30 Days Old and Growing Up
Male peregrine falcon chick at 30 days old.
Today the peregrine falcon chick is 30 days old and is beginning to show signs of growing up. As in previous years, the adult falcons have been continuing their feedings of their chick by passing bits of prey through the front of the pen. In the last couple of days they also have begun handing off large pieces of prey to the chick for him to tear apart and eat on his own, which he has been successful at. Yesterday he was observed stretching and flapping his wings out in front of the nest box. These early wing flappings help young peregrine falcons to shed their down. The chick’s feathers have continued to grow in and we can now see some of the distinctive peregrine falcon facial markings beginning to appear on his face. Over the next several days he will continue to show more juvenile plumage and the frequency of his wing flapping and activity outside of the nest box will continue to increase.