!!! Its getting close to a fledge!
June 14, 2012 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:
Thursday June 14th - 2012
First day on the watch started out with getting orientated with the area and buildings and setting up. A huge thank you to Harlequin and Donna for allowing us to use the vacant office in the 9th floor that offers a great vantage point at some elevation should we loose track of a fledgling that may end up on a roof top or a ledge that simply can’t be seen from ground level.
A quick check in with the security at 220 Duncan Mill Road to let them know that we are back in the streets on the fledge watch. Confirmation of roof top access with the management of 225 to ensure that we have access to release downed fledglings from this elevation.
All three hatchlings still on the ledge, but the young male - named Blaze - (with Blue Tape) is already running the entire upper length of the ledge of the south elevation of the nest building. His two sisters, (one and two days younger) named Mira and Amora ae still on the nest ledge and have yet to venture beyond the boundaries of the vertical concrete columns at each end of the nest ledge. Blaze on the other hand has long since mastered the jump around these barriers!
He continued to aggressively run and back and forth from one end of the building to the other most of the day and appears to be plagued with bad luck, as each time he found himself at one of the building, his parents flew in with food to other end and fed his two sisters! Poor Blaze, (even I couldn’t help feel sorry for him)! The poor bird spent most of the day screaming for food - ALL DAY LONG pretty much up to 9PM. At one point his screaming was so loud and constant, it had two pedestrians six floors down on the side walk so distracted - (and looking up as they walked) that they actually walked into one another!
Despite Blaze’s bad luck being at the wrong end of the building, both Quest and Kendal were in over time with food delivery and brought in food to the nest ledge SIX times from 2pm to 9pm. On one of the last feedings, Blaze did eventually hook up with Quest and I watched her feed him beak to beak.
The local wildlife abounds, and raccoons are plentiful! I was totally amazed at one point seeing a mother racoon followed by four tiny baby raccoons actually cross the street only feet from my location at the pedestrian cross walk as if they knew that the automobile traffic would stop,,, AND IT DID!!
Several cars stopped at the cross walk as the drivers looked on in amazement themselves and waited as the raccoon family safely crossed the street.
By 9pm, the screaming had finally stopped, and all of the hatchlings had settled down for the evening. Sadly, I was unable to get any photos today.
Stay tuned………..