Spent all day on Sunday and Monday morning looking from webcam for any sign of the missing male that fledged first.  Watched the webcam and observed the female flapping and getting ready but needed to head off to work.  While pulling into west side of the Clock Tower, had a quick chance to stop and check for emails.  Many of the Peregrine watchers at New Balance and elsewhere provide me with excellent updates directly. 

Tammi posted this update:

At 7:35 am est. 6/5/2012 The second falcon took its first flight. I have had the stream on almost constantly because I knew it was going to happen soon. I was just about to shut my computer down to get ready for work and he was standing on the ledge of the nesting box, he has been doing this for the last couple of days, dangling his leg over the edge, stretching and flapping his wings, holding onto the edge and leaning out but always pulling back, running to the edge but always stopping just shy of jumping but…..this morning he jumped and I kind of jumped with him.  AWESOME! Now I am feeling the empty nest syndrome, lol Looking forward to seeing both babies back in the nest to develop their flying

The photo above is the female.  This is around 9AM with many NB staffers excited to see the fledling show.  Quickly, one adult was located, then another Peregrine was on the short steel beam on the NB west wing roof.  A devoted and veteran NB staffer with a long history of Peregrine chick watching then pointed out the fourth Peregrine on a window sill.  After using binoculars to get abetter view and to share with NB staffers, was able to ID a 4 Peregrines and realized that the missing male chick was AOK!  Fledging now completed and successful!

Link to documenting photos of all four from the morning: http://www.pbase.com/birdshots/image/143861837  Click “next in upper right to advance frames.

Peregrine news stories:

Falcons Hatch Chicks Atop Fox Hall

Officials band peregrine falcon chicks at Blue Water Bridge | The …

On the morning of Ash Wednesday, this Red-tailed Hawk was chasing a squirrel on a utility pole near the corner of Jackson St and Methuen St. outside of the lawrence heritage State Park building.  The squirrel was just cagey enough to outsmart the hawk, but it was fascinating to watch their game of cat and mouse.

A few more photos posted:  Red-tailed Hawk photos

Later that afternoon, one of the Peregrines was observed perched in the window sill of the nest box.  The Peregrines have been hanging close to the next box recently and that bodes well for the mating and incubating activites in the weeks ahead.  A few minutes later the other Peregrine was observed having a snack on the roof and then departing and gliding down along south side the New Balance building.

For those with an interest, additional photos posted:  Peregrine photos

During a late Thursday afternoon visit to the west side of the Ayer Mill Clock Tower, had a chance to see one of the Peregrines in the next box.  They have been spending much more time in the next box, on the perch outside the nest box, and othwise very near the nest box.  This suggests that the internal clocks are gearing up for the breeding season which may happen a bit early due to the weather!  The sky was clear and the lighting was exceptional. 

The pair flew around quite a bit and used the rooftop above the main entrance to 200 Merrimack Street as home base for the afternoon.  Lots of takeoffs and landings to watch!

One of the Peregrines landed on a utility pole on the south side of Merrimack Street near the intersection of South Union and Merrimack Street.  This allowed for some close looks and photos with a close up of the leg bands.  According to Tom French at MassWildlife, the “V5” black over green leg band indicates that “she” is the original nesting female in Lawrence and is about 11 years old!  Very cool to receive this important update!

The last image from these two days is of one the male balancing himself on the roof peak before departing in a dive.  The great light provided an opportunity to capture nice shots that included more leg band information.  The left leg band on the male shows 6*/4* black over green.  This is the original male in Lawrence and he was born in 2001 in Manchester, NH!

For more photos, click here!