Canadian Peregrine Foundation -- Ottawa Archives: May to Jun 2004

The Canadian Peregrine Foundation

OTTAWA HOME PAGE ARCHIVES

May - June 2004

Wednesday June 30, 2004
M. Arlene Williams reports: When I was coming into work I noticed, what appeared to be a juvenile peregrine located between pillars 3 and 4 on the south/northeast ledge area of the Crowne Plaza Hotel building.

10:44 am - I looked over from my 20th Floor, Tower C vantage point and noticed two peregrines and from all appearances they appear to be the chicklets. At first, it looked like there was only 1 on the northeast corner and a catch laying dead behind it, but that was a fleeting thought as that lifeless body moved and stood up and lo and behold there were 2 delightful creatures to behold. I am now very satisfied to see them frequenting the north side of the building as this is a better observation area for me to view and comment on their activities.

Eve Ticknor reports: Day 12. Well, an unbelievable quiet day! Our Senator seems still to prefer her nest ledge to flying, even with her sister. Zanar stayed with her for the morning but went flying this afternoon. She flew back to the ledge a few hours later and once again we watched the touching reunion!

Food was delivered just after 7am, to each, so a nap was in order after that! Another 1 or 2 meals were delivered some time later, but there was little of the calls that filled the air continuously as previously. Horizon caught a pigeon and plucked it on a lower ledge of the Constitution Square Tower 1, but left it there, perhaps as an incentive, or for later on. Interestingly for us, Connor ignored it, perhaps having dined shortly before this.

HE gave the watchers a show this afternoon. He was up on the antenna of Place de Ville Tower C. Suddenly he descended upon a gull who was flying through. The gull went one way and Connor the other, satisfied at having sent it on its way. Again up on the antenna, he saw a Great blue Heron soaring overhead, probably deciding to to to the Ottawa River or Dows Lake. At once he came down extremely fast (called a stoop). Once the heron realized that it was under attack, it unfolded its long neck, folded its wings and dove as rapidly as possible, a feat I had never seen in a heron before! Connor, once again appeared the hero in defending his territory.

Tomorrow will bring lots of objects in the sky that he will be able to do nothing about and that will make him very agitated all day, as he knows he can do nothing about any of them.......

Let's hope that our Senator will decide to make her next flight on Canada Day - auspicious?

Tuesday June 29, 2004
Linda Woods reports: Day 11. Daybreak found the 2 chicklets together on the nest ledge of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Breakfast was delivered by 5:45am, Zanar eating first and her sister, Senator, eating next. Both youngsters rested afterwards.

Again Senator spent the day on her ledge while her sister flew around at times, obviously enjoying the freedom her wings give her. Once she was on the Constitution Square Tower 2 roof with her parents on 2 nearby roofs. All 3 called out to Senator to join them, but she stayed put, not quite ready to try flying again.

Zanar flew around near the hotel, missing a landing by very little, self correcting right away. She then flew to the southwest corner from the southeast and made a perfect landing right on the ledge corner. What a beautiful sight for the Watchers! We are enjoying seeing her each time she flies.

The parents have been more attentive in general this year, though not heeding Senator's continual "poor little me" calls. They have stayed close at hand, ready to deal with anything they perceive as a threat. That is why Connor gets very agitated when he cannot control things such as the Snowbirds who flew past in formation, turned around and did it again! Just wait for July 1ST......

Again there were window washers, this time one of whom waved his hat and shouted to the peregrines amidst much protest from Horizon and Connor. At least there are no more physical attacks at present!

Food drops were made again at 3:30pm and 7:30pm, always Zanar getting to eat first while Senator has to wait her turn, often a noisy wait. The last time we watched, Connor came to take the food away but got an unwelcome reception from both. He moved along the ledge about 4 columns, then ran down, barreled past his offspring and flew away with the kill to eat it himself on Tower 2! In spite of being full, they were quite displeased!

