A new kind of babysitting has been taken up by a group of avian-loving, green-minded volunteers in the Windsor/Detroit area.
After it became apparent that a pair of Peregrine Falcons, a threatened species in Canada, nested under the ledge of the Ambassador Bridge, concerned area residents kept an eye out for hatching chicks.
As the babies started to show signs of being ready to try their wings at flying (anywhere from 33 to over 50 days after hatching), a group of volunteers set up a schedule to aid the parents in keeping them from harm.
Caroline Biribauer, a Friends of Watersheds organizer with the Essex Region Conservation Authority reported 17 regular volunteers on the list, with others following the progress the young birds are making.
As the fledglings begin the precarious business of taking their first flight, they could end up in dangerous places such as in the middle of a busy street. The ‘babysitters’ are there from dawn to dusk to provide help in stopping traffic if necessary and just keeping a watchful eye out until the young ones become adept at flying.
Their reward for hours of watchfulness? Just knowing the chicks survive to become mature Peregrine Falcons will be worth the effort. And in the future, these same chicks will nest in this same area and these willing volunteers may look up to see Falcons flying overhead, generations that they helped in a small way to preserve.
