!!! Meeting some new “not so friendly avian neighbours” to the south east, then visited the peel police night shift, and spent some time checking out their new unmarked police cars!
July 22, 2011 - Brampton - Courthouse
CPF Postmaster Reports:
Friday July 22nd - 2011 - Afernoon and evening fledge watch report:
Despite the neat and humidity and the short cooling affects of the rain, Courtney was not too pleased at all about getting wet and she spent a lot of time on the Library roof of the courthouse aggressively trying to shake off the rain.
By 5pm, she did one last big roust -(big shake) and it would be her downfall - literally! As she puffed up and rousted, she lost her balance and tumbled off the leading edge of the roof. Before she realized what had happened, she was airborne!!
With a gusty west wind at her back, she was blown south east, and struggled to hold her altitude, and flew south east over the parking lot gaining a little altitude with the tail winds behind her. She ended up landing on a roof top in the very place that Winston (one of the fledge watchers) actually works.
For the next several hours, Courtney spent her time on the roof top meeting some of the other - not so nice local avian inhabitants! I can tell you that she gained some very important and valuable life skills and lessons during her brief visit!
First she was attacked by the resident adult Kestrels, who mercilessly dived bombed and stooped her on several different sorties.
Then there was the small roving horde of gulls that took several runs at her while she was on the roof.
Throughout this same time period, both of her parents watched from a far with only a casual interest of the ongoing events from their roosting spots on the Courthouse, and didn’t seem to shed much concern at all much to the dismay of Courtney.
Poor little Courtney was although very not very happy about this situation, and was observed on several occasion frantically running around the rooftop to avoid her new “not so nice less accommodating feathered neighbours”.
Around 6ish in the PM, we were most surprised and delighted to have Bill and Sue show up from Burlington to join us in the fledge watch thank goodness they stayed into the darkness to close of the watch for the day.
Shortly after Bill and Sue arrived, Truss, (the resident adult female) flew in with a huge white pigeon, landing on one of the courthouse upper ledges, and proceeded to pluck and prepare it. Over the next 20 minutes, the courthouse courtyard sky above the main entrance was filled with hundreds of white feathers. It looked like a mini snow storm as the feathers filled the air and floated down to the sidewalk.
Eventually, Truss made three to four overhead flights and several “touch and go’s” with food in hand out to Courtney’s position on the rooftop, each time flying back to the courthouse roof in an effort to encourage Courtney to take flight and return back to the courthouse. While Courtney was certainly motivated (and hungry), she spent most of the time running around chasing mom on the rooftop, screaming at the top of lungs. Truss finally gave up and returned to roost on the courthouse ledges with the food package in hand.
Shortly after these events, a far more intimidating and dangerous avian neighbours showed up to harass poor little Courtney! A small family of crows took a serious run at Courtney on the roof. In seconds during this event, we observed one of Courtney’s parents (believed to be Truss), was suddenly in the mix as Courtney was forced into flight by the crow attacks. The crows were quickly dispatched by the adult peregrine, (very quickly indeed), and Courtney was escorted in the air by one of her parents,,, almost corralled, as she flapped frantically while struggling to hold her altitude.
Both Courtney and parent flew back north west around and finally over the courthouse parking lot, where Courtney ended up making a terrible (but never the less successful) landing back on the courthouse library rooftop. While she did try and make it to the upper elevation just above the rooftop where she fell off earlier, she once again she came up short in her height and approach - (as she simply ran out of breath and energy), and hit the face of the wall and dropped down on the lower roof elevation like a bomb that had just been dropped out of an air-plane. Moments later, she emerged from the centre of the roof top looking no worse for ware. Another learning experience!
Again, Truss made several airborne fly-overs and quick touch-and-go’s with food in hand in an attempt to coax and tease Courtney back into the air to gain more altitude and a higher ledge elevation, but is was simply not to be. Finally, Truss finally give in, and eventually landed on Courtney’s roof top location and gave her s small bit of the white pigeon that she had been flying around with for all of this teasing and coaxing.
By 8:30pm, and with heavy overcast and darkening skies, we believed that all of the excitement was finished for the day. Both adults had moved to their evening roosts, and Courtney seemed to settle in for the night. Light was fading, and darkness was settling in.
Well, a quiet relaxing evening to end the days fledge watch was not to be!!
At 8:45pm, Truss make one last fly over Courtney and she flew around the south end of the courthouse library roof and disappeared from our view around the west side. Suddenly, without any indication, Courtney bolted into the air from her roof top position and flew around the south end of the courthouse out of our view - in the same direction that her mom had moments ago flown,, BUT with no where near the same altitude or speed!
We toooo bolted, running across the court parking lot to the south and them around to the west out to Hwy #10 / Hurontario street where she had hooked around to.
After several minutes searching the upper west site courthouse roof and ledge elevations, (we did find Truss roosting on an upper ledge elevation on the west site of the courthouse overlooking Hurontario St),,, Courtney was no where to be found.
A mad panic scan of the trees, lawn area and the bushes on the west side of the entire courthouse property was completed with no indication of Courtney.
Finally, in desperation, we then focused out attention and scanned the west side property and parking lots of Hurontario Street, and low and behold, Courtney was located standing on the roof top of an unmarked Peel police car in the darkened parking lot of the police station.
We all rushed into action, Bill and Sue back to the courthouse to get the rescue carrier, one to get a rescue towel, two into th police station to alert the police what we were planning to do, and one to alert George - (courthouse security).
Now all assembled in the darkened police parking lot, we were able to distract Courtney long enough to allow one of us to slip in being her and get a jacket over top of her and capture her up from the roof top of the police car. Successes, she’s in the bag as we say, safe and sound!!
Ater her rescue, Courtney was taken into the Peel police station to briefly show her to the desk staff who had assisted us out in their parking lot with the rescue, and then back to the courthouse where she was examined for injuries and later released back to the upper east ledge on the Brampton courthouse - (the same elevation where we had released her three days ago when she was rescued from the ground).
A huge thank you to all involved, as without everyone’s help, this evenings events could have ended up with quite a different outcome, one that may not have worked out so well!!
Attached photos taken by Winston who was on the watch with us during the earlier events when Courtney was beiing “entertained” by the other avian neighbours.
Stay tuned………….