I have been amazed at the closeness of both siblings this year. Although we have had siblings in past years, never have they been so close that the need of one for the other has been noticed. Zanar flew into the ledge today to join her sister and it was a touching reunion. They instantly moved together, softly chattering and touching beaks, then snuggling down for a rest, one laying down while the other preened and napped in a more upright position. While awake they will be separated by a foot or 2, but always seeing to move closer if the distance gets more. The only greater distance is while one of the other eats, or Zanar goes off flying and landing on other buildings for a while.

We had a downpour this afternoon, soaking almost all our stuff. Waiting inside for it to be over, we watched the monitor. 2 little heads were together watching the rain. When it was over and we were once again outside, we saw Horizon fly from the northeast corner of the ledge to Tower A. Looking at her through the scope, she was very wet, her head feathers standing up, giving her the appearance of an osprey!

Hopefully tomorrow will be the day Senator will follow her sister into the sky for some fun. Maybe we will finally get to see both chicklets flying around together. Once they do, we should start to see playing begin in the sky. I can hardly wait for that lovely sight........

One correction in the last day's summary: It should have read Queen Elizabeth Apartments, not Building. We apologize for the error! They are being most careful not to let anyone on the roof while our falcons are sometimes making use of it and we appreciate their concern!

Tuesday June 29, 2004
M. Arlene Williams reports: 11:43 am - It appears to be a juvenile peregrine quite comfortably perched on the top of Tower 1 of the Constitution Square Buildings and he/she is overlooking the activities of the nest area, which is located on the southeast corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel building ledge area. No sign of any other of the family members. I am most positive that there will be some form of activity later on today or tomorrow, as I have just noticed a singular window washer's unit dangling from the northwest corner of the Tower 2 of the Constitution Square building, which should provide onlookers with quite an aerial display my momma - Horizon and maybe poppa - Connor or both. More to come I am sure.

Monday June 28, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: Day 10. This was a much quieter day for our falcons and watchers.

Around 6am Zanar flew in from the west (probably the Queen Elizabeth Apartments) and landed on the roof of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. She had her breakfast close to that time.

Her sister, Senator, was still on the nest ledge. It was a bit longer until she also had breakfast. She elected to stay at her familiar home for the day, although several times we thought she was about to take off again. This is normal for some fledglings. They will do a bit of flying, get rescued and not try to fly again for a day or 2. We hope to see her in the air tomorrow....

Zanar is our star flyer. She has shown us great skills in the air. She can fly up, down, around buildings, between towers, and super landings. On Occasion when she misjudges a landing, she will fly off and try gain. Her recovery skills are just what we want to see in a young flyer. The best one today was to see her fly into her nest ledge from Tower A, not an easy task for a beginner. She looked as if she had been doing this for all her life! Her 2nd attempt later on was aborted and retried after she missed by a few inches.

Her sister was very glad to see her and in seconds they were shoulder to shoulder. Shortly after, Senator was lying prone on the ledge while Zanar roosted and preened as if she was taking care of her sister! They remained close together for most of the rest of the day. Although we have had siblings in the past, none have exhibited such closeness.

We had an emergency rescue this afternoon. Someone called out that 1 of our falcons had crashed into a window and died! Having just seen Connor in a stoop, I had the fear that he might have been the falcon, but it was a female Merlin who was trying to escape Connor! I took her to the Wild Bird Care Centre where they are now caring for her. She had started to recover by the time I arrived there.

Food was again brought to Zanar who was on top of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. She took a few flights during the afternoon, but not as long. They saw small yellow balloons and a hot air balloon float by, without much reaction.

As our Watch ended for the night, both little peregrines were on the ledge, together. Senator was again lying down while Zanar was upright. At times it seems as though she was the older chicklet instead of her sister.

As night approached, the tv monitor seemed to get brighter and I think anyone walking by could see in the ledge much better. The angle of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation camera has been changed to let us see further down the ledge, thanks to Luc Payette of the Constitution Square. Morning comes early.......

