Here are a few photos taken yesterday at the site of the adult pair. Enjoy.
Frank and I started a long adventure today at the William Osler Hospital looking for O’Connor and her mate Hurricane. I have been skunked at this site for the last three weeks every time I have popped in so today I had my fingers crossed and wasn’t disappointed. As we drove in we scoured the north and east sides of the building to no avail and then scoped the hydro tower… …no one home. A check of the south “H” sign revealed the two adults on either corner of the sign basking in the sun.
This south sign is their conference center. A spot where the two of them go to get away from the kids and talk about stuff.
It was nice to see them both on site after having missed them severals times and wondering just where they might be. With spring closer to us than further away, I expect to see them more often when I do the west end rounds.
Frank and I went down to the Holcim plant to check in on the resident adults and see whether we could locate either of them. After a few passes along the Lakeshore, we were able to spot an adult roosting on one of the structures on the Holcim plant itself. It was wonderful to see the adult holding the territory and we look forward to another successful nesting season this year!
This talks about climate change in the high north,affecting Peregrine Falcon nests. Some scrapes/nests are flooded while others have drenched young which perish within hours. Personally I was surprised to learn of this.
Flooded scrapes and drenched young
Alastair Franke— 05 January 2012 — in Arctic Raptors and Climate Change Project Share
Arctic breeding raptors generally don’t immediately come to mind when we think about the effects of climate change on wildlife, and peregrines would not be among the first species considered when we contemplate the impacts of warmer and potentially longer Arctic summers.
Z|1 Female tundra peregine is one of 50-60 birds followed annually at Rankin Inlet (T.Kemper)
In reality, many people would probably suggest that warming might be an overall benefit for tundra peregrines…and that may be the case for some breeding areas across the incredibly vast area that we call the Arctic.
http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/the_arctic_region
At our study area in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Canada, reproductive success of peregrines has decreased over the last 30 years. The size of the breeding population has remained stable over the same period, so we know the decline isn’t because there are fewer breeders or fewer eggs.
No change in the number of breeding aged adults or the number of eggs that are laid
Nor is the decline due the effects of legacy contaminants such and DDT and dieldrin. In fact, plasma concentrations of both residues in breeding adults are well below those known to be associated with poor reproductive success.
Thin shelled eggs often collapsed around nestlings, no longer is this a problem (G. Court)
However, summers at Rankin Inlet are now about 1.5ºC warmer in recent years than they were in the early 1980’s, and it seems that the rainfall patterns have changed too. All too often each season our motion sensitive cameras capture flooded scrapes containing eggs that never hatch or rain drenched young that quickly die when directly exposed to rain.
A rain soaked female peregrine unable to incubate eggs in flooded scrape (temperature 7°C)
A rain soaked female stands over two nestlings that died 24 hours earlier during a rain storm
For Arctic nesting peregrines, time is short, and laying a second clutch makes little sense. For pairs that fail, the only option is next year.
Alastair
Alastair Franke— 05 January 2012 — in Arctic Raptors and Climate Change Project
http://blogs.peregrinefund.org/article/747
Stopped by at lunch today to see if the juvenile was still in the area. Quest was sitting on top of the Harlequin building preening.
No sign of juvenile or Kendal.
I don’t even know how to begin this report as so much has happened the last two days. I guess the beginning is best.
I decided on a recon mission yesterday of the GTA west end sites. The “dynamic duo” at William Osler were out hunting. At Brampton, there was no one home. My last stop was MEC. When I arrived, I found the female to the right of the nest box on MEC 1 and the male sitting on the corner of MEC 1 two ledges to her right. Something was really odd. This female was extremely uneasy and looked over her shoulder every 30 seconds or so.
This was not the Infinity that I had come to know. The male was unconcerned, sitting on the corner digesting a rather large crop. The female leaned forward to stretch and I couldn’t see the bands that would have indicated that this was Infinity. The bird took off after 15 minutes and headed over to MEC 4 and landed on the Jevco sign. Having watched this site closely over the last few years I have never seen Infinity sit on that sign, EVER. A moment later, off she went to the east with a distinct purpose. There was no chase or challenge, just a swift exit. I knew I had to come back and confirm what I believed I was seeing.
