June 22, 2011 - Port Colborne - ADM Mill
Doug Garbutt Reports:
It’s hard to keep tabs on what’s going on here but today I was able to see all 4 falcons (2 young, 2 adults) at the same time, so I know 100% for sure that both young ones are still alive & active. On my lunch break yesterday I thought I would go up to the 6th floor roof to try & view the young from a spot below where they hang out. Mom did not like my presense & dive bombed me & came about 5 feet away so I promptly left the area. The adults are always watching the young & taking very good care of them. So far, so good. Let’s hope it continues as we have had bad luck here the last two years. I’ll try to get some pics for my next post.
Posted on June 22, 2011 9:53 pm
June 22, 2011 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Linda Woods Reports:
Kate is approximately 45 days old today and still unfledged. She is shedding more of the white. Sunshine was chasing Rhea Mae this evening, probably screaming for food. Cinnamon is content to stay at home this evening, after his big ordeal. Food went into the ledge around 8p.m. Rhea Mae went back to the nest ledge around 8:30 and was feeding but could see who was being fed. A quick nest ledge check again, Kate had settled under the camera, Cinnamon was moving about and finally went next to Kate. Sunshine took off in the fog, probably to the Sheraton letters above the nest ledge. We closed the watch at 8:45 p.m. Fog has moved in and we could no longer see either the nest ledge or the neighbouring buildings. It was a misty day today with light rain, drizzle and more fog.
Posted on June 22, 2011 9:36 pm
June 22, 2011 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Dennis Patrick Reports:
At first I wasn’t sure how the nest box would work for the two of them. Well, after seeing how much they are enjoying it, I’m very happy we have that one now for the Peregrine Falcons. Thank You to CPF for bringing it when they came to do the banded and the Bridge Company for allowing it to happen. We were there at 6:15 A.M., both Lady Gaga and Spitfire were very active, jumping up and down from the nest box to the ledge and then the same thing over and over. They were busy preening themselves as well. Both Freddie and Voltaire came in with food, actually Lady Gaga was mantling over the food at first, when the four of them were all there together it was hard to see who was who. When we left at 7:35 A.M. both Lady Gaga and Spitfire were standing close to each other on the nest box, Freddie and Voltaire were both on the pipe. Stay tune for more updates.
Gwen & Dennis
Site Co-ordinators for CPF
Posted on June 22, 2011 10:07 am
June 22, 2011 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
I received some FANTASTIC news via Mark Nash in my inbox this morning!! He received an email from Barb Baldinger, a peregrine falcon volunteer from MNDR in SE Michigan, asking for help in identifying a female with black bands 83 over X! She is our Screech, born to Angel and Jack in 2008! She was loud and proud and weighed almost 1000 grams at banding.
Barb informs us that she and a male named Zeus (Hatched 2009 at LTV Steel in Cleveland, Ohio; black/red 73/B) have fledged three young from a nest box on the tower of the AT&T Building in Pontiac, MI.
I am thrilled beyond measure! Thank you so much Barb for passing this news on to us!
This is not only a success for us personally but for the peregrine falcon reintroduction program itself. Screech’s offspring can now be traced back 5 generations back to 1999 when a female named Run Around Sue was found wandering on a bridge in Wilkes-Barre, PA. That female arrived in Hamilton 3 years later and is still the resident female there now named Madame X.
One of her offspring with her mate Percy in 2001 was Sal, who at 1 year of age was the resident male at Mississauga MEC and in that year of 2002 - our resident male Jack was produced! (which makes him 9 years old this year!!) Screech was born to Jack and Angel in 2008 and now in 2011 she has produced 3 offspring of her own. This is the sign of a healthy and genetically strong line and this is how we measure the real success of the program!
Posted on June 22, 2011 6:03 am
June 21, 2011 - Toronto - King Street
Marion Nash Reports:
Sakura took several flights today 17 of them wow! This one is a great flyer!
Kenya on the other hand took 1 flight in the afternoon from the King Edward where we left him the night before to the office tower just behind the Hotel on wellington where he stayed until 8pm then took flight trying to get to the upper level to the same building but missed only by a foot.
He then fluttered down to about the 5th floor about a 20 floor drop before he hooked around to head south where he made a brief stop on top of the St Lawrence Centre and in one more unsuccessful attempt to gain altitude he went still further south to land on the roof of the old spaghetti Factory roof which was too low for comfort.