Sunday June 27, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: Day 9. Another busy day for the falcons and the watchers......

When we arrived this morning, before 6am, we had a falcon chicklet on the Minto, the one who spent the night on the Queen Elizabeth Apartments. She then flew to the top of the Crowne Plaza Hotel where she stayed for quite a while.

Around 7am, the other chicklet suddenly flew from the ledge! She went for the top of Tower A but misjudged the height and started to timble down the side, all of us running as if we could stop her. Horizon was right there and showed her how to fly out of a fall. The chicklet ended up on the Podium Building, a shorter height. We lost sight of her after a while so I went up into the Marriott and, thanks to the manager and Alberto, I entered a room on the 6th floor. I could see her out the window and saw she was restless, but safe. Finally I saw her band #! We had Senator on the Podium which meant that Zanar was our "high flyer" of the previous day!

John Ayers phoned to let us know that Zanar had moved onto the Delta, which no one had noticed! We split up so a group watched her while the other group watched the Podium Building hoping for a sight of Senator. Having lost sight of either just before this, I had gone into the penthouse of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. I had confirmed Senator's presence but couldn't see Zanar, so knowing where she had moved to helped!

We couldn't see Senator, but her parents could and they tried enticing her up off the roof with a fat pigeon, flying over and over her head, but that didn't work. A few minutes later Horizon zipped down Queen St, chasing a gull; back and forth they went, getting lower and lower and it seemed that Horizon wanted to drive the gull into traffic! Finally it left!

Again, while our attention was on Zanar, and the gull, we didn't realize that Senator had also moved, up to the Justice Building on Sparks St! The lives of Falcon Watchers isn't easy.....

I had a call that window washers over there had seen our little chicklet up on the roof there and she couldn't get out, so over we went. Thanks to James Norminton, we went up to the roof with Frank Drake, a Commissionaire there, to find Senator. You wouldn't believe the narrow space she was in. There was a high railing and the space was maybe 2 feet wide, not enough for a falcon to spread her wings to get out. With James on one side and myself on the other and Frank behind us, I nabbed Senator, just after she attacked James' shoe and carried her down to the street, up Sparks, and into the hotel, protesting all the way. Steve McAuley of the Crowne Plaza Hotel took us up tot he crawl space, opened the little door and I placed her out on her nest ledge. We left right away, and there she stayed for the night.

Zanar continued to move around, ending up on Tower C where we also left her for the night. Although it took a while, eventually both chicklets were fed.

We saw some amazing flying today, and I'm sure we will again tomorrow. Zanar will surely show us more of her new found delight and her sister, Senator, will try her wings out as well.

Saturday June 26, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: Day 8! What a day to remember! Our first chicklet flew around 11:30 and has been flying off and on all day.....

We started out rather cold although pleased to see the blue sky and sunshine. This has been the coldest Falcon Watch in our 8 years!

Food was brought in at 9:20 and another at 9:50 so each chicklet had breakfast. Suddenly the shout went out "There she goes" and we were off, running down the street, around the corner, down another street, into a parking lot, across, but wait, Horizon was on the corner of the north Jean Edmonds Towers, so her daughter must be visible to her. Where? Then, thanks to the sharp eyes of Nicolas and Calvin Conroy (with mother Lynne Mathé), there she was, on the other tower! She sat there for nearly 2 hours and then was off again, in the rain and wind. She flew west along Laurier, and then we lost her..... Eventually she was seen on a brick building just east of the Carlisle building. Again a 2 hour wait, then off again, with a clearer sky now. She then flew to another apartment building, off to the Queen Elizabeth Apartments, back towards the Minto, around and around the towers, over to the Carlisle, back to the Queen Elizabeth..... At this point I was losing track of where she went as I had to hear this over the radio, being on Albert St watching the sister who was still on the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

The 2nd chicklet stayed home, although there were several times we thought she would take off to join her sister. She had a few more food drops, but must have had a confusing day as the sister with whom she shared nearly everything, had abandoned her and her parents were behaving differently with her as they were concentrating on the safety and whereabouts of her sister. I saw a time when Connor flew in and stole her dinner and ate it in front of her. You should have heard the angry noise coming from her, to no avail!

