowledge of Peregrine Falcons in the state of Victoria. The camera has been shifted at least twice. Thank you for that! No one wants to miss anything. It has been a great experience. When these three do decide to take the leap of faith and become birds – indeed, the fasting flying bird in the world – we will, indeed, miss them. But oh what a joy they have brought to each of us. We will always be grateful.
And a lesson learned. Falcons need pigeons, so feed them! Don’t put rodenticide up on your roof trying to kill the pigeons. It could be a beautiful falcon that eats that pigeon and dies. Tell your friends and family, too. Let’s make the world safe for these gorgeous birds.
Thank you so much for joining me today. I am still a bit zonked from staying up for the banding of the Port Lincoln Ospreys last night. Those chicks were also very healthy with beautiful feathering – just like the Collins Four.
Thank you to the 367 Collins Street Falcon Cam by Mirvac for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots and to Victor Hurley for being so patient with all of us and for his ongoing research on the peregrine falcons.
