This Year’s Brood Consists of Two Girls, One Boy
06/09/2016
Tom French and Anne Gagnon of the state’s Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, assisted by volunteers Ursula and Dave Goodine, successfully banded the three chicks at Fox Hall on Wednesday. According to French, the two large baby falcons are both females while the smallest is a male.
“The male was the last one to hatch, that’s why he is the smallest in the brood,” he noted. “But he will likely be the first to fledge the nest since he is lighter compared to his sisters. The females will take some time to develop strength in their wing muscles.”
After each banding, French gave the chick a quick checkup to see how it was doing. Despite the fact that Chris has a disability and Merri is working overtime to hunt and feed the chicks, the youngsters are all healthy and doing fine.
“All three chicks have a full crop, so they are being fed well. [Merri] is a good mother,” said French.