Canadian Peregrine Foundation -- Etobicoke Archives: March

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March - April 2001

Friday April 13, 2001
Marcel Gahbauer reports: We are pleased to announce that the Etobicoke Webcam is now up and running for the 2001 season. Thank you to everyone for your patience while we dealt with the various technical difficulties that have blocked us in our attempts to get the signal going over the past few weeks. We expect that there may be periodic brief interruptions of service in the future, but these should be temporary (related to power outages, surges, etc).

Monday April 9, 2001
Marcel Gahbauer reports: I had the pleasure of making a brief visit to CPF's Etobicoke Falcon Watch Centre this afternoon, where Joan Boardman updated me on the recent activities of Marco and Angel. The eggs were laid on March 27, March 30, April 2, and April 3 - an aberration from the typical pattern of one egg every other day. Also unusual is the amount of time that Marco is spending on the eggs - typically we have observed the females take care of 75% or more of the incubation, but until now the task has been shared fairly equally here; if anything, it is Marco who is spending more time on the eggs.

The changing of the guard at the nest seems to never occur quietly. Though we have no sound capabilities on the camera, it is perfectly evident that both birds are very vocal when they meet at the nest (and no doubt we could hear them clearly if we stepped out to Bloor Street under the nest). On at least a couple of occasions, Marco has arrived and practically pushed Angel off the eggs in order to take his turn, despite her considerable protests. He has also on at least one occasion refused to get up from the eggs when she returned. It would seem that Marco has inherited some of the stubbornness and dedication which we so often observed in his mother, Alberta.

Sunday April 8, 2001
Tom Moreau and Diane Brockman report: At 15:40, we were walking westbound along Bloor toward the nest site when we spotted what appeared to be a peregrine at low altitude just above the telephone poles, also heading westbound. It flew beyond the Bell building and turned south. Eventually, we saw there were now two, with one circling back around the two condo towers. This was a big female, likely Angel. Both went out of sight. Neither vocalized. We did not get a close inspection of the other falcon, so we could not determine if it was an adult or a juvenile, nor could we see an antenna. Two days ago, Nate had been reported at Royal York and Bloor. We went to the Falcon Watch Centre to find Marco on the nest, resting calmly. If Angel had been driving the other falcon away, we do wonder why she was not very aggressive toward it nor was she vocalizing.

Marcel Gahbauer comments: A chase without vocalizations, especially from an aggressive female such as Angel, is rather unusual. Though Nate was in this general area a couple of days earlier, I would suspect that his presence would have resulted in a more dramatic response. The only reason I can think of that Angel would embark on a more half-hearted chase would be if the intruder were one of her offspring from last year - Apollo or Monty. Even they, of course, are unwelcome in her territory by this time, but she might be inclined to give them a more gentle reminder of this than she would with an unknown bird.

Friday April 6, 2001
David Pfeffer reports: Here is an update from Joan Boardman. Today Marco spent most of the time on the eggs! It seems that his initial hesitation to incubate has definitely subsided. At one point Angel was spotted perched on the ADP sign in the pouring rain! However, Marco did not escape the rain and was also soaked. He apparently pushed the eggs closer to the edge of the box to keep them dry. When Angel returned to the ledge, Marco appeared to be scolding her and then got out to dry off a bit. Later on he was back on the eggs. This role reversal is really interesting.
Angel has also mellowed out. To think that Marco could get away with protesting is really something. When Joan left at around 2:30, Angel did take over incubating duties. It is very clear that Marco enjoys being a father or at least he enjoys spending the day on the eggs and sleeping.

Thursday April 5, 2001
David Pfeffer reports: Ian Dalton and Margaret Van Every reported that raptors are migrating over the Etobicoke nest site. Whenever one of these raptors takes more than a curious glance at the site, Marco and Angel chase the bird off. Yesterday, (April 4) six Turkey Vultures flew over; one of them split off and went to investigate the site. Both Peregrines apparently gave it a beating! Later that afternoon, a sharp-shinned hawk learned the hard way not to get too close to a Peregrine nest. Joan Boardman mentioned that when Marco is on the eggs he has been looking visibly disturbed when these raptors are passing by. Angel apparently doesn't bother with fretting and either tells them where to go or simply goes and escorts them out of the area.

