!!! First Fledge at MEC! Its “Joe”
June 17, 2010 - Mississauga - Executive Centre
Mark Nash Reports:
Hot, humid and almost unbearable with no escape from the sun, it was chaos at MEC this afternoon! Just when you least expect it, when all four of the hatchlings were laying down and moving each of their positions to avoid the boiling sun, with absolutely no warning, at 3:30 pm, one of the juveniles leaped into the air and took flight,,, well sort of.
Two attempts to gain altitude and several soft bumps on the windows of MEC # 2, the fledgling lost altitude and sailed across the Robert Spec Parkway making one final collision with the windows at MEC # 4 and finally down to the sidewalk at the east end of the building.
Scambling to his rescue, and just at my arrival, he took flight again flying just over the tops of cars in to the rear parking lot banging several car antennas and finally flew over the waist high retaining wall at the south end of the parking lot. He collided again, but this time with the soft tree branches amongst the leaves.
Tracy finally arrived and was able to back me up and keep an eye on this first fledgling while I returned to my spotting position to watch the nest ledge with the other three juveniles.
After several hours of viewing at him with the scope and bins, Tracy was finally able to see the marker tape on his USFW band and he has been identified as the juvenile named “JOE”- with the Green marker tape!