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Friday June 8, 2007
Armando Castro reports: All four fledge!
Wow! what a day Friday June 8, 2007 was.. lots of excitement, and it just
so happened that this year I was not on vacation, and therefore did not
miss any of it.
It all started at 8:00 am when I was getting my scope, binoculars and camera ready for the possibility of the chicks fledging. I looked up at the nestsite and all I saw was one of the chicks flapping, flapping all the way to the edge and basically he just kind of somersaulted off the edge. He dropped a bit before gaining his composure . His first flight was successful, and lasted about 100 yards. He landed well, and high up. This was Chase.
Later on at about 9:55 am and I was already set up I managed to film one fledging (see video Chase sits on beam while Arrow fledges) , and it turned out to be Arrow. While I was filming him I saw out of the corner of my eye another one which was not visible to the camera, and he fledged to my right and landed on the rooftop of silo 3 this would turn out to be Nero. His flight was short, about 50 yards. All that was left now was Millie. It would take till 12:20 pm before she fledged. She apparently decided to be more careful and her flight was also short, but it was very graceful. By now the wind was starting to blow quite strongly due to the incoming storm and she just jumped off the ledge and instantly caught the wind and just started kind of soaring and circling for a few seconds and landed on the roof of the building (Packhouse) directly to the east of the nestsite. She jumped back and forth from the nest to the building and vise versa a few times during the course of the day.
It all seemed to be over and done until a little bit later in the afternoon when one of my co-workers Rick Dalton rushed over to me and told me that one of the chicks was on the ground and almost got run-over. So I asked him for his shirt since he had two and I only had one, and gave him the camera and set out to rescue the little guy. It turned out to be Chase. Strangely enough... earlier in the day while I was scoping him sitting on the beam that he flew to, he fixed his stare directly into the scope for quite a few seconds, and later, that is where he ended up, on the ground right where the scope was set up. So I managed to get him with the shirt (see video called "Chase's Rescue) took him into the scalehouse where it was cooler, gave him some water from my cupped hand, showed him to our fine customer service ladies, and took him up to the top of the tallest silos. By now the wind was really strong, and there was a lot of turbulence around the buildings and silos. During all this pre storm high wind is when the other two males Arrow, and Nero decided to come back to the nestledge, probably they were hungry, but the turbulence would not let them reach the height of the nestledge and they just started running into the sides of the buildings, and try to literally climb the wall. Needless to say they ended up on the ground. We rescued them all, gave them a drink of water and took them to the rooftop. This time we did not take them all the way to the highest silos due to the extreme conditions up there. We took them to a lower roof (Packhouse) just to the east of the nestsite, and within sight of the ledge. Trough all of this Millie just stayed put on the nestledge.
After everybody was safely off the ground, the storm hit, and it was very strong. I am hoping the all ended up well with the chicks. It is now Monday morning as I write this, so I haven't had a chance to check things out. I will keep everyone updated as soon as I confirm that everybody (the chicks) are ok.
GOOD NEWS!!! its now 9:45am and everybody is accounted for.
(Webmaster's note:) A video clip has been added to the 2007 Mississauga - Clarkson Photo Gallery.
Tuesday May 29, 2007
Mark Nash reports: Banding day!!!
3 males, and 1 female.
A very good day indeed!!! Wow is everyone coordinated and working well today! I hate to say routine, as I’ve learned after more than ten years working with the peregrines that nothing is really ever routine! If you don’t learn anything each time, your not looking close enough or paying attention!! But I gotta say, everything went without a single hitch, and very well coordinated from finish to end!!!
With the meet and greet over by 10am, and with the usual wonderful hospitality of St. Lawrence staff and management, (extra coffee and donuts),, review of the procedures, with health and safety coordinators, we were off. Smiling faces, glowing with anticipation, and before you knew it, the hatchlings were in the bag as we say on their way down to the banding room.
Both Storm and his female mate were on hand to “greet the nest robbers”, and while I dare not tell you what they had to vocalize to John Millar and Mark Heaton about the entire incident, they wee no worse for ware when their hatchlings were returned to the nest ledge safe and sound. Both adults participated in the defense of their nest quite aggressively!
At the end of the ordeal, they were as always, (as far as they knew), victorious in “scaring away the bad guys”, successfully protecting their chicks.
As we had already seen at one of the earlier bandings, we have 3 males and 1 female hatchlings!! Appropriately named, Nero, Chase, and Arrow for the males, and Millie for the female.
The hatchlings were weighed, banded and named in record time. These young birds are all eating very well given their weights as recorded at the banding table!!!!! The birds were also given some coloured tape that was applied to their Silver USFW bands that will allow the watch team to easily identify them during their maiden flights.
Nero has red coloured tape, - weighed in at 722 grams – a large male!!
Millie has Green coloured tape, - weighed in at 1023 grams – a very large female indeed!!!
Chase has white coloured tape, - weighed in at 748 grams – a huge male!!
Arrow has yellow coloured tape – weighed in at 717 grams, - a very good sized male!!
With the return of the banded chicks with out incident, I must say that the event ended toooooo quickly. But a very happy ending, and some very healthy, good looking chicks indeed!!
Look to the St. Lawrence photo gallery for some great photos of the banding, with the rock climber John Millar in action several hundred feet up as he lowers himself by rope to the nest ledge to meet the hatchlings (and the adult peregrines) face to face!!!
Thursday May 24, 2007
Mark Nash reports: After some debate as to the age of the new hatchlings from the photos supplied, (and a huge THANK YOU TO ARMANDO AND ROB FOR THE PICTURES that allowed us to properly age the hatchlings), and with a whole lot of support and cooperation from Barb Smith, the St. Lawrence Cement management team,, John Millar and the MNR, we were able to schedule and firm up a banding date for the peregrine hatchlings.
Looks like we can all meet again on the morning of Tuesday May 29th to do the banding before we have to be in Etobicoke in the afternoon for their banding.
A huge thank you to Armando, Rob Nixon, Barb Smith, and all of those that were involved in gathering the nest site logistics, and jumping through hoops to arrange a very short notice banding. A big thank you to John Millar who had even less time to re-arrange his schedule for a proposed May 29th banding.
For all those behind the scenes who spent many visits at the “top” in their efforts to gain the valuable information to get photos of the hatchlings that assisted us in properly aging the chicks that allowed us to schedule a banding, you are great!!!
Tuesday May 22, 2007
Armando Castro reports: Here are a couple of pictures of the chicks taken on (May 18, 2007 by Rob Nixon), as you can see by the date on the shots. One of them shows the wing quite well. Hope that gives you a better idea of their age.
I'll be in touch with any new developments.
(Webmaster's note:) Photos have been added to the 2007 Mississauga - Clarkson Photo Gallery.
Friday May 11, 2007
Armando Castro reports: We have four new hatchlings!
Here is a picture of this year's peregrine brood. Looks like we have four chicks this year. Date of hatching is not really known as they caught us off guard with this early date.
Note that the nest is in the same spot as last year (2006).
(Webmaster's note:) The 2007 Mississauga - Clarkson Photo Gallery has been created.
April 2007
Armando Castro reports: At least two eggs observed!!
Well, you might have guessed it, there are at least two eggs being incubated by our peregrines! It appears that full time incubation started in and around the end of April.
Likely more, but there not given up any secrets. Many thanks to the guys for all of your assistance in trying to gather some stats on what’s going on in the nest. It looks like we’re just going to have to keep a close eye on the birds for indications of a hatch.
April 2007
Armando Castro reports: In typical fashion, as soon as you turn your head, the birds have taken us by surprise! Welcome to working with wildlife. It appears the Storm and his unidentified mate has already set up house and currently down incubating egg(s)!!!
Now the pressure is on to watch them as closely as possible to see what’s happening.
March 2007
Armando Castro reports: With good news to report, both adult peregrines are very active around the plant, and we are hopeful that they will nest again this spring.
