Canadian Peregrine Foundation -- Ottawa Archives: May 2001

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May 2001

Thursday May 31, 2001
Arlene Williams reports: 10:27 am - Connor is overseeing the nest and baby from within pillars two and three of the CrownePlaza Hotel ledge. Horizon has flown off in the direction of southeast towards Bank Street. The baby is quite active and is checking out the nest area and while I write, Connor has decided to get back to the nest area as guard his offspring, just for a moment, as he has just popped up on the ledge once again. The baby has grown so much in the past 10 days or so and is so inquisitive on his/her surroundings. I guess it won't be long before, it will be moving around much more.

12:29 pm - The chick is taking a well deserved break and is having a snooze. It appears that poppa - Connor - is right beside it and keeping a watchful eye over it at the moment. The baby is spread between the two unhatched eggs and appears to be in a deep sleep. I guess all that activity this morning has worn it out. Horizon is still off on her adventure and is taking a well deserved break

2:59 pm - Horizon popped off the nest and has just put on a spectacular aerial display by flying in front of my window and the surrounding buildings. Spread your wings and fly was her motto for a few minutes and then she perched on the northwest corner of the Crowne Plaza Building, overlooking her nest. Baby fluff, as I refer to it as, is just exercising itself around the nest area and is looking at mom basking in the limited sunlight. Spoke too soon, as Horizon has just gotten down from the ledge and is performing her motherly duties, which she is exceptional at. Connor is off somewhere, possibly searching for the mid-afternoon snack.

3:30 pm - There is a distinct difference in activity and flying prowess displayed when the sun is shining. Horizon has left the nest area once again and is flying about extensively between all the towers in the Place de Ville complex. She must have been chomping at the bit, of late, during the inclement weather to get out and strut her stuff. In the interim, Connor has just returned to the nest area and is taking care of business now.

3:58 pm - Baby fluff has just been fed by Horizon and she is now off performing another one of her spectacular aerial displays. Connor took off for parts unknown. The baby is bopping about extensively and is quite inquisitive about the surrounding nest area, searching out new areas to venture in and discover. The definition on the baby's back is remarkable. The wings have become quite distinct and fluffy and it almost looks muscular from behind. The girth has greatly increased, as well. Everything feature and characteristic of the baby is becoming much more enhanced as the days go by. Horizon is still off flying about the towers and checking in, on occasion, by perching on the ledge and then off performing her aerial display(s), once again.

Wednesday May 30, 2001
Arlene Williams reports: 11:45 am - Horizon has been on top of her one hatchling for the better part of the morning and only on occasion does she move enough for me to see the baby. It is so cute and cuddly and has changed quite dramatically since its birth on Sunday, May 20th. Connor is nowhere to be seen.

1:50 pm - Connor has just flown by my office and then went to the nest area. Horizon had been chomping at the bit and was quite relieved to be able to take flight. She had been resting for so longer that her initial flight almost appeared to be awkward and then she flew directly back to the ledge area on the Crowne Plaza Hotel building. She very quickly took off once again and headed towards her favourite roost - the northwest corner of the Constitution Square Building, Tower 1, but actually flew beyond and around thatpoint. Connor did one or two more aerial displays and then went back to the nest area. I guess they don't want to leave the baby for very long, since it is quite cold today. The baby, during these momentary departures, was walking around the nest area and was in sole custody of the other two unhatched eggs. I would say that the baby is now about five inches in height when on its feet and it just one big ball of grey/white fluff.

Friday May 25, 2001
Arlene Williams reports: 11:25 am - Horizon has left the nest and is perched atop her favourite sunning spot on the northwest corner of the Constitution Square Building, Tower 1. Connor is taking care of nesting duties, but I still see only one baby and cannot define two eggs at the moment due to the nesting area being quite shaded at the moment.

2:50 pm - Horizon has left the nest unattended now for the past 15 - 20 minutes as Connor came with a catch and she very quickly relieved him of the treasure and took off for her favourite roost - atop the northwest corner of the Constitution Square Building, Tower 1, where she is just taking in the sun and view and not paying attention to her afternoon delight. Connor has remained, somewhat shocked by her actions, located between the northwest and southwest portion of the ledge of the Crowne Plaza Hotel building. The baby is moving around a little bit today. Currently, Horizon has just returned with the catch and Connor took off for parts unknown. Horizon is now feeding her chick and it is a sight to behold. She is so gentle and delicate.

