The peregrine falcons that nest above CTV Kitchener have been named, and one of the little raptors is paying homage to a much bigger one.
One of the fledglings was named Kawhi, after the Toronto Raptors’ all-star small forward, Kawhi Leonard. Leonard has led the Raptors to the NBA finals for the first time in the organization’s history, where they’ll square off against the Golden State Warriors.
Joining the falcon Kawhi are a female sibling, Hemera, and a male sibling, Jupiter.
The chicks hatched about three weeks ago and were brought down from the microwave tower as fledglings on Tuesday.
Dozens of people gathered to watch the process.
Keegan Murray climbed the microwave tower for the first time to help with the process.
“I’m a little nervous, I’m more excited—this is a cool experience, sort of a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” he said before climbing.
In the CTV Kitchener studio, they were weighed, named, tagged and banded: black banding means the falcon was produced in Canada while dual banding means they’re produce in the U.S.
The process needs to be done before the falcons are four weeks old, much to the parents’ dismay—the adult peregrine falcons were squawking and diving at the climbers while the process unfolded.
The next milestone for the fledglings will be taking to the air, hopefully emulating Kawhi Leonard’s performance in the finals.
You can watch everything they’re up to live, 24/7 on the Falcon Cam.
Disclaimer: This camera features live activities of animals in their natural habitat. Viewer discretion is advised.