Today Frank and I arrived at the site just before 11:00am and found a single bird on the south side of MEC 2. We were able to confirm right away that this was the male we call Eternity. We left him on the building and went in search of a second adult bird. The male took off of the building at 11:45am and headed across the street to the Morguard building, landing on the “D” He has a stash up there that he begins to eat. Frank and I head over to the building and watch him eat, getting photos of him on the sign. After 10 minutes, he looks up and stares back at the MEC buildings and begins to call. Out of nowhere from behind MEC 3, a female fllies in and joins him on the sign briefly. He takes off with the food and heads back over to MEC 3, disappearing on the north side with the female following. Frank and I race back to MEC 1 where the two adults have finally settled. The male was sitting on the Symcor sign and the female was on the south corner eating the food that the male was carrying.
The female looked very familiar. This was the interloping rogue that was present at the site when we brought Infinity back from rehab for release. She continued to eat the food while the male quietly watched from the sign. By 2:00pm, both birds had taken to the air and there was a great deal of flying displays, mostly by the female, for the next 45 minutes. We left the site with the male sitting on the southeast corner of MEC 3 and the female still aerial displaying around all 4 buildings.
It is unknown where Infinity is or what has happened here. Did she migrate? Will she return in the spring? After a meet with security, we know that no injured bird has been found on the grounds of any of the MEC buildings. We will have to wait and watch this site closely as spring approaches to know the final outcome. Wherever Infinity is now, all of us at CPF wish her good winds and blue skies and we hope to see this beautiful female again one day.
The pictures below are from both yesterday and today of the adults present at MEC.
We have just received some interesting news from a falcon spotter in London Ontario that may spell some very good news regarding London peregrines. It would appear that two falcons have been spotted yet again in downtown London Ontario. Given the time of year, seeing two adult peregrines still hanging around together could spell a bonded pair holding down a territory. If they stay, we very well might see a nest in the making this spring. Fingers crosssed!
Ed writes:
Two adult falcons seen in London on King and Colborne. Flying between the buildings trying to confuse to pigeons for a little snack.
Ed Purcell
Ann Brokelman reports:
A visit to the nest today. What we originally thought was Kendal having a wonderful time soaring around the nest and showing off for Quest, turned out to be a juvenile that was banded black over black with green tape over his USFW band. This was learned only after studying pictures. Unfortunately all we could see of the colour band was the rivets and where the band was gathered, so no ID can be made. There are a limited number of birds this could be, and we will be trying to locate this bird again for a positive identification.
Quest was very busy preening beside the nest ledge.
The Guest did a beautiful fly by for Donna and I and then was gone.
What a thrill.
I was checking up on my e-mails and received an update from the great folks at Harlequin Enterprises that Quest and Kendal have been in the territory today and talking up a storm to one another. They have been flying around the nest building and I managed to capture a shot of Quest sitting next to her nest box enjoying the sunshine. With the unseasonal weather we have been having lately, love seems to be in the air at many of our nest sites including Quest and Kendals!!!
Quest at home enjoying the sunny weather.
Was checking the internet,after reading one article and found this: Very disturbing!
January 6, 2012 • Press releases, U.S.
Credit: Save the Eagles International ~~
Save the Eagles International (STEI) is hereby issuing a biodiversity warning concerning the United States. Contrary to dubious studies financed and controlled by vested interests, the population of golden eagles in the Western States is on the decline. Wind farms are the main cause. The issuing of licenses to kill will accelerate the decline towards extinction.
At the large wind farm of Altamont Pass, California, 116 golden eagles (GE) have been reported to be killed by turbine blades yearly. This was established by a comprehensive study realized by Dr Smallwood in 2004 (1). Extrapolating to the 25 years of existence of the wind farm, this would represent a toll of about 2,900 golden eagles. Adding to this the mortality at other wind farms in the Western United States (2), this is clearly unsustainable. Indeed, recent studies have reported an apparent decline of the GE population at two different locations in California (3), and the number of active nests in the vicinity of Altamont Pass has declined considerably (4).
The Altamont Pass wind farm should have been closed down and decommissioned a long time ago. But pork-barrel politics have kept it in operation, and now the authorities are minded to authorize its continuation for another 25 years through repowering. Old wind turbines are to be replaced by much bigger ones, which are reported to kill twice as many eagles per megawatt (5). There will be less of them, but the total area swept by their blades will be much larger. So the carnage of eagles is likely to increase, notwithstanding biased studies pretending fewer birds will die. All other things being equal, if as reported a) the new turbines kill twice as many eagles per MW, and b) the wind farm’s rated capacity is also to be doubled, “repowered” Altamont could be killing 4 times as many golden eagles as with the old turbines.