4:10 pm - Horizon is around the nest and somewhat covering her one hatchling, but she is totally ignoring the remaining eggs. I have not seen her sit on them or pay much attention to them for the better part of the day. I can only gather that she knows now that they will not hatch. The baby looks so cute laying between Horizon's legs and under her breast area, so much so that you just want to go over to the nest and cuddle the little ball of fluff. The baby was most appreciative of her mother's snack about an hour ago and has been resting every since.

6:15 pm - As of this writing, Horizon is facing west and looking towards Tunney's Pasture. The baby is well lodged under her breast/mid-abdomen area with a little puff of grey/white fluff protruding between Horizon's legs. The remaining brownish/black speckled egg was placed in front of the baby and is totally unprotected from Horizon's caring body heat. Again, it seems that Horizon has also given up on trying to hatch this egg, as well.

Thursday May 24, 2001
Arlene Williams reports: 1:47 pm - Connor is sitting on the northwest corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel ledge and looking towards Tower C, as if he knows that I am watching he and his beloved's activities. In the past half hour, it has become quite dark and hazy. 2:57 pm - The weather has cleared and Horizon decided to venture off from the nest area for a minute or so. I was able to confirm at that time that there is only one baby which has hatched and the other two eggs look very dark in appearance.

Horizon during the time that she was on the nest late this morning and early this afternoon appeared to be quite agitated in her movements, so possibly she is getting very anxious as to why the remaining babies are not hatching. Connor, as per usual sat on the northwest corner of the Crowne Plaza ledge and then when Horizon flew off, he did the same flying in the direction of Tunney's Pasture. Therefore, the baby was left alone for approximately one minute before Horizon returned to care for her baby. She is so gentle and delicate with her hatchling and the baby has grown quite a bit since it first appeared on Sunday. Connor has yet to return to the ledge.

4:30 pm - About a half hour ago, Horizon took off from the nest and Connor was not in sight to cover the nest. She left it for our 3 - 4 minutes and in the interim I was able to view the chick and it appeared to be flexing its wings and almost trying to cover the two remaining eggs, which were one on each side of the chick as it stood between the two. It was so cute seeing the protective and inquisitive nature take over by the baby. One egg is very dark in colour and the other somewhat grey/white in appearance. Both Horizon and Connor have returned and, of course, Horizon is covering the nest once again and Connor is adopting his laissez-faire attitude of perusing the situation perched on the northwest corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel ledge.

5:56 pm - Horizon flew off the nest about an hour and a half ago now and has not returned as yet. Melanie Moore and Eve Ticknor were both present during this shift change. Not to worry, however, as Connor took off for a few minutes, then quickly returned to the northwest corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel ledge and then took over the responsibility of tending to the nest. The chick during the absence of both parents was moving about much more, but not far from the remaining eggs and it appeared to be still trying to shield and/or protect the other eggs. Horizon after putting on an aerial display and flying about out of our sight, she finally landed on her favourite roost, atop the northwest corner of the Constitution Square Building, Tower 1, where she has been for the better part of of an hour. She is preening and flexing her wings, etc. and at one point in time Connor seemed to want to mate and then quickly moved above her and perched on the northwest portion of the fence which is located on the top of the Constitution Square Building, Tower 1. I think that both parents seem to know that there may not be any more babies to hatch, but, time will only tell.

Wednesday May 23, 2001
Arlene Williams reports: 6:45 pm - It has been so dark and hazy today that there is not much activity on which to report. Currently Horizon is covering the nest and has not moved for sometime. Connor is located on the northwest corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel ledge and is looking inward to his mate covering the nest. I assume still that there is only one hatchling and two babies yet to hatch, as I cannot see otherwise.

Tuesday May 22, 2001
Arlene Williams reports: 6:15 pm - Everything remains status quo to the eye at the moment, as Horizon has not been off the nest for the better part of the afternoon and when she was I was still able to see only one baby and one egg, but, we know that there are still two (2) eggs yet to hatch. Since there has not been a shift change for the better part of the afternoon, then maybe by tomorrow morning there will be another baby hatched.

Monday May 21, 2001
Arlene Williams reports: 5:50 pm - Eve Ticknor and I have confirmed that there is still only one baby and two yet to hatch. Horizon is a great mom and Connor is diligently watching over her activities with the baby and the two eggs.

Sunday May 20, 2001
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Arlene Williams has notified us that as of 3:00pm, the first peregrine chick has hatched on the Crowne Plaza ledge. We hope to see the other two chicks emerge over the next day or two. See below for details of today's observations.

