!!! A sight to see!!!
July 11, 2011 - Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton
CPF Postmaster Reports:
Canada Square report for July 11 2011
When I arrived to watch the peregrines at 5:05 this afternoon there was only one sitting on the Rio-Can south face, at the top. Twenty five minutes later an adult flew on to the east face and the juvie squawked but did not move. It took over an hour to have more than one juvie in the air at once. Then, they did not stop until 8:45p.m.
When they got going they really did give me a great display of their progress and also a couple of new *tricks*. Sighhhhh….. the antics of the peregrines have caused an audible reaction from me before but today it was mirth not gasps. They had me giggling aloud. I really hate to think what passersby thought. I think there was a lovely breeze up high and the juvies really took advantage of it. Their kiting skills have improved tremendously, however, when the wind blows and they are looking into the wind and travelling backwards it is a bit of a puzzlement. One of the juvies let go of the TVO antenna and I think the idea was simply to stay aloft in the same place but he drifted backwards and flapped madly to get back to the perch. There really was effort put into the flapping. That was once occasion that I laughed.
One of the new *tricks* is to land ON the brother already perched on the antenna. There was no attempt to land next to or under the one perched. The idea was to land ON him. It worked once but the wind interfered and the landing peregrine was drifting away, so out came the talons as he grabbed his brother. That set up a new reaction as the brother tried grabbing on tight but was a bit slow and *fell* off the perch. As fast as his wings flapped to get back to the perch so his legs scrambled for a hold. Eventually it all came together and he sat down again.
The second trick shown today is to give me a heart attack!!! The juvies have learnt that they have short bursts of high speed and they use it. However they do not soar and fly high out of harm’s way! No! They fly off the antenna, southwards and then come tearing back at high speed to the Canada Square building half way up and at the last second pull into a climb to miss the building. This is great fun when playing tag !
Earlier in the watch there was only one peregrine on the TVO antenna. A gull flew by and there was no reaction or even recognition that it may slightly resemble food or intruder. It was completely ignored. Just hand them an audience in the form of brothers and my word things change.
Three juvies were on said antenna, just sitting, for a change. A gull was meandering south down Duplex, past the black building, looking here and there as gulls do! One of the juvies spotted this poor bird and was off the antenna in a flash and into a swift chase after the gull. The gull saw him and took evasive action by flapping madly and zigzagging. It went below the building so I was unable to see any more but I did see the other two juvies launch themselves into the *attack* as well. The gull, of course, got a way!
For roughly an hour and a quarter I had three juvies in the air playing follow the leader, chase me, tag, talon touching but no locking on today. There was a great deal of kiting even though the wind took them backwards! Their flying was mostly around the TVO antenna and the small condo building. They did stretch themselves at times and drift towards Canada Square and Rio-Can but always returned to the antenna.
On one occasion two of the juvies were behind Rio-Can and I had the third one overhead and he did a funny little *practise flip* baring his talons as he went onto his back. There was no other bird in sight, he was simply practising all alone.
One of the juvies is definitely an instigator of all games and flying. He just cannot bear to see either of the others sitting when they could be playing with him. If they do not fly when he does, he swoops on them on their perches. It is very effective because they do fly just to get rid of him and then come back and perch again.
At 8:45 p.m. all three youngsters had disappeared from view so I came home then.
Lyn
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