I called in extra volunteers and they came. There are always some I can count on, even to the extent of giving up dinner to help us!

And, so, I left just after 9pm with one chicklet sleeping on the ledge of the Crowne Plaza Hotel and the other going to sleep on the top of the Queen Elizabeth Apartments. Each had a parent nearby for the night.

Where will Senator and Zanar be when we arrive tomorrow? Will the one be so tired from flying that she will stay put for a day or so? Will her sister take her first flight, too?

Friday June 25, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: Day 7. Somehow we thought summer would be a bit warmer than it has been so far....... A good part of today had cold winds, "bone-chilling" according to one of our volunteers!

Senator and Zanar have been doing much more exercise than yesterday. There has been much wing-flapping and traveling along the ledge as their wings are flapping, sometimes lifting an inch or so off the ledge surface. This usually causes the watchers to stop breathing!

We are now each carrying a pair of gloves, a radio and our binoculars, ready to run should one of the chicklets leave the ledge! They are both at the stage of readiness that flight is imminent and we do not know if we will have any prior notice of flight or not. In the past, some have exercised just before leaving, some none at all, so what will this year's birds do?

They had a pigeon at 9:40am. One grabbed it and fed ravenously while her sister waited. A few minutes later she ran over and grabbed it for her turn. There was another food drop just after 2:30 and again at 8:15. The last one was small and fed only 1 who afterwards went to sleep while her sister stayed awake, certain that her father would arrive with more for her. However that was not to be.

Horizon was gone for greater amounts of time today. We had no idea where she went, but Connor seemed to be on guard most of the day. He buzzed the men on top of Constitution Square's Tower 1 while they were installing the huge flag on the west side of the building. If Horizon had been there, she would have probably attacked them. They were lucky this time! He ignored the Great Blue Herons who flew overhead (3 at different times). Last year he went after them. He ignored some window washers who would also have been targets of his mate, had she been there. Usually we could find him on Tower B of Place de Ville or high on top of the antenna on Tower C!

I again, was privileged to go up to the 22nd floor of Tower A to watch the chicklets from the Board Room, along with 2 of our volunteers. As hard as we tried, we can see no difference between our 2 "girls". They are like the Bobsey Twins of my childhood, sitting together, traveling together, sleeping together. The only thing they don't share is food! A wise choice for a peregrine-in-training!

We had a special visitor this evening, Mike Street of the Hamilton Falcon Watch! He told of his 4 chicks who just recently all fledged! Just as well we don't have as many to take care of.

Tomorrow should bring much tension as we prepare for our own to fledge. Will they already be gone as we arrive? Come down to find out!

Thursday June 24, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: Day 6: Every day being different, today's rainy periods didn't seem to affect activity as in the past. Senator and Zanar are getting more courageous and active along the outer ledge, all the way to the northeastern corner and back. We have seen much more vigorous wing-flapping today, just what we want to see! There was one heart-stopping moment when both were at the southeastern corner, flapping at the same time. It brought to mind the same from 1999 when one brother accidentally knocked his brother off the ledge (he wasn't hurt). However our chicklets were fine.

They have taken to walking along the ledge at times, especially when a parent arrives and they are rushing to see if there is food again, in vain..... There was a food drop before 6am. After that it seemed that they could only pick over leftovers. This evening, around 5pm, Horizon brought in a pigeon, not quite dead! As she attempted to give it the final "coup", we saw it drop! It was dead. There were no more attempts to bring food tonight.