Arlene Williams reports: 1:40 pm - It appears at the moment to be Horizon covering the nest and no babies have surfaced as yet. She is facing the 2nd pillar in from the northwest corner of the Crowne Plaza ledge and appears to be looking at the Constitution Square building, Tower 1. I have not, as yet, seen Connor, but I am sure that he is off somewhere enjoying the warmth of the sun, the spectacular view of downtown Ottawa and/or the Ottawa River, Gatineau Hills and, as well, the magnificent array of colours of the tulips for the Tulip Festival

2:35 pm - Horizon appears to be chomping at the bit to have Connor come by to take over the egg duty. She is moving her head quite rapidly, on occasion, from side to side and occasionally flicking her wing on her right hand side as if to air out the nest.

2:55 pm - No sooner had I sent the last update, Horizon got very tired of waiting for Connor's return and took off for a quick view of the western part of the city perched atop the northwest corner of the Constitution Square Building, Tower 1. She perched momentarily and then came back to the nest which was left unattended. I was not able to view the nest at that time as the change was so quick. But, Connor came within seconds and appeared to be going to take over the egg duty, but, he teased her and then flew off northwest in the direction of the Ottawa River. I looked at her through the binoculars and she appeared to be so sad that he had not taken over his fatherly duties. Within seconds, she got somewhat upset, once again, and then put on quite the aerial display in front of Place de Ville Tower A and then did a tour of the Crowne Plaza Hotel building, ending up back at the nest. In the interim, I was able to see that there is a fuzzy grey hatchling bobbing its head, so we know that at least the first chick has hatched.

As a result of the major activity/movement of Horizon in that last hour and a half, there has been a significant difference in movement and aerial displays since around 1:00 pm, so I guess when Horizon was moving her head rapidly and flicking her right side wing, then she was obviously allowing the chick to breathe or maybe just allowing it to hatch and enter into the world. Both Connor and Horizon are flitting to and fro from the nest and putting on quite the aerial displays, appearing almost relieved that the major part of their hard work has produced, momentarily, one living/breathing hatchling. I am so excited.

4:45 pm - Melanie Moore came over from the Canadian Peregrine Foundation and confirmed that one chick has hatched, and two eggs are remaining at the nest. Horizon is so gentle in ensuring that the two remaining eggs are covered and the baby has enough space in order to breathe. Connor is just viewing the situation while perched on the northwest corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel ledge, facing inward and overlooking his beloved taking care of her one hatchling and the two yet to be hatched. Horizon is sitting somewhat more upright at this time and has moved her yet unhatched two eggs to under her breast and the baby appears to be somewhat hidden under her left wing. We (Melanie and I) are very surprised as to how gentle Horizon is during this delicate situation.

Thursday May 17, 2001
Arlene Williams reports: Just a brief email to say that the shift of responsibilities for tending to the nest has just been taken over by Connor. No sooner had he landed on the northwest corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel ledge, then Horizon flew off in the direction of her favourite perching spot, which is the northwest corner of the Constitution Square Building, Tower 1. I spoke too soon, as she has just flown off in the northeast direction heading towards Bank Street. As I am writing, the sun has just come out and is enabling me to see Connor a little more clearly. He is just sitting there doing his fatherly duties and waiting as patiently as the rest of us are for the big event.

Monday May 14, 2001
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Around 6:30pm, Melanie Moore, Eve Ticknor, and I were able to witness a changing of the guard at the nest, and could clearly see all three eggs. Horizon had been on the eggs prior to this, but when Connor flew in and landed beside her with a whole freshly-killed pigeon in his talons, she quickly jumped up from the nest, grabbed his offering, and took off with it to the southwest end of the Crowne Plaza ledge. Connor stood over the eggs for a minute before settling down, offering us a clear view of them - two right behind each other and a third a bit to the side. He soon was fully down over them and began to doze off, while Horizon continued to feed for quite a while on the corner of the building. When she was done, she flew back over to her favourite perch on the northwest corner of Constitution Square.

A quick note regarding the camera: by moving to the west ledge of the Crowne Plaza Hotel this year, Horizon and Connor have created quite a challenge for us to position the camera to view their new location. We have been working on all of the various logistics for the past couple of weeks, and hope that we will soon be ready to put the camera back into action. We will post an announcement on this page as soon as the camera is activated. Thank you for your patience.