Thursday July 27, 2006
Armando Castro reports: Just a little note to announce that our chick (Goldie) has successfully fledged and is doing well. She apparently fledged without incident. We see her on a daily basis chasing her parents around, screaming to be fed. She appears to fly well and gains altitude easily. As soon as I'm able to take some pictures I will forward them.
Friday July 7, 2006
Armando Castro reports: Our new resident adult male has been identified!!
Patience has finally paid off. Today I got a perfect angle on our resident adult male’s bird's leg band, and there is no doubt about it the identification. After confirming with Mark Nash at the CPF, he was able to confirm our new resident male’s identity, and we have learned that he is a locally produced peregrine hatched at the Etobicoke nest site in 2004! His name is Storm, and it would appear by the archive observations and the photos on the CPF‘s Etobicoke nest site web pages that Storm caused everyone on the watch some tense moments indeed!!
Sadly, our resident female is not banded and her identity will likely remain a mystery. She is dawning her sub-adult plumage and while she and Storm have produced this year, she is not considered a full adult.
Wednesday June 14, 2006
Armando Castro reports: It looks like we have at least one chick this year so far. We have tried over and over to get confirmation on the status of the second egg but to no avail. The parents are constantly on the nest, and when they change shifts, it only takes a minute or so and then we can not see clearly what's under them. We have confirmed the one chick but that is all we can say at this time. (The chick was hatched on June 5th 2006).
Tuesday May 16, 2006
Peter Baker reports: After my 5th visit to Avonhead Road this year I finally saw both female and male birds.
At 3.00pm on Sunday May14th I sighted the female flying for approx 3-4 mins.She climbed very high and then dropped like a stone and disappeared behind a building.
A further 15-20 mins passed and the male appeared, flew briefly and then alighted on top of the furthest tall circular silo.It was very windy and I didn't get a great view as my scope was shaking badly,but I could see the slate grey back etc.The male was still there when I left after a further 30mins.
I'll visit again this week-end and keep you posted.
Tuesday May 2, 2006
Armando Castro reports: As of 9:15am today (May 2, 2006) we have (2 EGGS) in the nest. The timeline is as follows: Friday April 28 2:00pm no eggs in the nest. So the 2 eggs thus far have been laid between the 28 of April and the 2 of May. I amd attaching a picture, unfortunatly they changed shift 10 minutes after I was there, luckily Rob was up there to check on some equipment and observed the birdless nest and the 2 eggs.
Will keep you posted on future developments.
(Webmaster's note:)The 2006 Mississauga - Clarkson Photo Gallery has been created.
Tuesday April 18, 2006
Mark Nash reports: We have some interesting news indeed regarding St. Lawrence Cement nest site. Armando reports that he has been watching two peregrines at St. Lawrence Cement, but with not what he expected to see. Apparently, there is a new un-banded juvenile or sub adult female on site hanging around with a banded male. Eva, - (the territorial adult female) that has been nesting at St. Lawrence for the past three years is no longer being observed. Armando is endeavoring to identify the adult male in attendance. Stay tuned…
Saturday May 21, 2005
Peter Baker reports: I visited the Avonhead Rd site yesterday(Friday May 20th) and had no
luck.
However I visited at 5.00pm today(Saturday) and was in luck again.
A Peregine was perched on the silos again but in a slightly different
area.The bird was perched on a yellow handrail outside a door on the
rectangular structure atop the 4 silos.
The bird was very dark on the back but very light on the front and
although I can't be sure it did appear to be smaller than the Peregrine
I saw on Wednesday.
Wednesday May 18, 2005
Peter Baker reports:
Well, after about 8-10 site visits I finally got lucky.
It was 7.15pm this evening when I viewed St Lawrence Cement from
Avonhead and after scanning all of the buildings for about 10 mins I
sighted a Peregrine perched on one of the tall circular silos(there is a
bank of 4 silos with a rectangular structure on top).
This bird was atop the silo nearest to Avonhead.
After 5 mins the bird took flight and flew away in the opposite direction (towards the lake).
The bird appeared quite large and was very dark. As it was alone I just
could not determine the gender.
To say the least I was very excited and will continue to report any
further sightings.
Wednesday May 11, 2005
Armando Castro reports: In a nutshell, the nest has failed. As of Friday May 6, 2005 the eggs have
not been incubated at all. Though Eva and this new male have been hanging around the nestledge, nobody has gone to the eggs. Today, they did not bother coming to the nestledge at all. This afternoon two pigeons were occupying the ledge. I will go and check tomorrow to see if the eggs have been consumed by Eva or if they are still on the ledge. Will let you know. On the positive side... this male will, or should be a really good sire for next year's brood. He is large, territorial, and agressive.
Mark Nash reports: That's sad news indeed! BUT, it's still not tooooo late for Eve and the new male to copulate and her to re-clutch on a second set of eggs!!! Keep your eyes peeled for sure for a new scrape and other eggs!!!
Friday April 29, 2005
Armando Castro reports:
On Tuesday morning, after having read the sad news about Jackson, I
decided to investigate the area a little bit more thoroughly. Here are
some of the discoveries I came up with, along with help from some of my
co-workers. There has been a lot of activity in the area this spring.
Birds in the area of the nestbox, birds in the box, birds in the east
side of the plant where I work, birds everywhere it seemed. I found
Eva's nest on the second floor rooftop of the jumbo silos product
elevator, product transfer building.There are four eggs in the nest (see
photo). I figure that, based on last week's activity, incubation must
have started sometime in the weekend (April 23, 24). For the last few
days (April 27,28,29) there has been a lot of flight activity around
Eva's nestsite (jumbo silos this year) I have seen male/female combos,
and single bird flights. Single bird flights make it hard to identify
the gender of the bird, due to lack of another bird to establish size
comparison. There is one bird that sits in the midst of a great mystery.
I call this bird the dark male because this bird would be allowed to
perch on the ledge of the building where Eva sat on her eggs unmolested.
I figured only a male would be allowed to do this. This went on until
this morning (Friday April 29). My co-worker and I were watching this
dark male sitting on the ledge, when out of nowhere another bird started
stooping him, and the battle went into the sky. The birds were of the
same size it seems. Thus my conclusion that this was another male moving
in and trying to displace the dark male. The new bird scared off the
dark male, went up to the highest point of the building, stayed there
for a couple of minutes and then flew right down onto the nest ledge and
disappeared into the corner. I thought wow!! this is great, Eva and the
eggs have been adopted, thinking that she had slipped out to hunt and
this male was now incubating. However this afternoon, I saw Eva on the
ledge,(saw the band colours) she appeared agitated. I went up to the top
of the building where I can look down on the nest expecting to find the
new male sitting on the eggs and realized that there was no male there.
I came back down and all of a sudden the dark bird appeared, another
aerial fight ensued. The birds were of the same size. That is... Eva and
this bird are the same size. The dark bird, again was forced to leave
and Eva went up to the rooftop, spotted some food and in a couple of
seconds, stooped and came up with a small black bird in her talons. She
flew overtop of the building and out of sight. Obviously, to feed in
peace. About half an hour later, the dark bird came back, sat on the
ledge and just looked and looked at the nest. Eva was still away. I went
over to the scope which I had kept setup just in case, and through a
stroke of good luck, the dark bird exposed it's left leg for a long time
and I managed to read it's band number. Now that I have had a closer
look at it, I think it is a juvenile still molting. The face and top of
the head are black, with the back of the head changing to really dark
brown. The tail is heavily barred with light brown bars, and some of the
flight feathers are missing from each wing, or just growing in.
(Webmaster's note:) Photos have been added to the Photo Gallery.
Monday April 25, 2005
Mark Nash reports: Jackson found dead!!
A call received by the CPF head office today was from a lady named Tracy, who reported some very tragic news about a dead peregrine she observed on the roadway in Mississauga Ontario.