Earlier both adults were suddenly in the air around Tower 1, giving their warning calls and flying back and forth. I thought there was a person on the roof, but no, it turned out that a Common Loon was flying towards the Ottawa River, right over the building! I had never seen one in that area before. A bit later a Double-crested Cormorant flew overhead and that irritated them as well.

This evening both chicklets were together near the middle of the ledge. They lay down on the surface, as young falcons will do, one head by a tail, and the other head by the other tail, so we saw the head of one and the tail of the other sticking out a bit over the edge!

I was privileged to go up to the 22nd floor of Tower A for a look right across to the ledge. It was great to see our "girls" sitting, looking out, and right across from me. They look very healthy. Let's hope they stay that way.

I would say that there is the possibility now for one of them to try flying in the next few days. We will be more vigilant in our watching, ready to run if we need to......

Wednesday June 23, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: Day 5: In spite of their speed and agility, falcons do not always catch what they go after and meals may be sparse from time to time. Yesterday seemed to be one of those, a hard lesson for a young falcon to learn.

Today was the opposite. There were several food-drops made during the day. The amounts weren't huge and at times either Senator or Zanar were seen on the monitor, eating alone while her sister was waiting for her turn. In the end, both were fed quite a bit, never to their satisfaction, though!

I was delighted to see much more activity from both chicklets. Wings were flapping repeatedly and lots of hopping and running were observed. Watchers noticed that while the wing-flapping was going on, the "girls" were lifting off the ground an inch or so. This is normal and safe enough where they were, inside. Eventually they do the exercising on the pouter ledge and we often seem to spot breathing, thinking they might slip and fall. That actually doesn't happen very often here.

The evening was beautiful and we enjoyed seeing the adult birds silhouetted by the sun from the west. The light bounced off the Constitution Square Tower 1 and right into the nest ledge! Our view on the monitor was better than during the day!

We did have a scare, and a laugh afterwards. We were watching the chicklets peeping over the edge, but not too near the edge when all at once we saw a flash of wings from that very spot and whomever flew off the ledge went to the southwest corner of the hotel. A quick look with our binoculars showed us it was Horizon making off with a leftover from her offspring! Close call! Although it is too early for them to fly, Ottawa's chicklets have left the ledge early in the past.

Tuesday June 22, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: DAY 4: What a wet one! It alternated between overcast and rainy. This affected the falcons who spent the morning sitting around doing not much of anything, with the exception of 2 hungry chicklets who called for food incessantly....

I arrived on the scene around 3:20 pm to watch a food fight on the monitor! One chicklet had found part of a carcass and was determined to keep it. She started to pick at it when her sister came over to steal it. The first one kept it in her talon and hopped/flapped her way along the ledge with her sister flapping madly behind her! Eventually the pursuer gave up and watched for a while, ending up on the upper ledge to look for her parents. After a bit, she came back down and ran over to her sister and grabbed the morsel with her beak. She then flapped her way over to a corner and picked it herself while the other one took a turn on the upper ledge......

Food was delivered at a couple of times, small parcels at a time. This often indicates that the chicklets are no longer getting totally fed but must now pick the meat off independently of a parent. Fighting is part of their learning in order to survive later on. Sharing isn't an option for falcons or any other raptor!

During the late afternoon we had an opportunity to see both chicklets in the scope at the same time, sitting about a foot apart on the upper ledge, looking all around, very curious of what they were now seeing.

The adults, meanwhile, were spending some time again, flying around and around and all over the area, both showing their youngsters what flying is all about and just enjoying the winds themselves.

Tomorrow we should see more of the chicklets on the upper ledge, and more wing-flapping as well.

Monday June 21, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: DAY 3: The weather was much more to the liking of our watchers today. One of our chicklets is getting braver and her face was seen peeping over the ledge twice today.