There were to tall towers on both sides and I knew he was going to end up on the ground in the alley in the back where he was or perhaps on the street in the Esplanade or as I was warned by restaurant workers eaten by the raccoons.
I called Mark who was on his way downtown to release one of the fledglings from the Sheraton Hotel who had been rescued by Linda Woods earlier and asked to stop by and help us get Kenya down from there before he slipped off into the dumpster 8 feet below or became raccoon dinner. Mark had a net with a telescopic pole so I thought if he could get access to the condo terrace nest door just feet from Kenya we could save him from this dark scary alley and perhaps a nasty fate.
Mark was there is about 15 minutes and into the security of the building who contact the resident who’s terrace we needed to go onto to and within minutes he was back with Kenya and a few new bite marks on his arms but Kenya was fine.
We got him back home to the 18 King st. roof where we left him safe and sound and headed off to the Sheraton to release Cinnamon who as I mentioned had been rescued earlier by Linda.
Posted on June 22, 2011 2:32 am
June 22, 2011 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Linda Woods Reports:
Not a good start to the day. CPF received a call stating that a banded bird was found near the base of the tall buildings on Bay St. in downtown Toronto. I was dispatched to investigate and it is confirmed that the young bird is indeed, William from the Sheraton Toronto Nest Site. Don’t have much more information regarding his collision.
Later in the day, another call was received and once again I was dispatched to the “Keg” on York St. Cinnamon had come to the sidewalk! Quick thinking and mindful staff of both the Keg and Oxford Properties who knew what to do. They carefully place Cinnamon in a box and secured the area until I could get there. Zoe and Annie retrieved the rescue carrier and delivered to the site and I transferred Cinnamon from the cardboard box and into the top of the line pet carrier, that Jan Chudy donated to the cause a few years ago. On quick examination there didn’t appear to be any injuries. I gave him a little water and he was placed in a cool quiet area to rest. Mark Nash arrived on site to do a full examination, and my goodness… CUTE as a button, he’s a doll. Mark did a final full examination and Cinnamon was good to go back to the nest ledge to join his sister, Kate. That was completed by 11:00p.m.
Sunshine continues to do very well. It appears she may be venturing further away from the nesting area. She didn’t return to the nest ledge for the night, but was seen earlier in the evening.
Kate remains on the nest unfledged. She still has a little more fluff on the top of her legs. I was surprised.
Photos coming and will be posted
Posted on June 22, 2011 12:29 am
June 21, 2011 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Dennis Patrick Reports:
First we would like to Thank Bess, Collette and Denise for being at the Bridge yesterday watching Lady Gaga and Spitfire. Also, our good friend Daren who was there from 8 A.M.to 5:30 P.M. watching out for us because he enjoys these wonderful creatures. He loves to race his motorcycle so why not watch the Peregrine Falcon. We were back there again this morning about 6:30 A.M. Voltaire was on the beam. Lady Gaga and Spitfire were in the nest tray then Freddie came in with food, lots of vocal. When we left Lady Gaga was still standing on the nest box while Spitfire was lying down in the corner, I guess having a nap after breakfast. Thank You to Todd Pepper a friend from HBMO and local birder extrodinaire who has volunteered to watch for us early morning.
Gwen & Dennis
Site Co-ordinators for CPF
Posted on June 21, 2011 10:18 am
June 21, 2011 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Mark Nash Reports:
Sadly we have tragic news to report this morning with regards to William, the young fledgling from the Toronto Sheraton Hotel nest site. I received a call at 6:50 am this morning where the caller reports seeing a large brown bird hit the windows high up in the concrete canopy and they watched lifeless bird fall to the street level out of their view. Moments after the first call, just after 7am, I received a second telephone call for a CPF supporter, and a friend who actually works with the Solar Window washing company, the great folks that support us with all of their services to get us and the Ministry of Natural Resources to many of the nest ledges so the young hatchlings can be removed for banding. In fact, the second caller was non other than Steve who was one of the Solar window washers staff on the swing stage to assist with the Toronto King street banding. He was able to retrieve the dead bird from the sidewalk before it was trampled or run over by traffic and take some photos for us to help properly identify the bird. He was also able to box the bird for us and hold it over for us to pick it up later today. Sadly, the deceased peregrine is identified by it s leg band as being William from the Toronto Sheraton nest site.