She said she was driving south on Winston Churchill Blvd, south of Eglinton, and saw what she believed was a dead peregrine in the middle of the road (150 meters south of Eglinton). The lady stated she does work for "Bird Studies Canada," but in what capacity was not stated. She did know her birds, though. Maya was called and asked if she could investigate. Maya was just about to head into class, but took the time to go and check it out. (Thank-you Maya)
Maya called me back with the sad report, that in fact it was one of our "known" peregrines.
The band number has been confirmed and identified as a two year old male peregrine named "Jackson," produced at the Hamilton Sheraton nest site in 2003.
Jackson has been very active and territorial at the St. Lawrence nest site, where, it would appear, he replaced "Nate" after his death several weeks ago. Stay tuned....................
Thursday April 21, 2005
the Mississauga News published an article about him in today's paper.
A print version of the article has been put online for easy viewing.
Late great Nate recalled.
Tuesday April 5, 2005
Mark Nash reports:
After some "real time" having been spent by Armando at the St.
Lawrence Cement plant nest site in Mississauga, Ontario, the new
territorial male has finally been identified, thanks to all of Armando's dedicated efforts.
Following the death of Nate less than a month ago (the past territorial male on site for the past five plus years ), a new male has finally been identified by confirmation of his band numbers.
This new St. Lawrence male was named "Jackson." He was produced at the Hamilton Sheraton Hotel nest site, hatched in 2003, and banded at approx. 29 days old on June 6th/2003. He weighed 653 grams at banding. Jackson was one of three young peregrines hatched, having one other smaller brother named Bold, and a very big 1002 gram sister named Hunter.
Tuesday March 29, 2005
Mark Nash reports: Combined with the terrible news of the dead male peregrine that was
found at the St. Lawrence cement plant yesterday, I am very saddened to
report that the band numbers on the dead peregrine's legs have proved to
be those of Nate's band numbers. This is truly sad news indeed.
As many of you might remember, Nate has a very long history well known to us all, which started out in back in 1999, in Alberta, Canada, where he was produced at a captive breeding facility, and sent to the CPF in late spring of 1999. At approx. 15 days old, he was to be part of our first urban hack releases in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. He was the last known survivor of four young peregrine falcons released from the Richmond Hill hack site that year.
Nate quickly made both national and global headlines, when he and his other siblings participated in 5 year satellite tracking project. Nate and three others in 1999 were outfitted as a first year hatch juvenile peregrine with a small battery powered back pack radio transmitter - http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/trackem.html and http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/programs/trackem/track1999.html
The rest, they say, is history. For the next three years, Nate was tracked by satellite via his pack pack transmitter from Ontario, Canada, to Columbia, South America, and back. He was trapped each year shortly after his return to Ontario and outfitted with a fresh battery powered transmitter.
Over the past five years, Nate and 40 plus other young peregrines were tracked and monitored on their migrations by millions of people from around the world on the CPF web site.
Despite the many odds, Nate did not only live to maturity, but found a mate, and settled down back in Ontario at the St. Lawrence Cement Plant in Mississauga, Ontario. There he was embraced by some incredibly wonderful people that have for the past 5 plus years watched, protected, and adored this feisty little peregrine and his families. Once again, the rest is history so they say.
While it may seem strange to many, I have often said that working with these birds over the past 8 years, has caused us all a little blood, much sweat, and many tears. This is one of those tear moments for any of us. While of course this is just another small moment in time, and in the grander themes of mother nature's plan - he will be missed.
Over the past three years, there have been constant battles over this territory by other peregrines, and it appears that a new victor has taken over.
On the brighter side of things, history repeats itself on the urban landscape in the daily lives of a peregrine territory. While the most recent observations were streaming in of peregrines in full courtship on territory at the St. Lawrence nest site, it appears that Nate has been replaced, as a new male has already taken up with Eva (the same territorial female that has been on site for at least three years).
The adult female, "Eva," has been identified again this year by her leg band numbers, but the new male remains still unidentified so far. From all reports, the new male is also banded, and it looks like the St. Lawrence guardians have their job cut out for them to help identify this new male.
Monday March 28, 2005
Armando Castro reports: The activity at the plant is picking up quite nicely, lots of mating activity, and territorial behaviour being displayed. There is no
activity at the nest-box as yet but then, it is probably still early for
that. Last week one of the guys told me that he thought he had seen
three peregrines in the air, but he could not swear to it. Eyes are not
so good past a certain age LOL. Today, one other guy came and get me to
identify a bird carcass that he had found. It was that of a male
peregrine. He had been cleanly decapitated and the flesh cleanly picked
from his little skeleton. I recorded the band information for you.
Will keep you posted as breeding developments happen at the plant.
Tuesday March 22, 2005
Debbie Smith was able to capture some great photos of Nate and Eva this past week. One shows that mating activity is already under way, and so eggs should be on their way soon! Take at look at the updated photo gallery.
Wednesday January 19, 2005
Barb Smith and Edgardo Fabian report:
Some great news today, despite the bitter cold tempetures. Our
peregrine family is still very much on site, and still very territorial
despite being off season. As you can see by the back ground in the
photo, there is still plenty of snow around.
A great photo shot of the adult female Eva was taken today while making
my rounds. As you can see by her expression, she was just as excited to
see me as I was to see her.
photo by Edgardo Fabian
Wednesday July 21, 2004
Armando Castro reports:
It is with great pleasure and excitement that I want to report that Avery, Portland,
Aldara and Dakota fledged successfully. It happened during my two week
absence from work due to family matters, but they did it just the same. On Monday of this week, July 19th I had the opportunity
of watching all four fledglings flying around first thing in the morning, screaming
their heads off. It was quite loud first thing in the morning. They eventually landed on the edge of the roof of the
Packhouse, on the Southside. They were feeding on something. I suspect that
Eva probably dropped some food off on the rooftop and that would explain the screaming. I watched them for awhile until I
could get a good enough view of their breasts to confirm that they were the juveniles,
but then all four of them just sat on the edge about two or three feet apart looking down at me while I watched them
with the binoculars. I could not believe my luck. I scanned the area and spotted Nate
sitting on the roof of the (Tower southeast corner) and Eva sitting way up on the steel beams of the main stack.
For about half an hour all six of them were in sight, it was really neat.
Thursday June 24, 2004
Mark Nash reports:
Banding Day!
A great day indeed!!
The day began with a huge turnout again, with our hosts at St. Lawrence Cement in fine order.
Excitement was in the air, (including the adult peregrines Nate and Eva). Running a little late (as usual), Mark Heaton, along with many helpers from the Aurora district MNR started up to the nest
box to capture up the chicks, while a small crew waited down at ground level with nets,
just in case we had any early departures. Much to our amazement, Nate and Eva
have produced four chicks this
year!!! As you may recall, Nate was part of the CPF satellite tracking project in 1999,
2000, 2001- 2002,
having been satellite tracked for three years, while traveling back and forth from Ontario to Columbia South
America. Nate was one of four birds hacked from the CPF hack release site in Richmond Hill Ontario in 1999 -See
details at: www.peregrine-foundation.ca/rhill/rharch9a.html
, www.peregrine-foundation.ca/rhill/rharch.html,
and www.peregrine-foundation.ca/tops/rhtop.html
I'm very pleased to say that the our new flip fold roof design on the nest box worked very well to close off the chicks inside the nest box, while keeping the adults outside. Enter through the back rear doors to get the chicks. Tried, tested and proven!!! Another CPF First!!
Banding of the four chicks was a challenge indeed! All who was in attendance commented on the attitude of the four chicks being similar to bear being disturbed during a beauty sleep. Nasty is putting it mildly!! Three females, and a male, with the females weighing in at 922 grams, 946 grams, and 899 grams (26 to 27 days old), and the male at 660 grams at 36 days old. Big, healthy, and all very feisty!!!