Either Senator or Zanar was seen on the ledge around 6:15 this morning. From our vantage point we can see only her face as she is sitting at the back of a foot-wide short wall around the ledge, what we refer to as the upper ledge, since they start life inside that wall, on the main ledge. She was very curious and bobbed her head as she looked all around her. She can now see other building tops but isn't yet close enough to the outer part to see below her. That will come in a few days.

A chicklet face was seen again this evening around 7pm. We are surmising that it may be the same one since the down on the head seems the same. With only a day's age between them, their plumage is so close it is hard to tell, and once the down is gone, we cannot tell unless we are close enough to see a leg band.

The wind has made the flagging we erected on the CD Howe Building at the corner of Kent and Queen Streets stand out very well and we are getting favourable comments from others who have seen it.

Our chicklets were brought food in the early morning and again mid afternoon. Other that that, they are encouraged to exercise their wings and feeding them less seems to be the way to do it!

Tomorrow should bring more sightings of our "girls" peeping at a new world!

Sunday June 20, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: Falcon Watch Day 2: We seem to be in a stall as far as wind goes - again rather windy today, but a bit warmer and clearer.

Our chicklets were fed a bit more today, but still not enough to their liking. The idea of "working" for their food doesn't go over too well and they have no trouble speaking up about it! However, we can see that they are doing their wing-flapping as requested. This morning we saw a little brown head peaking up on the ledge. She was very curious and her little head bobbed as she looked all around. She wasn't yet ready to venture all the way out on the ledge, but that will come all too soon. Her sister has stayed down, we think, since we cannot tell one from the other!

Again, Connor chased away a gull and we decided it may be the same one who is baiting him. It seems to be the only one who makes noise as it passes through this area. All others flying by are quiet. It provides great entertainment to our watchers who are patiently waiting for more movements from Senator and Zanar.

Marian and I had on interesting "person of the streets" come by several times. He told us of the 2 Bald Eagles from BC who come when he whistles....... He often whistled at our peregrines who ignored him as they do all of us.

What new and interesting things will our watchers encounter tomorrow?

Saturday June 19, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: We have Day 1 under our collective belt and on to the next...... wow! Was it ever a cold wind whistling down Albert St today! Time for extra jackets and parkas.......

I think the wind excited our adult falcons as they were frequently flying around, both together and separately. Some of this was "incentive" flying, to get their chicklets to do more exercising, but some of it was for pure pleasure, at least from the viewpoint of the watchers. One would briefly touch down before it was off in another direction, then again and again. Beautiful! Of course this, coupled with only 1 major feeding in the morning, made for some lovely chicklet "choruses"!

Twice today our watchers saw Horizon and Connor go after a hapless gull, twisting and turning as it tried to evade its relentless pursuers. Eventually each one left after being hit at least once. A sparrow also won the evasion flight with Connor......

Senator and Zanar are quite brown now and walking upright and moving around very well, doing some flapping. We cannot yet do any roof duty, both due to high winds and to the vigilance of both parents who go after anything in the area at their level. Horizon has attacked window washers at the Minto and an outside worker at the Marriott. I don't envy those who will be putting up the giant flag on Constitution Square next week!

I will be posting daily updates to keep you informed as to the progress or the Watch this year. Stay tuned!

Monday June 14, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: I watched our girls on the tv monitor at Constitution Square this afternoon around 4pm. They are getting more adventurous, good for them but harder to see them for us....... They were up between the 3rd and 4th columns from the south end. I certainly hope we see lots more activity from them as the next week or 2 passes!

The flagging will be installed this Thursday as far as I know. I will go down there after work on Thursday to see how things are going. I spoke with Coco and Antonietta at 240 Sparks this afternoon and went over the roof plan for attaching the sections we worked on this weekend.

Sunday June 13, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: A group of us spent the entire day at 240 Sparks and the flagging is now ready to be installed! We started at 9am and ended just after 6pm........

Volunteers arrived in 2 shifts, some there for both. It went so much faster than in past years, which was heartening for those of us contemplating 2 - 3 days.

