!!! Blaze is the first to fledge!
June 15, 2012 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:
Friday June 15th - 2012
Arriving at 7 am this morning, the hatchlings were already in motor mode and Blaze continued to pace back forth on the upper ledge from one end of the building to the other screaming for his parents attention and as you might expect, - food!
The adults fed another six times again today, and throughout the day, feed each of the hatchlings beak to beak on several occasions. By the early afternoon, Mira - (green tape) was now ledge hopping and following her brother back and forth from one end of the building to the other. Although much more cautious in her jumps to the next ledge, she soon build up the confidence to work her way down to the far end of the building and eventually back again.
Amora (Red tape) on the other hand, spent most of her day in the nest box itself and only ventured out to the nest ledge edges.
By 4PM, Blaze took his first flight in an effort to get to his dad over on 240 Duncan Mill Road. While only a short flight first to the north, he then turned around to the east and then north east and finally ened on the top of a window sil above a window on the west face of 240 Duncan Mill Road.
As his screaming continued through out the late afternoon, (and with both his parents ignoring him), he remained on the window sil until darkness and was still there by 10pm.
Both his sisters retired back into the nest box at darkness.
At one point throughout the day, Quest visited the nest box and spent over an hour taking s snooze with Amora. The two made physical body contact throughout the snooze and it was quite a tender family “mom and daughter moment”. Again today, Quest fed all of the hatchlings beak to beak at one point or another and spent several hours on the nest ledge with her daughters.
Sadly I was unable to take any photos. Throughout the day, I also spent several hours dealing with other challenges and happenings with others on the5 ongoing fledge watches.
One of the Holcim hatchlings was successful rescued by Holcim staff and we were able to alert Mark Heaton from the OMNR to go out to band the downed fledgling. Yet anther juvenile was rescued from downtown Toronto and taken into the Toronto Wildlife Centre for examination.
Earlier on in the day, Frank carried out yet another rescue of one of the Sun Life fledglings that came to the sidewalk. Rescued successfully, and held for examination.
Later on in the evening, Frank called again to tell me some bad news in that yet another one of his Sun Life fledglings took flight but died after colliding with a window while trying to make it back to the nest ledge.
Again later in the afternoon, Kathy called me to let me know that
Big Frank had to be taken to the hospital emergency by the EMS after stepping on a large nail while in the streets during the watch.
Tracy had to be dispatched to pick up Marion from the Canada Square fledge watch and they travelled from the Canada Square fledge watch after closing it off to the Etobicoke Sun Life centre to do the release of the downed fledgling that was earlier rescued by Big Frank. Thank you Sun Life security for falcon sitting again for us!!
After the Don Mills watch, I drove to the Sun Life centre to pick up Marion to get her home, and Tracy proceeded to the hospital to get status on Big Frank.
Home finally by midnight, (trying to stay awake long enough to get my postings posted and back to the Don Mills fledge watch by 5am tomorrow. Some one please bring me a PAIL OF COFFEE!!
Its been a long day, and tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for us all with Big Frank out of the picture! I hope to get a status report on Big Frank later on this evening (or should I say early this morning). Let hope that he’s going to be OK!!! I’m sure that he will. He’s a tough guy!
Stay tuned, as with the Hearn fledge watch starting tomorrow, our lives are going to get much more complicated………..