St. Lawrence staff submitted names for the chicks weeks in advance, and were drawn by the CPF staff just prior to the banding. Congratulations to Neil Vanderbroek, Patricia Crompton, Terry Baker, and Lisa Smith for the great names submitted for the peregrine chicks. The young peregrine chicks were officially named - Avery, Portland, Aldara for the females, and Dakota for the young male.
Our thanks go out to all the staff at St. Lawrence Cement who hosted the banding day, and for the great lunch that they provided to all that was in attendance. This peregrine family has some great foster parents!!!
After the banding, Barb Smith took both Marion and I, and Falon out to the new intersection of St. Lawrence Lane and Peregrine Way, for a quick photo shoot before our departure. I can't believe it, PEREGRINE WAY!!!! WAY COOL!!!!! CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS.
Wednesday June 16, 2004
Marion Nash reports:
The banding date has been confirmed for Thursday June 24th at 10:30 am.
We are very pleased to announce that Nate and Eva have at least three healthily white chicks, and we will be banding the birds Thursday June 24th at 10:30 am. The birds have finally utilized the great nest box that St. Lawrence Cement was kind enough to sponsor two years, and this will make the extraction (removal) of the peregrine chicks very very easy this year. We designed the nesting box so that a second roof panel can be folded down over the front entrance to prevent the chicks from "escaping" while they are being removed from the nest box for the banding. The outer roof, is hanged at the top front, and simply folds down over the front nest box entrance. Access to the nest box to remove the chicks is then done through the rear (back side) of the nest box - through the two small barn style access doors that were incorporated into the design when we manufactured the box.
The nest box is located on a roof elevation where there is an access door/hatch (from the inside of the building), and we simply go out to the roof elevation through the access hatch, walk along the roof to the nest box, fold down the top hinged nest box roof, and enter the rear back side of the nest box to remove the peregrine chicks. If all goes as planned, the adults (Nate and Eva), will never know that the chicks have been removed, (or that they are even missing) during the banding process. Stay tuned........
Friday June 4, 2004
Armando Castro reports:
Hi All, I would like to report that as of today we have 3 chicks in the nest box! I had an excellent opportunity to verify this first thing in the morning when
the sun was shining directly in the box and the weather was completely clear and calm.
So I can safely say that we have 3 little white fur balls in the nest box. I could not see
any other eggs inside the box, but that does not mean there are none. I will check
again on Monday just to be sure. If there is another egg there it will be hatched by then.
Wednesday June 2, 2004
Armando Castro reports:
Here is a little update on Nate And Eva. With thanks to our Control Room Console Operator,
Chris Miller, I can confirm this much:
I was in contact with Chris Miller on Monday morning, May 31, and he told me that he
thought he could see some movement in the nest box, something that looks different from
other days. Monday was very windy and rainy, this was playing havoc with the web cams,
and he could not get a really good picture from the control room. Immediately I knew
I had to go and try to see if I could get a better picture with the spotting scope. It was
really miserable up on top of the silos, cold, wet, windy, kind of hard to stabilize the
scope but I managed to confirm that indeed there was at least one chick in the nest box.
Small little guy, about the size of its mother's head and neck, not much mobility just
his/her little head snaking upwards from underneath its mother's breast. I was really excited all over again, imagining the possibility of having more than one chick this year.
I stayed on the location for a while to see if Eva would leave temporarily so I could
have a better look underneath her, but she outlasted me. Today however, I went up
to the top of the Jumbo Silos first thing in the morning. These Silos are about 200
yards away from the nest box, about the same height though, and looking westerly
at the nest box. In the early morning light, shining inside the nest box I was sure I was
going to have a really good look inside. The wind though, was a real problem.
It kept the scope from settling down enough to give me a real crisp look inside.
This is what I think I saw, but can't confirm as yet. I will try again tomorrow . This afternoon I happened to look up and saw Eva standing just outside the box, and Nate sitting way up on the steel beams sticking out of the main stack. Immediately I grabbed my scope and bolted to the top of the silos to have an uninterrupted look inside. Again, the wind was really strong this high up. But I THINK ! I saw One chick, head bobbing around, one chick still just laying there not much movement, and another form, I think an egg not hatched yet.
I can only confirm one chick thus far though, probably hatched in the weekend (May 29, 30). Regards to all: With fingers crossed.
Friday May 14, 2004
Armando Castro reports:
On Friday, April 16 there was no eggs in the nest box, I confirmed this with the scope.
( I neglected to say, that this year they are using the nest box ). I was on vacation until
May 3rd at which time they had started incubating. According to one of our Console Operators
whom I spoke with on the morning of Monday May 3rd, they had been doing this for about a week.
I have tried to find the right time to go to my vantage point to scope the nest box but when they
change shifts it only takes a couple of minutes and I can't time it right.
Since I can't pinpoint the exact day that they started incubating, I would take a stab at sometime
during the week of April 26 - May 3rd. On the positive side: Nate and Eva are nesting again, and
hopefully they will have a larger brood since they are using the protection afforded them by the
nest box. I will keep observing as always, and keep you all posted. Especially when I am able
to report that we have three or four little white fur balls in the box.
Thursday March 25, 2004
Armando Castro reports:
A nice photo of Eva, the adult female at this nest site.
Tuesday February 10, 2004
Armando Castro reports:
I just thought I would bring everybody up-to-date on the goings-on at the plant over
the last two months. Yesterday for the first time in about a month and a half I saw
Nate and Eva together. Eva was pretty constant at the plant as usual. They were
both sitting on the ledge of the nest site silo, had a good look at them through
the binoculars to confirm their identity. Today there was a lot of flying around
together, and even some stooping at each other as if they had not seen each
other for awhile. It was good to see them together again.
Sunday December 14, 2003
Armando Castro reports:
Just earlier this week Wednesday, December 10th we got to see Lawrie and Eva flying around the plant.
It looked like Eva was teaching Lawrie to catch prey in the air, she would fly upside down and let the
young one take the prey from her talons. It was quite exciting to watch. It is kind of a shame that they
don't spend as much time in the plant as before, but I guess it has to to with easier hunting down at the
lake shore area. I was kind of surprised to see that Lawrie was still at the plant, I thought she would have
migrated by now, but it looks like she may in fact be staying for awhile. The following day, on the
Thursday we saw Nate and Eva flying around in the plant. I guess he may be staying for the winter as well.
Wednesday September 10, 2003
Armando Castro reports:
Lawrie is doing fine, chasing her parents all over the place as they teach her to
fend for herself.
Tuesday August 19, 2003
Armando reports:
Lawrie is doing well, really well in fact, lots of people keep me updated. She has not
been around the main plant too much since she fledged. She or they seem to like to
hunt from the high structures down on our dock south of lakeshore road. I guess the
little shore birds are easy prey. Photos of her and Nate and Eva, taken by Al Baldauf, will be posted soon. They are
black and white because that is what he had in the camera. He did have to use the
zoom lens to get them, but when I scanned them, I zoomed in more on Lawrie leaving
out the background. At this point that is all we have of her since she fledged.
Photos
Wednesday July 30, 2003
Barb Smith reports:
Just an update on Lawrence's progress. According to our Console Operator who is
watching her via our webcams from the Control Room and from sightings from other
employees, our chick is flying like she's been doing it her whole life. She is
turning up all over the place. Her feathers have grown in almost over night and she
is soaring with her parents. She is beautiful according to everyone who has spotted
her. The parents are feeding her and watching over her. We are so proud!!!
Wednesday July 30, 2003
Mark Nash reports:
We have received word today that "Lawrie", the young daughter of Nate and Eva has taken her first
flight and fledged successfully. She was observed today on a lower roof elevation (safe and
sound), under the watchful eye of Nate and Eva.
Additional photo's of the banding will be posted to the photo gallery as soon as they are back
from the developer. Stay tuned!