Sadly, one of the many dangers of urban living that we all have to deal with,,, (for us it’s the traffic and all of the congestion), for the young fledgling peregrines it the windows and the concrete. We alway hope that the young fledglings actually had some minor hits and bumps with the glass and concrete early in their fledge, as the first week of their flights sees them much slower in their flights, and they are lucky enough to have some minor hits and bumps (and survive), they learn to stay away from these dangers.
If they are unlucky enough not to have some minor hits and bumps early in their first flights, and they start making contact the second week, they are usually way toooo confident, and have already built up incredible speeds in their flight, and contact with windows at this stage usually results in very serious injuries and mortality.
That being said, all of the young fledglings are highly influenced in their first flights with the gusty winds that surround our hi-rise office towers, and given their inexperience to dal with these conditions, they are often blown around off course at these high altitudes.
A grim reminder that live in the fast lane, especially for a young fledgling peregrine learning to fly is not a easy task. The good news, is that the larger percentage of the urban peregrine hatchlings do survive (some time with a lot of help from us in the streets), and many have gone to survive that are now adults nesting in other cities producing their own families.
For all of the CPF fledge watch volunteers, you should be very happy to know that you have saved far more than we have lost over the past 17 years that we have all being doing the fledge watches, and remember that we can only do what we can do. The rest is up to the birds and a little luck!
Th photos attached are a little graphic and caution is advised when reviewing them.
Posted on June 21, 2011 10:16 am
June 20, 2011 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Mark Nash Reports:
Today started out like any other day at this time of year with the phone ringing off the hook and several calls on the go at the same time, two people on hold and everyone has a peregrine baby in their back yard! Pigeons, American kestrels, Coopers hawks and Sharp-shinned hawks all seem to invade the city at this time of year!
Then there’s the real peregrines, and a flurry of calls from Etobicoke about a fledgling named Jupiter down on the deck not looking to well. A quick scramble and another serious of calls to ask Kathy to cover off the Yellow pages watch, shuttle Marion to take over the King Street watch, and run out to Etobicoke Sun Life nest site at Bloor & Islington to find out what has happened.
More call on the mobile while on the road again from Tracy and Frank out at the William Osler watch with another downed fledgling needing to be rescued from the ground and in harms way.
Bruce calls to update me on the Canada Square Yonge & Eglinton birds, still on the ledge, no fledge yet. More calls from Linda at the Toronto Sheraton watch, two missing fledglings and situation frantic.
Two more calls from Bloor & Islington, downed fledgling limping badly, and not looking well. No longer active. Update on the go from Marion at King Street, young male missing - gone from the ledge and searching. Yellow pages update from Kathy, relayed to me by Marion on yet another call, hatchlings up and down from the nest ledge, never seen all at the same time, so unsure if one or two have actually fledged. Can’t tell as never is there two or more hatchlings been seen at the same time.
Arrival at Etobicoke, and search all lower terraces,, no bird found! After 30 minutes of searching with the assistance of Sun Life security, I finally hook up with Kathy and talk to Baylie on the phone. Up to the fifth floor with Kathy, she points out the downed fledgling in the corner of the upper terrace on the east side of the east tower, not looking too active at all. It’s Jupiter, one of the fledglings that was flying so well only days before,,, with strong flights and able to sustain and gain lots of altitude, and able to get back to the roof top and nest ledge!!
Three more telephone calls, Bruce is leaving Yonge & Eglinton nest site to relieve Tracy at William Osler nest site so she can go to CPF raptor centre in Woodbridge to feed our own birds.
Harlequin calls in panic, young hatchling is out of the nest tray on the ledge at the Don Mills nest site and can’t get back in. Marion calls with update from King Street nest site downtown, little male hatchling “Kenya” is still missing and now all King Street watch crew is very worried! Searching all roof tops in open vents and air cooling pools.
After another 20 minutes of observations from Kathy’s office, it is quite obvious that Jupiter will never make any altitude from this position encapsulated on all four sides by hi-rises and tall retaining walls, and only just feet from the ground and busy Bloor Street. After discussing a game plan, rescue is in motion with Kathy and Baylie assisting. Back to security for their assistance through a serious of door ways, internal hallways and finally up the latter and through a roof hatch to the lower terrace area. Across the roof, down another latter and across yet another lover roof elevation and Jupiter is finally spotted. Cell phone rings out with two more incoming calls. Message beeper going,, can’t answer these ones at the moment! With Kathy and Baylie on the upper Kingsway on the park terrace (actually lower than Jupiter’s position) with towels in hand to distract her, I was able to approach Jupiter from behind and drop the net. Got her!!
