Helmet-cam: Peregrine Falcon Chicks Banded in Hamilton

Yesterday, Bryan Thomas got the unique job of belaying down the side of the Sheraton Hotel in Hamilton, Ontario to retrieve 3 Peregrine Falcon chicks from a ledge nearly twenty stories up. And if that wasn't difficult enough, he had to defend himself from repeatedly being dive bombed by the chicks' mother, Madame X.



See the retrieval from Bryan's point of view
Video Via: The Hamilton Spectator 

Once the chicks were safely retrieved they were weighed and banded by Anne Yagi, MNR management biologist. Madame X and her partner, Surge, were proud parents of 3 baby boys - Beckett (682 g), Felker   (671 g) and Tiffany (641 g) - named after 3 of the many waterfalls in Hamilton.

After their exams and some media attention, the chicks were returned to their nest.

After the ordeal it was confirmed all 4 boys were in good health - Beckett, Felker, Tiffany and Bryan Thomas, who escaped the wrath of Madame X with some holes in his shirt and a scratch.

Credit: Hamilton Community Peregrine Project and Falcon Watch site
http://falcons.hamiltonnature.org/