Monday July 28, 2003
Armando Castro reports:
Lawrie is doing fine, really well in fact. The amount that she has grown since the 22nd of
July is incredible. When I look at her up on the ledge it is hard to believe that just a few
days ago she was just a baby. She is fully feathered, as far as I can tell from the ground, and
when she flaps her wings she looks really large. Today at about 7:15 am, Nate brought some food
to her and when he landed she was on him like a bad weed, poor Nate had to make a quick retreat
lest he become breakfast (LOL), actually though; he did not spend anytime on the same ledge as
the chick. He dropped the food off and flew off to the ledge of the opposite silo very quickly.
Lawrie is definitely getting her wings ready for her maiden flight. Lots of wing flapping going
on.
Tuesday July 22, 2003
Linda Woods reports:
It's banding day for Nate and his mate's first ever and only offspring for this year.
Another early morning start to beat the traffic and to arrive on time for our 08:45
gathering in the parking lot.
We were all greeted by Barbara Smith of St. Lawrence Cement, who escorted us through the
buildings, up some stairs, down the halls and up more stairs down another hall and up a
few more flights of stairs into the training room of the facility.
Here we were all assigned our own personal neon orange hard hat complete with a handy twist
knob in the back for easy size adjustment. We were also given a pair of safety goggles to protect our eyes from flying
objects (like that's going to stop a peregrine). After suiting up, we were all instructed on
plant safety procedures and protocols and assigned an escort to guide through the facility and
to the best viewing area. City TV was on hand to cover the important and somewhat historical event in the life of a peregrine falcon named "NATE"
Once again, Jon Miller , a professional rock climber has done a wonderful job of retrieving
the chick from the ledge and took a few pokes and stoops from the adult peregrine falcons during
his brief visit to the nest area.
It is confirmed that the chick is female and weighed 945gms. The folks at St. Lawrence Cement have chosen the name LAWRIE (but technically it will be Lawrence). Armando of St. Lawrence (and the person who first spotted Nate nesting) had the pleasure of holding Lawrie. Lots of objections from the bird itself, but Armando could not have been prouder at that moment, he was beaming from this rare opportunity.
Ontario Veterinary College was present to obtain blood samples to continue the West Nile Virus research on behave of Dr. Bruce Hunter. After the blood sample the chick was inoculated for the virus. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources was also on sight to obtain feather samples for DNA mapping research and to band the chick with a Ministry band and also a US Wildlife Service band for identifying the chick after fledging and hopefully years down the road. It was an absolute wonderful day!
Many many thanks to Armando, Barbara Smith, Amanda Smith, Steve Harkness and to the many other St. Lawrence Cement employees we met while going to and from the Training Room. Thank-you for your patience and understanding and of course for your support with this endeavour. It is certainly rewarding for all the volunteers at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation, to know that there is a strong and concerned interest for the Peregrine Falcon at this facility. Your support certainly has made a difference. Many thanks to: Barbara Smith, St. Lawrence Cement; Steve Harkness, St. Lawrence Cement; Amanda Smith, St. Lawrence Cement; Jon Miller, Professional Rock Climber; Pud Hunter Senior Biologist, Ministry of Natural Resources and his son Chris; Mark Heaton, Biologist Ministry of Natural Resources; Chris, Ontario Veterinary College; Yolanda, Ontario Veterinary college; Paul Marshman, photographer; The OMNR Rangers for volunteering their time to observe and assist where they were needed; Audra Brown, City TV; and last but not least, LAWRIE, Nate's new addition to the peregrine population. Photos
Wednesday July 2, 2003
Armando reports:
Correction: the other day I reported that the last two eggs were not hatched or even on the
ledge. That was not correct. There are still two unhatched eggs on the ledge and only one chick.
Monday June 30, 2003
Armando Castro reports:
On the Wednesday morning June 25th there was 1 chick in the nest and 2 more eggs sitting off to
the side in seemingly perfect condition. Today I took a look and there was still only 1 chick
big and healthy beating his little stubby wings like there was no tomorrow and the other 2 eggs
were no longer on the ledge. So to conclude,,, we have 1 chick, big and strong sitting on the
ledge. I also was able to get a really good close up look at Eva and her bands are as follows:
On the right leg she has a PURPLISH band no visible information on it, (it used to be more reddish)
and on the left leg she has a GREEN band either fading into a blackish color or it is very dirty.
Saturday June 28, 2003
Mark Nash reports:
Hello All- I have just received word from Armando at St. Lawrence Cement that Nate is finally a
father!! Armando reports that one of the three eggs have hatched so far. Nate was one of CPF's
first hacked released birds, hacked out from the rooftop of the Richmond Hill Town Hall
(Ontario) in 1999. You may remember, Nate was one of the first of juvenile (hatch year)
peregrines to wear a back pack transmitter (part of the CPF's
Project Track-Em, and
Project Release and for three years he has
migrated and wintered in Colombia - South America, and returned to Ontario each spring in
1999-2000, 2000-2001, 2001-2002. Nate was not outfitted with a transmitter in 2002, but
stayed around the St. Lawrence Cement plant throughout the fall and winter of 2002. Nate
disappeared for several weeks in the winter and early spring of 2002-2003, but returned back
to the St. Lawrence Cement plant in the late spring of 2003. As yet, we have not been able to
identify his mate by her band number.
Congratulations to Nate, and St. Lawrence Cement, and a huge thank you to all that supported us with hack releases and Project Track-Em.
Friday June 27, 2003
Armando reports:
I would like to register June 24th as the first peregrine hatching at St Lawrence Cement. There
are two more eggs still to hatch. The chick looks fine and healthy. So Congratulations To St
Lawrence Cement!!! (we are all grandparents)
Thursday June 19, 2003
Mark Nash reports:
Nate and his mate are still incubating, we are expecting a hatch in the next 7 to 10 days.
Wednesday May 28, 2003
Armando Castro reports:
Here is what I can confirm. The second egg was laid on
Wednesday May 14. Keeping in mind the rule of one egg every two days we have to
assume the first egg was laid on Sun./Mon. 11/12 of May. I can say with
certainty that they (Nate and Eva) started fulltime incubation on Friday May
16. However on Thursday May 15 they were seen mating on the top of the Jumbo
Silos late in the day. Since Thursday May 15 they have not left the nest long
enough for me to make the trek up there to count the eggs, so the question
is,,,, did she lay another egg on Friday May 16th ?. Time will tell.
Wednesday May 14, 2003
Armando Castro reports:
We (Nate and Eva) can now proudly announce that as of late this
afternoon, we have 2 EGGS in the nest. They are well formed and very uniform in colour.
Sunday March 24, 2003
Armando Castro reports:
Just to let you know that Nate has not returned as
far as I can tell. I (we) are keeping a close watch on the situation, and when
the action starts I'll be on it. I will confirm at this time that Eva spent the
whole winter at the plant. Even on those extremely cold days she was often seen
sitting just inside of the open tall building that faces south. That area is
very warm due to the clinker making process. Lots of pigeon carcasses are seen
littering the high platforms in that area.
Saturday February 1, 2003
Sandra Hawkins reports:
Today at approximately 4:40PM, two
Peregrines were actively flying between buildings on the Hazelhurst Avenue side
of the St. Lawrence Cement plant, Clarkson. An interloper raptor that flew by
was a likely cause of their agitation.
Monday January 6, 2003
Armando Castro reports:
We were asked to come up with a name
for our magnificent female resident, and have decided on Eva. This female
is so absolutely magnificent, so full of character, and so courageous that only
one name could fit in this case. That name would be my dear mother's name who
also fits this bill.
On the status of our birds, there is only one at this point to report about. It seems that Nate has left the area for now, at least that's the way it looks. I (we) have not seen him for a couple of weeks at least. Eva is pretty constant at the site. There has been times in the past when we thought that they were both gone, and they resurfaced a couple of weeks later. We'll wait and see...
Friday December 6, 2002
Armando Castro reports: On Friday Dec 6, 2002 I had the
opportunity to make positive ID on the two peregrines at the plant, and yes they
are Nate and his mate. I observed them trough my binoculars and am satisfied
that indeed it is still them. I strongly feel that they might just have decided
to stay for the winter. They are FIERCELY defending the territory as if it was
breeding season. No Red-Tailed hawk is safe twenty feet inside the perimeter of
the plant as defined by the wire mesh fence.