Another aberration is the willingness of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to issue “take permits” (licenses to kill) for golden eagles at new wind farms, for example in Oregon (6) and Wyoming (7). Save the Eagles International firmly opposes this perversion, which has illegally but effectively changed the mission of FWS from preserving biodiversity to that of catering to the interests of an industry, an ineffective and ruinous one to boot.
STEI solemnly warns the Western States that biologically-blind policies will cause the extinction of the Golden Eagle, the California Condor, and other species of raptors. Considering that the Eastern and Central States are not acting any better, it is biodiversity in the whole of the contiguous 48 States which is in peril, including other species such as the Whooping Crane. No amount of bad science financed by the wind industry and government agencies has been able to convince honest conservationists that wind farms don’t harm bird and bat populations.
Contacts:
Mark Duchamp, President, save.the.eagles/gmail.com, tel: +34 693 643 736
Jim Wiegand, Vice President, United States, jim/jimwiegand.com
www.savetheeaglesinternational.org
References:
(1) – Page 73, Table 3-11: Species/Taxonomic group: Golden eagle
Mortality per year:
- adjusted for search detection: 75.6
- adjusted for search detection and scavenging: 116.5
DEVELOPING METHODS TO REDUCE BIRD MORTALITY IN THE ALTAMONT PASS WIND RESOURCE AREA – Shawn Smallwood & Carl Thelander (2004) – for the California Energy Commission.
(2) – Examples of golden eagles found dead at other Western US wind farms:
- “Federal authorities are investigating the deaths of at least six golden eagles at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Pine Tree Wind Project in the Tehachapi Mountains, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-wind-eagles-20110803,0,2891547.story
- “So far this year, for Rocky Mountain Power’s 13 projects, there have been six eagle deaths, most of them golden eagles, Talmann said.”
http://trib.com/business/energy/how-many-dead-eagles/article_97ae9f28-9b10-5673-b788-9f3af7ee7a27.html
- etc.
This is only the tip of the iceberg, because much of the evidence is made to disappear.
And this is a prediction from Wyoming: “The group predicted more than 700 raptor deaths at the project per year, including more than 200 golden eagles.” See (7) below.
(3) – “The (Ocotillo) EIR (environmental impact report) states “The golden eagle population appears to be declining”.
http://savetheeaglesinternational.org/?page_id=629
– “Differences in detections (at Altamont Pass) over the last decade included an apparent 56 percent decrease in golden eagles.” RANGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO REDUCE WIND TURBINE IMPACTS ON BURROWING OWLS AND OTHER RAPTORS IN THE ALTAMONT PASS WIND RESOURCE AREA, CALIFORNIA – California Energy Commision, PIER Final Project Report – Dr Smallwood et al. (October 2009)
(4) – Personal comments of Jim Wiegand, California raptor specialist, VP USA STEI, and Brian Murphy*, Board member, Mount Diablo Audubon Society. *tel: 1-925-937-8835
(5) – Wind turbines with a capacity of 1MW, wrote Dr Smallwood, kill more golden eagles per megawatt than most other wind turbine categories: 0.08 per MW /year as compared to about 0.04. Thus, all other things being equal, and considering that its rated capacity is also to be doubled, “repowered” Altamont could be killing 4 times as many golden eagles as with the old turbines.
http://www.altamontsrc.org/alt_doc/p145_smallwood_fatality_monitoring_results_12_31_09.pdf
page 41, table 5
(6) – Oregon: “The Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday released a draft environmental assessment that would allow West Butte Wind Power LLC to kill as many as three protected golden eagles over five years if the company fulfills its conservation commitments.” http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/04/9952873-feds-propose-allowing-wind-farm-developer-to-kill-golden-eagles
STEI comment: wind farm employees can make sure no more than 3 carcasses are found.
(7) – Wyoming: “That means the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre wind project could kill 120 raptors a year, including 36 golden eagles. That’s a far lower number than an estimate produced by HawkWatch International, a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit group dedicated to monitoring and protecting birds of prey. The group predicted more than 700 raptor deaths at the project per year, including more than 200 golden eagles.”
http://trib.com/business/energy/how-many-dead-eagles/article_97ae9f28-9b10-5673-b788-9f3af7ee7a27.html