The Falcon Has Flown

“I got up shortly after 4.30 and fired up the cameras, Jack was still on the ledge. Made myself a hot drink and was drinking it while watching when Jack quietly decided it was time to go. Scrambled to get dressed and headed to the hospital. I found Flame screaming on the ledge and Tom flying around, doing passes near the North Wing. I looked and looked, went to the front, the South Wing. Nothing. I thought I could hear some faint calls but when I got close to the hospital they were drowned by all the noises there. Went home to have something to eat, check the lower roofs with the cctv (he wasn’t there) and post the news. Then I headed back out.

As I got there Flame had moved to the Ark but she soon came back and Tom brought her a Parakeet on the ledge. Again I thought I could hear Jack calling briefly but it stopped. I waited while checking the roof and balconies. Flame reappeared and stood on the wall for a while. Then she flew towards the front carrying the rest of the Parakeet in her talons so I walked to the Maggie’s Centre and spotted Tom preparing another Parakeet and Flame two floors above. Took a few photos. Then a movement high up caught my eye and I glimpsed the back of a tail just as Jack was disappearing flying over the North Wing roof. So back to the cemetery I went and almost as soon as I got there I saw him appear on the railing. He wasn’t there long as he took off towards the main roof, sending plenty of pigeons in a panic. I wondered for a second if he was after them already… He dropped once he got to the roof and I lost him for a couple of minutes until he reappeared on the edge of the roof by the big cables they like to stand on. Not long after Tom appeared with part of a Parakeet and landed on the ledge. Jack got frantic. Tom flew to the wall above the ledge, was he thinking of enticing Jack there? A couple of minutes later he took the food to Jack and they disappeared. I waited for Jack to reappear for a bit but only Tom did.

I am now going to head back there and check on him. They often do only one flight on their first day, he’s already done at least three. I hope he stayed put..

Usually the day they fledge young Peregrines pretty much stay put. Not Jack. Oh no. We lost count after a while of the number of flights he did this evening. Some were small. But some were pretty long, at one point both Tom and Flame went to get it back to the hospital. And the landings, yes some were dodgy, but some were very good. He even knocked Flame off her perch, something they do after a few days, and landed on a narrow mobile aerial. Amazing. There are not enough superlatives to describe what we saw. Mind blowing. I will try and put up some shots later but I took few photos, I concentrated on watching and taking in the experience.”