Earlier in the week I observed the female putting the run on a poor Red-Tailed hawk that made me feel sorry for the hawk. The peregrine had the hawk tied up in knots. In a matter of about one minute she stooped the hawk about six times, and it looked like she was trying to make contact, it was quite dramatic. This female is all business, she is magnificent in size and character.
Tuesday November 12, 2002
Armando Castro reports: Well today is the 12th of
November and the peregrines are still at the plant. I had an excellent view of
them today, no doubt it is them, they look great. I had a really close look at
the female today as she chased two pigeons across the rooftop of the building I
work in/at (only one pigeon completed the evasive maneuver - bummer for the
pigeon). Man, the peregrines are magical!!!!. Seeing how late in the
season it is, there is a good chance they just might stay all year.
Friday October 18, 2002
Armando Castro reports: The peregrines are still here
(both of them) they really like to spend time together. I saw them together at
the nesting box area all day. Maybe this will continue in the
spring. I had some close-up observations of them and I can say that the
female molted completely, and looks great in her new adult plumage. Her feathers
looked in great condition. Nate's, plumage on the other hand, did not look as
good. His tail and flight feathers looked a little frayed on the edges.
Friday August 16, 2002
Armando Castro reports: Just a quick little note to
inform everybody that both Nate and his girlfriend are still living together
here at the plant. They still like to hang out at the nest box. Strangely enough
Nate is still extremely territorial, just a couple of days ago I observed
him putting the run on a big female Red-tailed Hawk that tried to glide inside
the boundaries of the plant fences. The hawk dove straight down to the ground
and flew a short distance at a height of maybe fifteen feet off the ground and
took refuge in a hydro tower while Nate took half a dozen stoops at her. It was
quite exciting.
Tuesday June 25, 2002
Armando Castro reports: Yes the peregrines are still
here, they are seen daily, not with as much frequency as a month ago when they
were really busy with the business of mating. As a matter of fact I have a
couple of recent photos of Nate sitting on the top of the silos that I will scan
and forward for the website (ed note: to be added within the next few days).
As far as the nesting goes, I think it is over for this year, they still stop at
the nest box once in a while, but there is no sign of any nesting behaviour.
Saturday June 22, 2002
Brandon Holden reports: While at the
Cement Plant there was at least one adult in the area and we saw it flying
around the largest smoke stack. It eventually flew around the
area twice but both times he perched out of site and we could not tell who
the bird was.
Wednesday May 29, 2002
Armando Castro reports: At 8:25 this morning, May 29th,
I watched a mating taking place, on the ledge just above and to the left of the
box. After the mating, Nate went into the box, laid down in the bowl for a few
seconds, scratched at it a little bit and then sat at the entrance, while she
flew off to perch on the beam outcroppings that sit about halfway up the stack.
Also they seem to have flattened the nest bowl that they had dug in the north
side of the box, and now have a new one on the south side.
Tuesday May 28, 2002
Armando Castro reports: Just came from the top of Jumbo
Silos, and there are no eggs yet. Did see female closeup. Green Band left
leg, Purple Band right leg. I thought this might give an idea where she
came from.
Marcel Gahbauer comments: This band information, while not enough to identify the female, at least narrows the possibilities. In Ontario, most peregrines are banded with a black Canadian Wildlife Service band on one leg for visual identification; this band features 2 letters/numbers, and may or may not be separated by a horizontal line. For captive-raised peregrines, the bands are usually red instead of black. On the other leg, they receive a standard silver-coloured United States Fish and Wildlife bird band. In other areas, different coloured bands are used. For example, the Midwest region for the past few years has been using green/black bands (visual ID) on one leg and purple (USFWS) on the other. Therefore, based on the sizes of the peregrine populations, the female is most likely from Ohio or perhaps Wisconsin, though other Midwest states are also a possibility.
Monday May 27, 2002
Armando Castro reports: "The
Nate Update": This morning I went up to my observation
platform on top of the jumbo silos (the four silos standing together in the
middle of the plant) across from the rawmeal silos where the nest box is
mounted. I arrived at about 7:45am and started to set up the scope , I
could see that the female was standing at the entrance to the box. I was all
excited and anxious hoping to see eggs in the box. However, there weren't any
yet. With all my excitement I neglected to notice the male sitting about 50 feet
to my right. He started taking objection to my presence, just softly squeaking
,then he got up and did a couple of flybys and came to perch directly in front
of me, about 10 or 15 feet away from me on the rooftop. I also noticed that
there was a bird carcass uneaten, or broken skin on the rooftop where he was.
At this point I was able to clearly see his band ID, and it was ... without a
doubt Nate's!!!
We enjoyed each other's company for about 15 minutes, I spoke to him softly and he just sat there looking at me, tilting his head from side to side, then he went to the box where the female still sat. After a couple of minutes she scurried into the box, and he followed. She put herself in a position that I can only describe as squatting, tail feathers kind of pointing upwards, and the little whitish feathers of her bottom were all puffed outwards. I thought for sure she was going to lay an egg, she stayed that way for about 20 or 30 seconds and then just went and lay down in the corner of the box.
I returned about 9:20am and to my surprise she was feeding on the carcass that was on the roof. She left with the carcass as soon as I opened the access door. She was out of sight for about 10 minutes then went back to the box. A few minutes later at 9:30, he came to the box with a small bird in his talons and dropped it off in front of her. She did not take it, so he took it and went and deposited it on the Clinker Silos (two silos on the southwest corner of property) and flew off, she stayed at the box entrance and I went to work.
At 12 o'clock I went back up and the same scenario repeated itself. They congregated in the box and she did the same squatting stance. I stayed for a little while watching. He left and then returned about 30 minutes later with another food offering, but again she did not take it so this time he just went up to the next rooftop above her and ate it himself.Wednesday May 22, 2002
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Armando Castro has provided
some recent updates on activity at St. Lawrence Cement. A week ago, he
noted that the resident pair of peregrines seems to have adopted the nest box,
and estimated that roughly 75% of the time one or the other was either in it, or
standing at the entrance. He had also observed the male bringing food to
the female a couple of times. While they have excavated a distinct nest
bowl, there were no eggs visible at the time, and another viewing today revealed
that this has not changed. However, over the past week they have continued
to maintain a present at the box most of the time, suggesting that there is
still a possibility of a late nesting. Today Armando was also able to get
a relatively good look at the male. He noted that it has a black band on
its left leg and a silver one on its right leg - a pattern which is consistent
with it being Nate, as appearance also seems to suggest. This would also
fit with one of the theories about Nate's transmitter - see Nate's
Track-'em page (May 22 entry) for a discussion of this.
Sunday May 5, 2002
Sandra Hawkins reports: At 6:38PM today, Bob and I
stopped by the St. Lawrence Cement Plant (Clarkson) and were treated to a
marvelous Peregrine aerial flying display that culminated in a mating atop the
westernmost of the two stubby silos that are located in the southwest corner of
the property near Lakeshore Road.
Tuesday April 30, 2002
Armando Castro reports: Today I had a closer look at the
two birds, and here is what I have concluded... The female is not last year's
bird. The malar stripes are not the same as the one from last year,
and she had what appeared to be 2 black bands on her legs (last year's bird was
red on left leg, silver on right leg). Her tail feathers are really ragged
on the edges, and lots of tail and flight feathers also missing. The male
has no transmitter, and I could not see his leg bands, but he looks to the eye,
to be Nate's twin. He appears to be in really good condition.
All feathers intact, clean, and gleaming. No sign of any other peregrines
at this time. One thing that causes me some confusion, is that yesterday
they were both all over the nest box, and today they were favouring the ledge of
the silo that has the I-beam sticking out the side. Though this male looks
identical to Nate, he does not perch in last year's favourite spots.
