!!! Putting a Name to a Face at MEC!!!
October 15, 2011 - Mississauga - Executive Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
After many days and lots of long, hard looks Frank and I have now confirmed, without a doubt, the band number of the resident female at the Mississauga Executive Centre!! This female wears a Black 8 over Red 8 band on her left leg; both top and bottom digit being rotated 90 degrees to the left. Following up on our discovery, we contacted Barbara Loucks of the New York DEC and she identified her conclusively as a having hatched at the Statler Tower building in Buffalo, New York in 2008. We immediately shared the news with Connie Adams, the bander of the chicks that year in Buffalo, and found that although banded, she was not named. As we sat having lunch today with our friends from Rochester that we affectionately refer to as “the girls”, we were remarking how the horizontal 8 was just like a symbol for Infinity; and thus she was named!!
From our documentation, Infinity arrived at the MEC site in spring of 2010 as nesting season was starting. The resident female, Tessie, who was the victor in the battle last year that prompted the fostering of the 3 chicks ( see MEC 2009 for the full story), and an unbanded male were deep in the throes of courtship The two adult females locked talons over several days and Infinity won the site that year. She paired with the unbanded male and produced 4 healthy young; three males and one female. This year, she continues to be the resident female at this site and has again paired with the unbanded male, easily recognized by his paler back and white chest. They were not succesful this year in producing any young from their three eggs but continue to reassert their bond with one another with next year’s nesting season in mind. As more information about this Statler Tower female who we now call Infinity comes in, we will be posting it here so check back soon for all of the details!!