We greatly thank the folks at 240, Antoinetta Peccia for setting the permissions and physical aspects up for us, and all the Commissionaires at Security for their help and consideration all day. It made a world of difference to all of us!

The flagging should be installed in the middle of this week.

Friday June 11, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: Banding Day - Our chicklets are banded! What an event! Horizon and Connor knew something was going to happen and were ready all morning......

Several of us were gathering in the Pinnacle Room on the south side of the penthouse of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, admiring the view. The media people who showed up were near the east window, watching the adults perched on nearby rooftops. Suddenly the adults started flying around, and went straight for us at the windows. Their agility showed as they turned a the last minute away from the glass. It was quite a sight to suddenly see an adult peregrine rise up from nowhere to hover inches from us, to realize that only the glass was between us. Eventually I asked everyone to move back to ease the tension on the birds.

Tracy Simpson from the Canadian Peregrine Foundation was the decoy this year. She had done this elsewhere in the past, but wasn't prepared for our Horizon..... She no sooner got her head out the doorway on the ledge, with hard hat in hand than, WHAM, she was hit on the side of her head! From then on until she was brought back inside, she was on the defensive, with sustaining at least 30 physical hits from Horizon! Connor flew around and made lots of noise, but never made physical contact. We could hear and see much of this from above in the room.

The chicklets were brought inside in a black box, screaming as they came, well, at least 1 was doing the screaming.

Each in turn was brought out of the box, weighed, banded, had breast feathers removed for DNA, had blood tests done and were presented to all before being returned to their home.

We now have 2 feisty females! Zanar, named by Hillary Fisher of 240 Sparks, weighed in at 920 grams, a big girl of 25 days of age, while Senator, her sister, named by Michelle Samure of the Wild Bird Care Centre, weighed in also at 920 grams and is 26 days old.

There is a camera on the main floor of the Constitution Square, Tower 1, where many people watched the adults' activity today. I am trying to get it moved to face outside for weekends and evenings. So far, you have to go inside to see it.

We start our watch next Saturday, the 19th. Having females means that they usually don't try to fly as soon as males, so I anticipate flying the week after that, but being Ottawa chicklets...........?

Wednesday June 9, 2004
Mark Nash reports: Live Camera Image of the Ottawa falcons now available: We are very pleased to report, that thanks to The Constitution Square, Yvon Morin and the Oxford Property management team, that we have a live colour camera image being displayed in the lobby of the Constitution Square of the falcons on a very large colour TV monitor. With a HUGE thank you also going out to TD Friends of the Environment Foundation for the sponsorship of the colour camera that helped the CPF last year to replace the CPF camera that was destroyed by water damage during a storm a year earlier.

In addition to all the good news, Oxford has purchased a controller to help us out with the actual camera control, as the older camera software has failed us again, and control of the camera has been impossible by remote from the CPF office.

The banding of the Ottawa chicks will take place on Friday and we are very excited about fledging that is just around the corner.

M. Arlene Williams reports: 5:22 pm - Horizon just landed, without prey, on the small ledge area on the north side of the Crowne Plaza Hotel building and stayed momentarily. I guess she was hoping that her mate had dropped off a morsel of protein for tonight's dinner, but there is no such morsel to be had or seen in that vicinity. Obviously, she flew off for parts unknown, but with one thought in mind and that I can only assume is to find a bit of dinner. No sign of the chicklets nearing the northeast corner, as yet, but I am ever hopeful.

Tuesday June 8, 2004
M. Arlene Williams reports: 4:57 pm - Horizon is putting on quite the aerial display and I can only assume that is for the benefit of her chicklets. Even though they are out my daily view this year, being on the southeast corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel building, I am most positive that she is beginning the training related to their first flight off the ledge area. Both parents had left the nest area earlier this afternoon and one (Connor) was perched on the northeast corner of the Crowne Plaza building and the other (Horizon) was perched on the northwest corner. Both ultimately flew off and Horizon flew to her favourite perch area, which is on the Constitution Square building. No sighting of the chicklets on the northside of the Crowne Plaza building as yet, but hopefully within the next couple of weeks, I will see a bobbing head or two.