Monday April 29, 2002
Armando Castro reports: Today was kind of exciting at
the St. Lawrence Cement Plant. Here are a few things I can confirm at this time.
There are 2 peregrines at SLC. One of them is a good size female, looks
like last year's female, the other is a spitting image of Nate.
Completely whitish underside and breast. They are both using the nest box.
I watched them today going in and out of it. I can not confirm a transmitter or
lack of one on the male at this point. Not enough magnification on the
binoculars from my position, but tomorrow I will get closer and try to make
positive ID. It is not the male we saw on April 17. Also this female's
tail was pretty raggedy, looked like some feathers missing.
Wednesday April 17, 2002
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Sightings of Lionheart
at St. Lawrence Cement have continued, and an attempt was made today to
recapture him so that his transmitter could be removed. However, a
surprise was in store for us - there were not two peregrines at the site, butthree! One was a particularly aggressive male, seen terrorizing another
male until it took refuge on the roof of one of the buildings, and then even
chasing after the female. In all of the action it was very difficult to
tell who was who, but by all accounts it was a spectacular aerial display on the
part of all of them!
When one of the birds was finally caught, it turned out to be Hal, raised in Hamilton last spring by Percy and Madame X. The other male, by process of elimination presumably Lionheart, was still on the roof at this point, but the female had returned to the nest box, and considering how much time she was spending there, it is possible that nesting is underway at this location, though who the male parent is seems to now be far from clear! Hal was released after having been identified and getting a brief inspection - in addition to being extraordinarily feisty, he seemed to be in great physical condition. The site will continue to be monitored closely and we hope to make another attempt to recapture Lionheart soon.
Thursday April 11, 2002
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Over the past two days, Armando
Castro has reported seeing an immature male peregrine wearing a satellite
transmitter at the St. Lawrence Cement plant. Based on his recent return
to the Toronto area, and the subsequent silence of his transmitter, chances are
good this is Lionheart.
However, Trillium is also a distinct possibility. We are hoping to have
more information in the coming days.
Wednesday March 13, 2002
Armando Castro reports: Since I last spoke to Mark on
the phone, I have not seen the two birds together again on the silo's ledge.
I, or others have seen the female quite regularly but no male (at least that we
could tell for sure, telling sex and size when they're alone is sometimes a
little difficult for some people). I had been thinking all along that the
female that is at the plant this spring was the same one that was there last
spring, but today I had quite a close look at her through my binoculars, and
when she stretched her legs to fly off the roof of the Packhouse I could not see
the red band that last year's bird had on her left leg, as a matter of
fact I did not see a band at all on her left leg, looked to me
like the leg was solid yellow all the way down to the talons. This
female is extremely large, when she is perched somewhere she could be mistaken
for a red-tailed hawk (no mistake on my part though). As far as the nest
box?, no activity there yet. I guess we won't be able to
tell for sure what is happening until the activity increases.
Tuesday February 26, 2002
Mark Nash reports: A
late night at Kortright, putting the finishing touches on the nest box, Bruce
Massey and I finally packed up around 11 pm and headed for Toronto, as it was
going to be a early morning. Home at midnight, answer e-mail, eat dinner,
and in bed by 1:30 am.
Up at 5am, and on the road today at 5:30 am on route to St. Lawrence Cement in Mississauga - trailer in tow with yet another deluxe CPF peregrine nest box. Arriving at around 7:30 am, heavy traffic, with heavy fog, pouring rain and generally 'a not so nice kind of day' - (at least for most).
But today is a good day for us, and hopefully the resident peregrines at the St. Lawrence Cement plant in Mississauga, Ontario, where two unidentified adult peregrines are back and active on the ledges. The question that is being asked by many including myself - 'Is it Nate'? or a intruder that has captured the interest of his female companion from last year?? Nate's transmitter fell silent over a month ago while he was wintering in Colombia, South America, and has been silent ever since. Yet, several weeks ago, the reports and e-mail started flooding in from the watchers at the St. Lawrence Cement Plant where everyone has been watching an adult pair of peregrines doing just more than hanging around. Armando Castro, an employee of St. Lawrence has been keeping a watchful eye on the birds for almost a year now, and has been our main observer.
Still no band numbers have been ID'ed, and the mystery still continues. Today, we hope that with the install of the new nest box, that was sponsored by the great folks of St. Lawrence Cement, this pair will settle down in the next weeks to follow to some serious family business.
Despite the foul weather, and the forecast predicting a return to more frigid winter conditions with high winds and snow, it was still no match given the determination of both management and staff. Several hours of some very heavy lifting, some minor repairs to the box, seven able bodied humans, 200 feet of combined rope, 240 lbs of nest box, and 250 lbs of pea gravel and it's there to stay! A home away from home so to speak, and the only dry place on the ledge!! During the installation, we had several feathered visitors fly by to inspect and supervise the process. Both peregrines were on hand to put in their two cents. Now to wait and see what and who happens??
I would like to thank St. Lawrence Cement, the management, staff, and all who were involved to both allow and make this happen. Special thanks to Barb Smith, Steven Harkness, Gord Morris, Armando Castro, Sergio Bagaso, Gerry Colarusso, and Lino Darosa to mention just a few for all of their support. See our Mississauga Photo Gallery for highlights from today's installation.
Saturday February 23, 2002
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Yesterday Mark
Nash visited St. Lawrence Cement and observed both of the peregrines resident at
the site. He noted that they were investigating the same ledge where Nate
and his mate attempted to nest last spring. Interestingly, Armando Castro
and other observers at the site have seen the male make use of exactly the same
perches which Nate preferred last year, leading to speculation that this might
in fact be him. It would be remarkable for Nate to have returned from
Colombia so much earlier than in previous years, but with his transmitter silent
over the past six weeks, we cannot be absolutely certain where he is at the
moment. We are hoping to get a closer look at the St. Lawrence birds in
the hopes of being able to read their leg bands.
St. Lawrence Cement has committed to paying for the construction and installation of a nest box in the hope of improving the chances of successful nesting this year. Mark Nash is building the box this weekend, and plans to install it on Tuesday; reports to follow after the installation.
Wednesday February 20, 2002
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Yesterday Mark
Nash spoke with Armando Castro and learned that two peregrines have been very
visible and active at St. Lawrence Cement over the past two weeks. They
are clearly a male and a female, and they are in fact visiting the same nest
scrape that was used briefly last year. Could this mean Nate has returned
from Colombia much earlier than ever before? Possible, since his
transmitter has fallen silent and we don't know for certain where he is, but it
would be very surprising for him to have changed his behaviour so dramatically
by returning almost two months earlier than ever before. The male being
seen does not wear a transmitter (though of course it could have fallen
off). More likely it is a male which overwintered in Ontario, and has
taken advantage of Nate's absence to find a mate and a territory. We are
hoping to find out more about this bird's identity in the near future.
Tuesday December 11, 2001
Armando Castro reports: Yesterday
we had at the St. Lawrence Cement Plant, for the better part of the day, 2
Peregrines flying around, hunting pigeons, and even putting the run on a
Red-tailed Hawk. They were about the same size, clearly females, and they kept
perching on the silos ledge, where we thought they were going to nest. We
were unable to have a close look on Monday, but today we saw them a little
closer. They are a mature female (creamy coloured breast) that looks like Nate's
girlfriend, and a juvenile female with a very dark breast. We had a really
good look at the juvenile, and she has a very large and well formed malar
stripe, and she appeared to have leg bands. On the right leg she had a red band,
and on the left leg she had a black one.
Wednesday September 5, 2001
Armando Castro reports: Today Sept.
5, was a great day at the Plant. At 1:25 pm I had the pleasure once again
to observe Nate and his girlfriend flying around the interior of the Plant
before settling down on the Rawmeal Silos. I couldn't believe my eyes, I
saw them both together one flying directly behind the other. After they landed
on the silos I went up to the 8th floor to confirm what I had seen. Sure enough
the female was on the edge, she left a minute or so after I arrived, and within
seconds Nate came in. It was clearly (to the best of my knowledge) the same
female. She came back later and stayed around till about 4:00 pm.
