Canadian Peregrine Foundation -- Etobicoke Archives: Sept/Oct 1999

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September - October 1999

Tuesday October 26
Marcel Gahbauer reports: There hasn't been much to report lately, mostly because not a lot has changed. Toby and Alberta continue to be seen around Islington and Bloor, with both making appearances within view of the camera every once in a while. There was one noteworthy incident on Sunday - one of the security guards at the Clarica Centre was watching the live video monitor at the Falcon Watch Centre, and noticed that there were three peregrines on the nest ledge. Obviously two were Toby and Alberta, but the identity of the third is unknown. Given that the adults were not overly aggressive, it seems logical that the vistor might have been Barclay or Explorer, but we don't have any more concrete proof.

Wednesday October 6
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Both Toby and Alberta are still around, but they aren't as conspicuous as they were in late summer and early fall. Alberta is spending less time on the nest box in view of the camera, in favour of the north and southwest sides of the nest building. In recent weeks Toby has been reported somewhat less frequently, but is occasionally seen on various ledges of the nest building. There have not been any confirmed sightings of Barclay and Explorer in the area for several weeks now, and presumably they have left for good.

Sunday October 3
Diana Karrandjas reports: Around 11:30 a.m. I saw Toby standing on the edge of the nest enjoying the warm sunshine while Alberta stood on the camera. As I walked down a side street I could hear much vocalizing coming from the peregrines.

Tuesday September 28
David Pfeffer reports: I haven't seen the falcons for a week. I was wondering what happened to them. Well, my girlfriend found out. They seem to be prefering the south side of the building. While walking our dog she heard crows making a commotion and pigeons going every which way they could. The reason being a falcon was swooping over them. The pigeons made balcony to balcony dashes to High Park while the crows made a lot of noise and well stayed put. The falcon went around a building after two pigeons. This happened around 6:30-7:00p.m Sept. 27th.

From what we have seen of the relationship between the falcons and the crows it appears that crows are not really a falcon's greatest interest when it comes to food. The falcons tend to just harass and chase the crows away. Could it be a terratorial issue? I am pretty sure it is the same crows as there are a pair that love to raise a racket at 6:00a.m. If it is I hope the falcons win as it has not been so noisy since the falcons came on to the scene.

Also, on Sunday the 19th (the last time I have seen any activity from my balcony) around 10:00a.m. there was an explosion of pigeons. At first I thought a crow was going after them but then it circled over the building after having swooped over the pigeons at break-neck speed. (Crows don't seem to do anything at break-neck speed) One of the pigeons flew away from the building towards a group of seagulls that found something to eat on the front lawn of the building. Well, when the falcon was right above the pigeon it just dropped like a missle. I figured I was going to see my first falcon kill but I was wrong. The pigeon pulled its own dive and pretty much landed ("crashed" would probably be a better word) on the group of seagulls. This produced one hell of an explosion of seagulls. When the dust cleared the falcon seemed to lose interest and left the area. I think the pigeon must have made it to a balcony.

Wednesday September 15
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Over the past couple of days I've spoken to a couple of additional people who have spotted one or more peregrines in the area of High Park Avenue and Bloor Street. While it is possible that these are birds from the Islington/Bloor nest, it seems more likely that these are different peregrines. There are quite a number of high apartment buildings in the area, as well as an abundance of pigeons, so it's not inconceivable that a peregrine or two might settle in this area. I encourage anyone in the High Park neighbourhood to keep an eye out for peregrines. Please report sightings to us, and if you can see leg bands on the bird(s) at all, note their colour and position as well as possible (and of course the characters on the band if you're lucky enough to be that close!)

Friday September 10
Tom Moreau reports: At 17:15, I heard much vocalizing. When I investigated, I saw Toby in a northeast slot on the nest building. He was complaining profusely while many feathers were wafting by his face. At the other end of the slot was Alberta, the source of the feathers. (I had not seen her in weeks.) She was aggresively preparing her supper. It appeared that Toby was hungry but was not going to interrupt the proceedings. The feathers were mostly white. Domestic bliss.

Friday September 3
David Pfeffer reports: Yesterday my girlfriend and I were watching either 4 or 5 falcons from our balcony at 65 High Park Ave. We could not identify the falcons for certain as the sun was setting and produced a nasty glare when I looked through my binoculars. They were harassing a pair of crows that did not seem to want to leave. Suddenly one came from the north side of the building and swooped down on them. The crows then took off with the falcon chasing after them. The other falcons just watched. The one giving chase to the crows did not seem to be putting much effort into the chase and shortly turned back to join the others. This occured between 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m on Sept 2nd. The falcon chasing the crows was just a bit smaller than they were.

Today we were back out on the balcony watching Nighthawks when I spotted a falcon flying towards us. It flew right over us and landed on our building. Fifteen minutes later another one came. Ten minutes following another one flew over. This time I was able to get a good look as two of them flew over to the building across from my balcony. I am pretty sure they are Peregrine Falcons. These are the field marks I was able identify while the two were on the building: wide sideburn on the side of the head, white throat and upper chest, black band at the end of the tail with thinner bands going across the tail feathers. I checked the Peterson field guide and it confirmed the field marks to be that of a Peregrine falcon.

I was able to watch one soar over to a lower building. I also was able to watch the two go after two pigeons on a building to the left of my balcony. Before the second one took off after the pigeons it was leaning forward very tense with its wings up but still folded. It then joined the other one and the two were swooping over the pigeons and then landing on the building to watch them. After a long pause the pigeons flew off and the falcons went after them. Unfortunately, they disappeared to the other side of the building. Later one flew back to my building. The second one came shortly holding something in it claws, although it did not look like a pigeon. This occurred from 7:15 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Sept 3rd.

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