Canadian Peregrine Foundation -- Ottawa Archives: June 2002

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June 2002

Friday June 28, 2002
Nathaleigh McKenna Rochon reports: (8:19 a.m.) On this breezy morning, an adult is perched directly on the SE corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. It is keeping watch towards the SW.

(2:56 p.m.) It is a glorious summer afternoon. A refreshing cool breeze gently stirs the tail feathers of our adult falcons. Both Horizon and Connor are perched on the Crowne Plaza Hotel. One falcon is perched to the left of the SE corner while the other is perched facing inward on the SW corner. Our adorable chick is being safely guarded by his/her protective parents. This peaceful setting will soon be made that much more exciting with the arrival of our adoptive chicks next Wednesday. Horizon and Connor will have their work cut out for them. What a surprise they'll have when their "3 chicks" are returned to the nest. I wish I could see their puzzled reaction.

Thursday June 27, 2002
Marcel Gahbauer reports: We have confirmation now that the two foster chicks will be joining the lone "native" chick next week at the banding event scheduled for the morning of Wednesday July 3. The Crowne Plaza Hotel has kindly agreed to host the banding for us, and everyone is welcome to attend this special event.

Nathaleigh McKenna Rochon reports: (2:57 p.m.) After a few sparks of lightning and rumbling thunder, the rain is finally here. I'm at street level and can see an adult perched in between the 1st and 2nd SE pillars of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. I notice that the falcon keeps turning its head towards the NE of the city as if searching for someone or something. I wish I could stay to find out how this brief observation unravels but I must get back to work.

Wednesday June 26, 2002
Nathaleigh McKenna Rochon reports: (8:15 a.m.) On this breezy Wednesday morning, an adult is perched near the 1st SE pillar of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. No sign of its mate at this time.

Tuesday June 25, 2002
Nathaleigh McKenna Rochon reports: (3:15 p.m.) It is a slightly muggy and breezy afternoon in Ottawa. Connor is perched near the 1st SE pillar of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. It is Connor's turn to watch over their adorable chick while guarding his territory from unwanted intruders.

Sunday June 23, 2002
Phil Maillard reports: 2:15pm Connor is perched on the north-east corner of the Crowne Plaza. He seems quite content there as he is preening himself. after a few minutes, he starts eating something slightly in from the corner. all seems quiet this afternoon.

Friday June 21, 2002
Marcel Gahbauer reports: I have both bad news and good news to share. The bad news is that despite our best intentions, we will likely be unable to provide video monitoring of the nest this year due to additional problems with the camera. However, I trust that today's good news will more than make up for that disappointment - we are delighted to announce that the lone Ottawa chick will be joined shortly by two foster siblings!

One week ago today, we learned that the five Downtown Toronto chicks had lost both their parents. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Canadian Peregrine Foundation cooperated to rescue the chicks and nurse them back to full strength. The chicks recovered quickly, and finding a new home for them became a pressing issue. The best site available, both for the birds and the volunteers involved, was the Richmond Hill hack box - and indeed, that is where the five youngsters were transferred on Wednesday night.

Here's where the Ottawa connection comes in. Prior to the Toronto chicks being orphaned, CPF had already committed to purchasing chicks for release in Richmond Hill this year. With the "Toronto Five" now occupying the hack box, there is no longer room for the other two yet to come ... but coming to us they are, all the same! Conveniently, they happen to be roughly the same age as the Ottawa chick - so our first thought was to negotiate with our partners to have these two chicks diverted to Ottawa for another foster attempt. Fortunately the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Town of Richmond Hill, and Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club all endorsed the idea.

As of yet we do not know when the foster chicks will arrive, but expect to learn additional details this weekend. We will keep you all posted about the news as we receive it, and look forward to a successful fostering such as we had in Ottawa in 1999 with Preston, Loft, and Jessie.

Thursday June 20, 2002
Marcel Gahbauer reports: 8:50 am - During a brief stop downtown this morning, I spotted Horizon standing guard at the southeast corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, no doubt keeping a watchful eye on both her chick nearby, and potential prey flying through her territory.

Tuesday June 18, 2002
Eve Ticknor reports: I was on the roof this afternoon. Most of the time, the chick was napping partially under Horizon. When Connor did arrive, and quickly gave us his cue to leave (!) he didn't have any food. He landed once or twice on the ledge, and once Horizon flew after him towards the north end of the ledge. At that time I had a clear view of the nest area.

There is 1 very healthy-looking chick and 1 unhatched egg, not being brooded any longer. The 3rd egg had disappeared and I think it probable that they ate it, a not uncommon occurrence.

Thursday June 13, 2002
Gabriela Lartigue reports: One of the peregrines was perched on the Southwest corner of the Crowne Plaza this morning, at about 11am. It was difficult to say who it was, but I'm sure he/she was enjoying the sun since it stayed for awhile.

Wednesday June 12, 2002
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Unfortunately I can't as yet confirm if a second chick has hatched yet, since Horizon was more interested in napping than getting up to show me the extent of her family! I can't say as I blame her. Connor arrived at one point, landed on Tower A and watched us. I had the men draw back into the shadows. However, having seen us, and seeing that his mate was sleeping rather than wanting to have him join her, he flew off! Then we left.

Monday June 10, 2002
Marcel Gahbauer reports: 4:10 pm - Eve Ticknor has just called to let me know that one chick has hatched! Horizon stood up for a moment to reveal that the other two eggs remain intact.

Nathaleigh McKenna Rochon reports: (4:35 p.m.) As I am crossing Kent/Slater Streets, I look up and observe an adult falcon perched on the NE corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. At this point in time, it is keeping watch towards Lebreton Flats and even from this distance, its striking profile commands attention.

Friday June 7, 2002
Marcel Gahbauer reports: No hatch yet, but it's still relatively early. Connor was on nest duty again this afternoon, according to Eve Ticknor.

Thursday June 6, 2002
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Today I spent ~4 hours watching for the peregrines from street level (9:45-11:30 am, and 3:45-5:45 pm), and I didn't see either Horizon or Connor even once! Meanwhile, Eve Ticknor and Phil Maillard had a peek at the nest site from Constitution Square around 2:30, and were able to confirm that Connor was present incubating the eggs. It's therefore possible I missed the shift changes, and that Horizon was settled in for long periods of incubation during both of my visits, while Connor was off somewhere hunting (or resting). With incubation first noted on May 5, we can expect a first hatch some time between tomorrow (June 7, 33 days) and Sunday (June 9, 35 days).

Wednesday June 5, 2002
Nathaleigh McKenna Rochon reports: (8:00 a.m.) A solitary peregrine falcon is perched on the NE corner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel on this dreary looking day. Since the forecast calls for rain, the adult incubating the eggs will luckily avoid getting soaked until it's time to switch shifts.

Monday June 3, 2002
Eve Ticknor reports: Horizon was brooding when we arrived on the roof of Constitution Square around 9:30, and stayed so for the 2 hours we watched. She shifted position twice while we were there, at least while we watched. We did get to see some Crows chasing off an adult Golden Eagle!!! It flew pretty close to the hotel, giving us a chance to see some underwing which helped with the identification.

Back to Horizon, she watched us, but eventually closed her eyes for a nap. Brooding can be boring...... She moved her eggs a bit during 1 shift of her position, but never raised completely off the eggs for us to get a good look. She did look downwards a couple of times, but whether or not it was due to sounds within an egg, or just looking around her was impossible to tell. I'm quite sure no eggs have hatched as of yet, at least while we were there. No sign of Connor who was probably off hunting.

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