Saturday July 28, 2001
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Nate continues to reside at the St. Lawrence Cement Plant; regular
updates on him can be found on Nate's
Project Track-'em page.
Tuesday June 26, 2001
Armando Castro reports: Nate is definitely still at
St. Lawrence Cement. Yesterday (Monday) he was seen late in the day
at about 7:00 pm, after I had gone home. He was hunting on the east
side of the Packhouse, he also was seen on the top of the west side of
the 4 Silos that stand together (Jumbo Silos) in the morning. Today
(Tuesday) I watched him all afternoon from about 2:45 till I left at
7:00 pm sitting on the ledge of the Rawmeal Silos. He was still there when
I left. No female though.
Wednesday June 20, 2001
Marcel Gahbauer reports: I had an opportunity to
look for Nate again this morning. Sure enough, he was back at the St.
Lawrence Cement Plant, this time on the four large silos on the east side of the
property. He remained there for close to two hours in the late morning,
then flew off to the west and out of sight. I did not see the female at
any time.
Tuesday June 19, 2001
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Nate remains in the area
of the St. Lawrence Cement Plant, having been seen there on a number of
occasions over the past 10 days. Unfortunately his mate has not been seen
for a couple of weeks, suggesting that perhaps she has gone off in search of
another male and/or another territory. A recent observation by Mark Nash
indicated that they had established a nest scrape on one of the tall buildings
at the St. Lawrence Cement Plant; it is not known whether there were ever any
eggs or not.
On Sunday June 10, Nate gave several of us a good show. Mark Nash, Bruce Massey, David Pfeffer, and I were viewing from the east side of the St. Lawrence Cement Plant when Nate flew past overhead, not too high up. Only a short while later, David rediscovered him a bit to the north, on a lamp post right beside the road! Mark and I both had a chance to get some photographs of Nate at this remarkably close range, some of which have been posted on the website. Nate looked to be in good condition, and was watching us closely - one has to wonder whether he remembers us from his days as a youngster in Richmond Hill!
Friday June 8, 2001
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Mark Nash, Bruce Massey, and I made a brief subsequent visit to the St.
Lawrence Cement Plant, but were unable to locate Nate or his mate. They
continue to be seen fairly regularly, however, but the fact that they are not
present at times suggests there may be another site nearby which they are also
frequenting. An aerial photo of the St. Lawrence Cement plant has been
added to the Mississauga Photo Gallery,
with labels indicating some of Nate's favourite perches.
Friday May 11, 2001
Armando Castro reports: The peregrines remain at
the St. Lawrence Cement Plant constantly. They have certain
spots they like to go to eat, and to just sit and watch and they have been doing
this consistently for the last three days. They have only been coming to
the area called Packhouse, to hunt and delight me, and then go back to this
other spot called the Rawmeal Silos. There is a building rooftop
that I have seen them on together, this spot has no free access to anyone,
and by the look of it it could potentially be a good location for a nest.
On Wednesday and Thursday it looked like a pattern was developing, Nate was most
of the day at the "butcher block" on the silo's edge and the female
was not seen. On Thursday the reverse was the case.
Today the Peregrines were in my sight on and off most of the day, except at 9:30 a.m. when they were together for about an hour on this inaccessible rooftop. At 5:45 p.m. Nate was on the hunt all over the plant, I watched him hover on top of the Jumbo Silos for about 30 seconds. It was breezy and he just hovered there over top of the silos, not a wing beat, it was great. He made a few passes at this location then flew off to the west of the Plant, while the female sat on the ledge, at the "butcher block", and then at 6:05 p.m. she flew off to join the hunt and eventually out of sight. They seem very constant in where they like to perch, also their hunts are apparently very successful as they seem to always be eating.
Monday May 7, 2001
Armando Castro reports: I spotted a peregrine
first thing this morning at 8:10, it was making short flights out of the roof of
what we call the Packhouse, that is on the most easterly part of the property
about 100 yards north of Lakeshore; though there were Pigeons around, it didn't
seem to want to chase them. After about 10 minutes, it went out of sight
and I didn't see it again until 5:45 pm in the same area.
I saw the bird perched on the edge of the rooftop about 75 ft from my position, so I raised my binoculars and had a good look at it. It was rather brownish looking on its back with lots of markings on its chest, and prominent barring on it's belly, faded yellow legs, yellow nostrils and on the left side of it's cheek it had a kind of sideburn coming down from it's hood. This bird was alone today, no transmitter. The bird flew off after a while undisturbed by me.
Marcel Gahbauer comments: The observations of Armando, combined with those of David Pfeffer and Bruce Massey last weekend, plus the most recent transmissions from Nate's transmitter make it overwhelmingly likely that the bird with the transmitter being seen at St. Lawrence Cement is in fact Nate. The observations above suggest that Nate's mate is a young female, hatched just last year; this too is consistent with what Bruce and David observed earlier. It therefore appears that this pair is settling in at this site. It now remains to be seen whether they are simply establishing a territory, or already attempting to nest this year. Reports from this site will be posted on this page as we receive them; notes based on the transmissions from Nate's transmitter will continue to be reported in Nate's Travel Diary.
Sunday April 29, 2001
David Pfeffer reports: From around 3:00 to
6:00p.m. Bruce Massey and I checked out the possibility of there being falcons
along the Mississauga lakeshore near the St. Lawrence Cement site. There
is in fact a male with a satellite transmitter. There is also a female.
At the time we were not able to confirm whether or not they were adults as the
light made it difficult to see any markings. However, we did see a hunt in
progress. Both birds were flying around the silos. The pigeons went
into evasive manoeuvres. One pigeon made a critical mistake and the male
went into a vertical stoop and hit the bird. He came up quickly and then
went back down to retrieve the bird. He then brought it to the railing on
top of the silo. He was quickly joined by the female. After some
vocalizing while bowing and facing each other, the two flew off and disappeared.
We circled the whole property but could not find the birds anywhere. Some points to note: there are two Red-tailed hawks nesting to the northwest of this site. There is also a local Cooper's Hawk in the area. It was noticeable that this hawk never flew over the site but always around it. There is also an abundance of prey and a good variety of species in the area.
Saturday April 28, 2001
Armando Castro reports: Yesterday, Friday April 27
2001, I had the pleasure of seeing Nate with his transmitter sticking up from
his back, and he had a partner. They were putting on a display that I
could have sold tickets for with their flying acrobatics chasing and catching
pigeons (we have a good population of pigeons here). It appeared that only
one bird had a transmitter.
I think St. Lawrence Cement will be a good bet for them to nest because of all the high silos and inaccessible ledges, as a matter of fact a few years ago I tried to convince St. Lawrence to make our plant an area for the introduction of Peregrines to deal with our pigeon situation.
Tuesday November 14, 2000
Maris Apse reports:
On my way to work in Toronto this morning at around 8:15 am, I saw a
Peregrine flying north over the Port Credit harbour bridge (at Lakeshore Rd.) -
it circled and headed south, so I turned right at the Post Office( Elizabeth
St.?) and parked, but lost sight of the bird.
I decided to walk out on the pier and check the "Ridgetown" and there she was on the forward mast crossmember - a beautiful large adult, very alert and likely looking for breakfast. I could not see any bands. What a nice start to the day - even though I got to work 15 minutes late.
Marcel Gahbauer comments: This adult female could well be the same bird that was at Lakeview for much of this year - although that one did have a fairly conspicuous red leg band. It would be interesting to know whether this individual will remain around the Port Credit area for the winter, as many peregrines are now settling into their winter territories. As always, I encourage anyone with sightings to send reports to us at mark@peregrine-foundation.ca.
© Canadian Peregrine Foundation
