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Beacon


kevbone

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This place open yet?

only if u have a backpack full of gravel :)

Well, it is kinda nice to have a little something to trade for early opens. But hell, I'm sure no real beatard would even consider climbing a day before July 15th if it meant cooperating with 'the man' once a year. Oh wait, that's right, you guys all just signed on to the big document enthusiastically pledging to do just that - never mind. And crikey, I can't wait for the BRCA to actually start picking up some of the slack out there as I'm gettin' kind of sick of doing it...

 

 

joseph, it was a joke dude. haha :)

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  • 3 weeks later...
Not much longer now.......

The chicks, still in their downy white breast stage (they will darken significantly over the next month), are up and walking out to the edge and looking out, but have not yet started extending or flapping their wings at all once there. When they are getting closer to flying they will be darker and come out to the edge when there are updrafts and kind of awkwardly put their wings out and just attempt to hold them outspread and maybe give a flap or two to get a feel for it. They do that for awhile until they start getting a couple of inches lift and manage a soft set down. Sometime shortly after that they are flying.

 

Once they are flying they start doing very short, ugly crash-landing hops which take them further and further from the nest and back. These short-hop flights typically range in increments to the Flying Swallow ledge or top of Upper Grassy Ledges to the top of Blownout or LoLP and eventually work all the way across the ledges to the SE Corner tree and occasionally down to Snag Ledge (which is hard for them to get back from initially). These are really bad landings at first in general with the fledges tumbling or desperately scratching up onto ledges or landing flat, open-winged onto trees boughs and getting stuck. At that point it takes a couple of weeks to get the hang of landing and build up the continuous flight endurance to become competent enough fliers to train to aerial hunt with the parents and which is when the rock will open.

 

Judging from where they are now, looks to be on track for a normal July 15 open or possibly a couple of days before.

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