Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
June 21, 2009 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
To start this update, I really need to thank Bruce Massey and Kathy Smith for their time and dedication at this site. They have helped so much with bridging the time gaps that take the rest of us back to our day to day lives ( work, how boring… ). Also, a huge thank you to the folks at the William Osler Hospital in security, maintenance and every other department imaginable. Your eyes to the skies and interest in this young family of peregrines has been second to none. Thank you greatly for all of your help!!
This morning Bruce and Kathy were able to watch the antics of our little energizer bunny Apollo. This male juvenile has the more spunk and curiosity than you can imagine! You really need to see him in action, he’s a blast. Once he has mastered the art of flight, he will be a force to be reckoned with. Right now, he sits atop the retaining wall of the building where we deposited him the night before. By 6:00am, he was already bouncing around up there and shortly thereafter was fed generously by Mom. By the afternoon, Apollo had had enough of being up on the roof and made his first attempt back to the nest ledge; a short plunk down from the roof to the “H” on the east side. Not his most spectacular moment. A few snacks and naps later, another plunk down from the sign to the ledge with complete success; he was home!! Although this move may look simple enough, it really is quite a feat of confidence and control as the crosswinds at that height had to be factored in to his jump. Good job Apollo!! He run-jumped-skipped over to greet his two siblings Katarina and Margherita who were busy preening on the southeast corner. They looked at each other, looked at him and went back to preening. Apollo checked the southeast ledge for snack packs ( food caches ) and then settled in for a moment… …but could no longer contain himself!! He ran down the ledge towards his sisters with wings stretched as wide as he could and attempted to plow them off the ledge! Mere inches from the juvenile females, they turned and gave him a look that stopped him dead in his tracks. There was no way the we’re going to play right now… …period!! One last look ( yucky girls!! ) and bounding down the ledge goes Apollo, flapping and pouncing the whole way along. By the end of the day, their energy spent, the three juveniles settled down on the southeast corner together in one big, brown heap with Mom nearby watching over. Boy is Apollo ever happy to be home.