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Ottawa
Supporters
Ottawa Crowne
Plaza Hotel
Constitution Square
Storm Internet
Services
TD Friends of
the Environment
Foundation
Oxford Properties
Wild Bird
Care Centre
Ottawa Field-
Naturalists’ Club
Lynwood
Animal Hospital
Ottawa
Stewardship Council
Leeds County
Stewardship Council
Contact information:
Mailing address:
Canadian Peregrine Foundation
Ottawa Chapter
P.O. Box 20494
Ottawa ON K1N 1A3
ottawa@peregrine-foundation.ca
phone: (613) 789-2131
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Falcon Watch Centre 2001:
The Ottawa Falcon Watch Centre operated this year from late April
until the beginning of August, again in Constitution Square thanks to
the continued support of building management. Unfortunately, technical
difficulties kept us from presenting a live video signal from the nest
ledge this year, but we received a steady stream of visitors
nonetheless. Highlights of the season included the arrival of foster
chick Bailey on June 5, and the banding of Bailey and Quest on June 15,
both of which attracted crowds that filled the Centre to capacity. Later
in the season, Odo the barn owl (see page 16) made daily
appearances at the Centre, quickly attracting lots of new fans.
Another foster peregrine for Ottawa:
After seeing only one of this year’s three eggs hatch
successfully, the Ottawa Chapter began developing plans to foster
another chick into the nest to benefit from Horizon and Connor’s
parenting skills. Considering the success of the three foster chicks
introduced at this site in 1999, there was no doubt that the adults
would rise to the task. The other half of the challenge was raising the
money to purchase a chick from a breeder for release. The TD Friends of
the Environment Foundation stepped forward to finance the project, and
named the young peregrine Bailey. A public event was held in the Falcon
Watch Centre to introduce Bailey to the community before placing him in
the nest, where he was quickly integrated into the family. All were
saddened by Bailey’s unexpected death on June 24.
Working for peregrine safety:
As described in this issue’s feature article (page 8),
glass-windowed buildings pose a serious threat to young peregrines
learning to fly. In Ottawa, the 12-storey building at 240 Sparks has
been a particular problem, with three fledglings dying from collisions
with it over the past four years. In 1999 and 2000, streamers were hung
over the windows during the fledging season to act as a visual
distraction, but they were neither prominent enough nor covering a
sufficiently large part of the building to ensure that the threat posed
by the building was eliminated.
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Ryan Robson and Leslie
Hunt of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources sort
out one of the panels of banners on the roof of 240
Sparks street. Each panel consisted of three to four
vertical banners of triangular flags connected with
horizontal segments of Canada flags. (Photo by Marcel
Gahbauer)
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This spring, representatives from the Canadian
Peregrine Foundation, Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club, and
Ministry of Natural Resources met with the management and
maintenance staff at 240 Sparks to discuss options for this
year. An ambitious plan was agreed upon to decorate the entire
west and south faces of the building with a network of
conspicuous interconnected streamers. Volunteers gathered in a
school gymnasium in Kemptville on June 10 to assemble fifteen
multi-sectioned panels for use at the site, composed of sections
of rope and banners totaling more than 4 kilometres in length. |
Following the banding of the chicks on June 15, a team of volunteers
began the installation of the banners. Work was slow at first, hampered
both by the 33°C heat and by the challenges of coordinating efforts on
the roof and on the ground with limited communication between the two
levels. After four hours we called it a day and returned the next
morning. Seven hours later we finally had the entire structure in place,
and just in time, as a heavy thunderstorm swept in while we were packing
up our gear on the roof. Overhearing conversations on the street the
next day, we were pleased to discover many people complimenting the
"Canada Day" decorations on the building. More importantly,
staff at 240 Sparks agreed that the final product looked good.
Sadly, with the death of both of this year’s fledglings before they
even had a chance to come near 240 Sparks, we were unable to prove the
effectiveness of our decorations. However, we are confident that they
would have helped, and having set a precedent this year, we hope that
installing the same array again next June will meet with the approval of
building staff.
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International Plowing Match
September 18-22, 2001
This September the Canadian Peregrine Foundation
will be participating in the International Plowing Match for the
third time, with a full display including live birds from our
Education Team. This year’s event is taking place in Navan,
Ontario, just east of Ottawa. Nearly 600 exhibitors will be on
site, and more than 250,000 visitors are expected over the five
days of the event. The hours of operation are 8:30 am to 5:00 pm
each day. |
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