Arlene Williams reports: This morning at approximately 10:40 am, Connor flew to the northwest corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel building, then Horizon took off immediately, but Connor took a minute or so before he hopped over to the nest area. Connor then proceeded to do a little cleaning on or around the nest area and a few feathers flew from what may have been a catch and then it appeared that he was picking something up in his mouth and then moved it ever so slightly to another part of the nest.

5:14 pm - A gentleman from another building - Mark Davidson - came by to see the falcons this evening with his own binoculars which are much more powerful than mine. I had indicated to him that there would be a shift change within the next 15+ minutes and sure enough the shift change took place within 10 minutes. Connor flew in to replace Horizon and she very quickly flew off towards the northeast. She has not been seen since. However, during the shift change Mr. Davidson was able to distinguish and confirm two (2) eggs definitely and thought there was a possibility of more.

Friday May 11, 2001
Arlene Williams reports: 9:47 am - It appears to be Connor tending to the nest at the moment and it appeared to be Horizon that had been perched on the northeast corner of the Constitution Building, Tower 1. She saw a pigeon leave the Crowne Plaza Hotel and she was off in hot pursuit. I yet to see whether or not she was successful in her pursuit, since neither bird has been seen since. I must add that there are plenty of pigeons for the picking located atop the upper portion of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, since the peregrines have been taking turns on tending to the nest. That won't last long once the babies have hatched, needless to say, as the babies will be hungry, as will the adults and those pigeons will be prime pickings.

2:53 pm - Momentarily both peregrines were off the nest and I quickly ran for my binoculars. Since it is overcast, I could only distinguish two (2) eggs and could not see the rest. It now appears to be Connor covering the nest and his beloved was perched for a bit on the northeast corner of the Constitution Building, Tower 1 and then when he (Connor) took over the nest, she very quickly flew off in the direction of northeast towards Bank Street. Looking around, she is now perched on the northeast corner, one level down from the top of the Constitution Square Building, Tower 2 (as confirmed by Brenda Sharpe).

3:50 pm - It appears to be Connor perched on the northeast corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel Building, facing inward. Since it is overcast and somewhat dark outside, I am assuming that it is Connor. I guess he is taking a break from the routine of his fatherly duties. I spoke too soon, he has just flown to the northwest corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel to relieve Horizon who has just taken flight and flown to her favourite spot, atop the northeast corner of the Constitution Square Building, Tower 1. I guess it is her down time to enjoy the view. 3:58 pm - As I am closing this email, Horizon is still perched atop the northwest corner of the Constitution Square Building, Tower 1.

Thursday May 3, 2001
Arlene Williams reports: 6:24 am - It appears to be Connor tending to the nest at the moment and Horizon is sitting atop the northeast corner of the larger of the Constitution Square buildings taking in the view of the city.

9:56 am - I spoke too soon yesterday with regard to those two (2) brazen pigeons. They have returned and are now located on the northwest corner, teasing and taunting either Horizon or Connor whom is covering the nest. The pigeons are moving and dancing right in front of the nest and I cannot believe how they continue to get away with their antics, since there is always one peregrine on the loose. One peregrine has just flown by my office and I could not distinguish which one it was but it is headed northeast towards Bank Street.

Wednesday May 2, 2001
Arlene Williams reports: 10:43 am - Connor is taking a break from the routine and is perched on the northeast corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel and he is facing inward but with quite the view to the west, inclusive of the Ottawa River and the Gatineau Hills. Horizon is steadfastly taking care of her eggs and is facing inward to the Crowne Plaza Hotel on the northwest corner of the building. Pigeons are flying to and fro, but Connor seems uninterested at the moment and I am assuming that those two brazen pigeons which were previously nesting on the northeast corner of the Hotel building may have been a meal or snack, of late, since I have not seen either of them for days now.

6:10 pm - Connor has just flown onto the northwest corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel and then Horizon took off immediately. Needless to say that I picked up the binoculars quickly to see if I could see how many eggs were left unattended momentarily. Because of the sun setting, I could only see one (1) egg and the others were quited shaded and I could not determine how many other eggs are in the nest. I had confirmed last week that I had seen two (2) definitely but again, I could only distinguish one today because of the setting sun. Don't worry, Connor within seconds, hopped over to the nest and then covered the eggs. Horizon had flown off to the northwest corner of the Constitution Building and was there for a couple of minutes, then she put on quite the aerial display and then headed off in the direction of Tunney's Pasture.

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