Thursday June 3, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: A beautiful day, though a bit windy. I went up on the roof to have a look at our chicklets and saw that they are getting mobile now. Both were against the wall away from the nest scrape. They have certainly doubled in size and I could see the start of a few brown pinfeathers. Connor was on the south end of that ledge, keeping watch. He wasn't yet ready to challenge my presence but I didn't overstay my welcome.

I met up with Yvon Morin, the Operations Manager of the Constitution Square, and he brought me up to date with the camera situation. He has bought the control program and has installed it. The camera works, the computer works! Next week he will put a large monitor in the window of Choices, on Lyon St, as they are moving out at the end of this week. It will then be visible for anyone passing by. He is now waiting word as to the status of the internet hookup........

If tomorrow isn't so windy, I'll likely go up again for a better look. Hopefully banding will take place next week as the chicklets are getting bigger rapidly.

Saturday May 29, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: Hi folks! Our little chicklets are growing and are twice as big as when I first saw them. When Phil and I went on the roof today around noon, both were sleeping while Connor was perched on the ledge right near them keeping watch. Just before we went up, Horizon had been on the corner and flew off, towards the river. On the sidewalk in front of 360 Albert was the carcass of a Green-winged Teal, just the wings attached to the spine and legs.

As we sat in my car after, talking, I was suddenly aware of a mobbing taking place southeast of the hotel. There was Horizon among 8 crows! It was fascinating to watch her being bombarded by these black marauders and, at the same time, rousting them, one at a time, until all were gone. She then returned to the hotel and sat on her corner, probably proud at having vanquished the enemy!

Monday May 17, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: We now have 2 lovely chicklets! The other 2 eggs have vanished, probably destroyed by the parents. This afternoon Horizon was exhibiting great care with her chicklets, in spite of being very tired. They moved from time to time and she had to rearrange them and herself again and again. She then proceeded to leave them briefly and spent time housekeeping, moving bits of debris and gravel, before once again covering them. Phil was on the roof, too, and Connor came overhead to check up on us. As I have been there nearly daily, I think it was the presence of another person that had him briefly worried. He then flew away.

Sunday May 16, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: Horizon and Connor are pleased to announce the arrival of their first chicklet today, May 16, 2004!! I saw it around 1:30pm. It is about the size of the egg it lived in until today. Shortly after I arrived on the roof, Connor brought a small portion of a unidentified bird for Horizon the feed it. I'll check on our family again tomorrow. Stay tuned.......

Tuesday May 11, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: Marie and I were up on the roof of the Constitution Square Tower 1 this afternoon around 4pm. So far, still brooding her 4 eggs. I expect the hatch to start somewhere around this weekend. Weather permitting, I will go up several times this week to check........

Tuesday May 4, 2004
Eve Ticknor reports: 4 BIG AND BROWN: I can finally confirm my guess about 4 eggs! I went up this afternoon around 3:15. Connor was on the nest while Horizon was on the southeast corner of Tower B. After about 20 minutes, she flew away and didn't return for about 40 minutes. During that time, Connor was his usual nervous self. He was mostly disturbed by the movements of the people working in the penthouse above him. He kept ducking and looking up. They were getting ready for a dinner in the south room.

He shifted position several times but didn't show more than parts of 3 eggs. Horizon returned after a while and sat, preening, on the southwest corner of Tower B for 20 minutes. Finally she flew over and Connor shot out of there and away! At that time, she stood by and "let" me see 4 eggs quite clearly! The wind was fierce up there and I had to sit on the roof, hugging my scope to be sure not to lose it!

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