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A trio of young falcons born atop a 35-storey building in Melbourne’s CBD have taken flight for the first time, with the take-off captured on a livestream for the world to see.
The three peregrine falcons – two females and one male – fledged late last week, with the footage of their first flight posted on Instagram by non-profit organisation Bird Life Australia. The last falcon took flight shortly after 9am on Saturday for the second time – after returning to the ledge in a crash landing the day before.
“After weeks of watching them grow on the 24-hour livestream, the peregrine falcon trio have finally taken their first flights over Melbourne CBD – with one young falcon opting for a dramatic crash-landing comeback before nailing a successful flight a couple of days later,” the caption stated.
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“Over the next few weeks, the fledglings will stay close to the city. Their parents will continue to feed them until they’re confident enough to make their very first hunt – and then they’ll soar off into the world.”
The three peregrine chicks hatched at the end of September and early October with thousands of people tuning in to a 24-hour livestream set up on a ledge 150m above Melbourne’s 367 Collins Street as part of the Victorian Peregrine Project (VPP), established by peregrine expert Dr Victor Hurley, in partnership with the building’s owner Mirvac.
“They’re a bit slow to fledge and that’s a good thing because the longer they take, the wing feathers are still growing so the bigger the wing surface area” Hurley said. “[The parents] dramatically drop the amount of food they provide and the number of meals they can eat,” he said.
“So they’re lighter. Having bigger wings is like having training wheels … it was notable that they were a bit slow at fledging but not excessively, just three or four days later than I would have expected, which of course builds the tension and the drama.”
Hurley said the birds were confident when they took flight on Saturday and landed safely on another building. He said falcons typically do not return to the ledge once they have taken flight.
“I loved watching this reunion today! Made me shed a few tears!” one YouTube commenter said.
“Awe, I’m going to miss them. This nest gave me many laughs with their personalities,” another wrote.
The livestream – which ends on Monday – has been running yearly since 2017, with the nest first discovered in the 1990s. A Facebook group of fans of the falcons has more than 56,000 members.
The peregrine falcon rose from 28th position in the first round to 14th in the penultimate round of the Bird of the year competition in October, off the back of the falcons hatching, but it wasn’t enough to make the final round. Ultimately, the tawny frogmouth took the title this year.
The livestream will return next year when the breeding season commences again.
“But for now, good luck, young falcons,” Bird Life Australia said.
