Kitchener’s Peregrine Falcons

In downtown Kitchener, there is a family of peregrine falcons, that is being tracked by several nature clubs.  The mother has returned year after year.  The father, was found in a driveway a month ago with a broken wing. He was taken to the University of Guelph, where surgery was performed on his wing. He is doing well and will hopefully be able to return to the wild.  Of the four chicks, three have fledged successfully over the last week. The fourth disappeared from the nest area and is believed to have been picked off by another predator, perhaps a great horned owl.  The chicks are acquiring flying skills and remain fairly close to the nest. They are being fed by their mother, who at this point is transferring what she catches to the chicks, in the air.  This sequence has been caught in the following photos.

Mother peregrine carrying gull to the chicks.

Chick approaching mother to receive the gull.

One chick moves in to receive the gull from its mother, while another one, which had tried for the gull, flies by.

Chick flies off with the gull, while mother watches.

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