The time for Peregrine Chick Banding is drawing near…up until now there has been no contact with humans and they have no idea they will soon have some Bling to show off.
Chicks receive their New Jewelry when between 21-25 days old…at this time their legs/feet are adult size.
When banding day comes and the access door to the roof is opened it doesn’t take long for Pip and Ella too become defensive. First we will hear the kak,kak,kak,kak then the Mach Speed passes begin.
There’s always some last minute camera work required and no sooner had we stepped out on to the roof…that familiar kak, kak, kak, kak,kak could be heard.
Both birds up and flying. Just letting us know that…yes we are trespassing on their territory.
Everything is progressing well and expect hatching to begin just after the May Long Week-end.
One of the Peregrine sites has a banded male named Sundance and he’s partnered up with an un-banded female…if she had a band she would have a name.
We’ve dubbed her as Etta and she has a couple of very distinctive markings which may be helpful in the future.
Just how did the name Etta come to be ?
Etta was the wife/partner of The Sundance Kid as in Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid and only made perfect sense.