I Am an Empty-Nester

Our falcons have flown away. Big Sister flew away on Monday morning. She made it to the Administration Building, where she perched for a little while. The next time she tried to fly, she crashed into the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. She fluttered a little and turned around to try to the Admin Building again. She crashed, there, too. After her crash landing, someone from the Division of Wildlife Services picked her up. They did a little exam and some rehab and then took her in a box to the top of the JSB, where her parents fed her and took care of her.

Little Brother flew away this morning. I would ground both of them because they didn't check out with me first, but birds weren't meant to be grounded.

For the next two to three weeks they will stay in the area, learning to fly and hunt and generally being helped by their parents. They have a 40% chance of survival. They are also being helped along by human volunteers who watch over them while they are here, rescuing them if they fall, and taking them to rehab, then back up to the top of the building to try again. (There's probably a life metaphor in there somewhere!)

After that, our falcons will fly to the foothills to be grown-ups.

Good-bye, Birds! Good luck!