Back to security at the Sun life Centre to examine Jupiter for injuries and other obvious signs of trauma. Two more phone calls, phone ringing off the hook and message indicator beeping. Can’t answer now, bird in hand - literally! After a very detailed examination, Jupiter checks out just fine and seems to have come to life!! Lots of attitude, alert and very aggressive indeed! Just what we want to see.
Back in the carrier for safe keeping and hold over until release back to the roof under the cover of darkness. Siblings on the roof and can’t release Jupiter at the risk of scaring her siblings in a panic flight off the roof into potential harms ways at this early stage of the fledge for them.
Sun life security babysitting Jupiter until I return at dark to release her.. Catch up on telephone messages while I dash across the city in rush hour traffic from Etobicoke to Yonge & Eglinton to check on hatchlings at the Canada Square nest site given Bruce’s absence. Birds OK, still on the ledge.
Not quite sue what actually happened that got Jupiter grounded, but likely over confident in her new flight skills, she collided with a window and stunned herself. I am very glad it happened this soon after her first flights, early in the fledge, as the juveniles are slow and usually hit softly the first couple of times.
If they don’t experience soft hits and brush ups with the windows in the first week of the fledge when they are usually very slow, a hit with a window in the second week of their flights, usually spells a very fast and hard hit that ends up in far more serious injuries and mortality. Unlike most other birds, peregrines learn by their mistakes and don’t repeat them. They learn whet windows are all about if they survive hits with windows early in their lives.
Three more telephone calls, one from OMNR asking if I can run to the Don Mills nest site to obtain copies or photographs of documents they need to be able to proceed with the Don Mills nest site banding tomorrow. No way, tooo much traffic and not enough time to get there before they all leave the office for home.
Security calls from a building across the street from the Yellow Pages nest site telling me a downed hawk looking bird on the ground under a tree and looks badly injured. Holly crap!! No one else is available!! Further detailed conversation and very lengthy call with the caller, its decided that the downed bird is actually a pigeon,, not a raptor at all! Everyone has a peregrine in their back yard don’t you know!!
Marion calls from King Street nest site, she reports that have found Kenya,,, he safe on a rooftop and although much lower than the nest ledge, he has some altitude and in a safe spot.
Back to Bloor and Islington to the Sun Life nest site by 9:15 pm and Jupiter is examined one last time for any signs of trauma or injuries just to make sure she is OK before she is released. Every thing is good. Up to the roof of the nest building under the cover of darkness, where MOM is waiting. Boy is she not so happy with my presence!!! A quick release of Jupiter and I’m ducking and dodging to get back to the roof hatch and get out of her way…quickly!!
On the road again on route downtown to the King Street nest site to pick up Marion and try to get home. Cell phone rings again,, it’s now 10:30 pm,, Tracy update me as to her fledgling’s release and everything went well.
Home by 11pm, eat quick, and start updates and web postings. Its now 1:58 in the morning and I can’t stay awake any longer. Most of the 12 postings and my own report has been done.
Banding at the Don Mills nest site tomorrow and back in th field on the fledge watches.
By the end of July, most of us will be part of the walking dead club, suffering from “falcon neck” as we say. It’s an annual ailment that comes and goes at this time of the year during the fledge watches.
Just another typical day and usual happenings on the fledge watches.
Stay tuned………….
Posted on June 21, 2011 2:57 am
June 20, 2011 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:
The banding day is tomorrow and we will all have to cherish the days gone by as the young hatchling has finally taken its first steps out of the nest tray and now on to the ledge. Getting more independent as each day goes by, they grow so quickly and soon all of the fluffy white will be disappearing beneath the brown juvenile flight feathers.
I have been saving some of these shots to post as a reminder that moments like this should never be forgotten as life passes us all by so quickly. In this case, hatch to fledge, from fluffy cotton ball white to full size juvenile fledgling brown (first flights) in 40 days!
Enjoy.
Posted on June 21, 2011 12:28 am
