Canadian Peregrine Foundation -- Ottawa Archives: Jan to May 1999

The Canadian Peregrine Foundation

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January - May 1999

Tuesday March 23, 1999
Marcel Gahbauer reports: This morning Eve Ticknor phoned us to say that the adult peregrines are back in Ottawa, and have been spotted near the nest. We are working to get all the computer equipment in place, and hope to have the live images from this site up shortly.

Thursday April 29, 1999
Carl Juneau reports: I am fortunate enough to be currently working directly across from the peregrine falcons' nesting site, on the 18th floor of Place de Ville Tower A. The falcons have been there since early March. This year, they seem to favour the northeast corner of the ledge.

My sight line is slightly below the ledge, and therefore I can't see if the birds are incubating. I estimate I am about one storey or so short. I do see them clearly when they perch on the ledge, and in point of fact, I have not seen them for the past week at either corner of the building (although I have been tending to other matters - like work, and meetings).

In my experience, when they are around, they are fairly active, and I see them swooping to and from the ledge. They also tend to feed away from their roosting site - on the south-west corner of the Radisson Hotel, just below the rotating restaurant. Again I'm a bit below the roof-top of the hotel, but my staff and I have seen them carry their prey there on occasion, and although we can't directly observe any feeding activity, we see feathers flying and such, as they pluck their catch.

Friday April 30, 1999
Marcel Gahbauer reports: The Ottawa peregrines have been keeping us in suspense this spring - watching through the camera, we have only been able to spot them on the ledge occasionally, and it is evident that they are not nesting in the same site as last year. Within the past few days, several people in Place de Ville (across the street from the Citadel Hotel) have e-mailed us (see the report below) to say that the peregrines appear to be nesting at the northeast corner of the Citadel ledge this year (as opposed to the northwest corner last year).

Yesterday, Robyn Carlson was able to confirm that there are three eggs in the nest - these were visible during a brief period early in the morning when both adults happened to be away from the nest. Given that the eggs were laid in late April last year, and this spring has been colder, chances are that the eggs have only been laid in recent days. This means it is possible there is still a fourth egg to come. We hope to have more frequent reports from this point on, now that we have identified where the peregrines are nesting.

Wednesday May 26, 1999
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Canadian Peregrine Foundation director Mark Nash is currently in Ottawa, trying to reposition the camera so that we can see this year's peregrine family. Some technical problems are still being addressed, but we hope to have the camera up and functioning by the end of the week - both on site at the Constitution Square, and on our Ottawa Webcam page - watch for more news soon!

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