Gaia fledged at 7 weeks and 1 day (from 1st hatch) ie 43 days. It was quite a good fledge, although she seemed to be on a downward trend to the right, so I think she landed not too far away. I’ve been out with Chitra looking for them both this morning. Found Pluto on the roost tree (not at all bad after such a short time), being guarded by Diamond (we didn’t go too close as I didn’t want to startle him into a flight for which he was not ready). And we found Xavier on the tower, later in the nest box. He didn’t bother us at all, but that doesn’t actually mean Gaia wasn’t close as he is much less aggressive than Diamond. Still I was a bit surprised at his nonchalence as she can’t be far away!
Here is the link to the fledge:
And here are Diamond and Pluto on the roost tree, with some shots of the tree from a distance to give you an idea of the surrounds. Sorry about the focus, the new camera is being a bit tricky and I was a long way away. I’ve compressed the pictures, but haven’t ‘tarted’ them up in any way.
And not to be outdone, here is Xavier on and in the tower.
You weren’t kidding when you said looking for fledgelings was like looking for a needle in a haystack! Thanks for the update, Cilla. It’s good to know Pluto made it safely to the roost tree.
Xavier made quite a lot of noise earlier on, and chatters were wondering whether that was in response to you looking around out there for Gaia.
Thanks for the great pics, Cilla. I’m relieved you spotted at least Pluto.
Thanks for the update Cilla . Really nice post and pictures.
I depend on your posts here to keep up with what the Falcons are doing.
I have some lovely photos of Pluto from last night. Will update when and if I find Gaia!