PHOTOS: Hamilton’s favourite falcon youngsters are getting ready to leave the nest

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Published May 29, 2020 at 7:16 pm

The young falcons that currently call the roof of the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Hamilton home, are starting to show signs of their impending flight from the nest.

The young falcons that currently call the roof of the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Hamilton home, are starting to show signs of their impending flight from the nest.

This past week, the brother and sister, named Griffin and Whitehern respectively, have started to sprout their brown flight feathers, according to The Hamilton Community Peregrine Project.

Images shared by the group show the youngsters, who are still holed up in the nest with their parents Lily and Ossie, venturing on to the ledge of the hotel in a sign that their fledging — their final flight from the security of their nest — is coming soon.

“The chicks have pretty much reached their full body size, and now the white chick down is starting to give way to their juvenile brown flight feathers,” the Peregrine Project group says on their website.

“It won’t be long before both chicks are exercising their wings and building strength for those critical first flights!”

Whitehern and Griffin are still under the care of their parents, who are doing their utmost to provide those vital calories needed for the growing falcons.

“There is no doubting that Lily and Ossie are superb peregrine parents, keeping Griffin and Whitehern well fed,” the group’s website says.

There is one particularly stunning photo of the falcon father Ossie delivering food to feed his young family.

The brother and sister are expected to fledge early in June, so to keep an eye on their progress, follow them on The Hamilton Community Peregrine Project website.

They grow up too fast, don’t they?

Photos courtesy FalconWatch Hamilton Facebook group

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