Aside from these altercations everything is business as usual with Marco and Angel. Marco seems to enjoy incubating as he is almost always sleeping while on the eggs. When I came to the site this evening (April 5, 7:00p.m.) Marco was fast asleep on the eggs. After a couple of minutes he awoke, turned the eggs and then covered them again and was about to fall back asleep when Angel arrived! She was doing her usual clucking and telling him to get up and move out. I was surprised to see his reaction. He merely turned to look at her with drooping eyes and then turned back and attempted to fall asleep. But just a couple of minutes later Angel was on the eggs, so she must have made it clear to Marco that it was time to leave. When I left, I spotted him on top of the nest building. He then took off. I figure that once he finally woke up he was hungry as the pigeons immediately took off in every direction.

Tuesday April 3, 2001
Tom Moreau and Diane Brockman report: We arrived at the Falcon Watch Centre at 07:40 and are pleased to report the arrival of the fourth egg. Angel was standing in the box near the northeast edge. She moved about and we were able to see all four eggs in the box. Is this the last one?

Monday April 2, 2001
Marcel Gahbauer reports: David Pfeffer informed me tonight that Joan Boardman documented the laying of the third egg by Angel this morning. This is the sixth day since the first egg was laid, which is an unusually slow pace. Apparently Angel still looks "heavy", so we expect a fourth egg in the near future.

Tuesday March 27, 2001
Marcel Gahbauer reports: This morning between 9:30 and 10:00 am, Joan Boardman discovered that Angel had laid her first egg of the year. This is one year to the day after Angel laid the first egg of 2000, but this year Angel is the first peregrine in Ontario to start laying. Angel remained off and on the egg throughout the day. At one point Marco entered the nest box and Angel actually backed away from the egg while he inspected it. However, she was clucking the whole time. Marco also brought food for Angel, but she was not interested.

Later in the day, David Pfeffer and Christie Lazarou visited the site. At that time Angel was perched on the side of the nest tray preening. She still looks very heavy and is no doubt carrying more eggs; we expect them to be laid at roughly two day intervals as usual.

Monday March 26, 2001
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Norma Pennells this morning reported that she thought there might be an egg in the nest, but it was difficult to see because the camera was partly zoomed out. Unfortunately, technological gremlins have struck and we are unable to zoom the camera in at present. We will have the technical experts on site tomorrow or Wednesday to address this problem and will hopefully be able to confirm the nest status at that time. Last year Angel laid her first egg on March 27, so it's very possible that there was already an egg in the nest this morning.

Saturday March 24, 2001
Marcel Gahbauer reports: It looks like we may not have to wait much longer for Angel to start producing this year's eggs. David Pfeffer told me this evening that he had observed Angel spending a lot of time on and in the nest tray today, and mentioned that Joan Boardman had also been watching and felt that Angel's behaviour signals that egg-laying is imminent. As always, the live video from the camera overlooking the nest can be watched in the lobby of the Clarica Centre; we are currently having problems with the computer on site that processes the webcam signal, but hope to have that resolved shortly so that we can reactivate the Etobicoke Webcam.

Thursday March 15, 2001
Norma Pennells reports: Angel was on the nest site this morning. She was grooming herself. She was there for about fifteen minuets then something caught her eye and off she went.

Wednesday March 14, 2001
Marcel Gahbauer reports: We have just received word from Ian Dalton via Joan Boardman that Marco and Angel were seen mating near the nest site this afternoon. Everyone is encouraged to keep an eye out for the first egg some time over the next few weeks.

Sunday March 11, 2001
Tom Moreau and Diane Brockman report: At 17:05 we heard vocalizing and found Angel in the east slot of the nest building, having her supper - half of a bird carcass. Meanwhile, Marco was putting on an aerial display. He landed on the 45 degree glass just below the nest box. Angel is looking very heavy.

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