November 07, 2012 - Toronto - Don Mills
CPF Postmaster Reports:
November 7th - 2012
Observation reports received today from Donna has re-confirmed that both Quest and Kendal were very visible again today as they spent much of their time hanging around the upper roof elevations of the surrounding buildings, reaffirming their dominance over their territory.
Just when it appeared that the on-going repair work seemed to have stalled at the 220 Duncan Mill nest building, (at least on the south face for the building where the nest ledge is), the workmen were back at it again.
Both peregrines were checking in on the activity on the nest building as the workmen and swing stage got closer to the actual nest ledge. In photos captured today, you can see the new aluminum face flashing (indicated by the red arrows), with the green circle hi-lighting the nest ledge itself.
While both birds have not been visible over the past two weeks, it is obvious that both birds are around watching from their winter haunts and roosts in the area. They are still very much on territory and it would appear given this late date, that they are not going south for the winter.
Stay tuned……
Posted on November 8, 2012 1:50 pm
November 08, 2012 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
After only seeing the female here sporadically the past week, today with the warmer temps and sunshine I finally caught the male here with her. After not seeing Jack since before the storm, I was a bit concerned as he had not been seen at either site nor in any of his regular haunts.
I am trying to positively ID both of them but they have their ‘winter’ coats on so it’s hard to tell anything other than they’re both big and puffy looking from the ground 
Posted on November 8, 2012 1:29 pm
November 03, 2012 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Dennis Patrick Reports:
This afternoon we drove down by the River, looking for the pair that has been spotted on the letters of the building but no sign of any Peregrine. We then went to the Bridge, nothing there so we waited for a few minutes and Freddie flew in and landed on the first A of Ambassador. Since the report of the sighting of General Brock in Detroit we are thinking maybe the other three are on their way as well. We’ll keep you updated on any sights we have of the Peregrines here in Windsor.
Gwen & Dennis, Site Co-ordinators CPF
Posted on November 3, 2012 7:12 pm
November 02, 2012 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
I have not seen Jack since before the storm, not unusual given he’s split between two sites however O’Connor has being acting strangely this week and perching on areas she doesn’t normally perch on.
Reading Tracy’s report this morning about a territorial battle in Brampton though may explain the adult female interloper in our territory here yesterday. O’Connor was on the web cam facing south when I went out to check out on her yesterday morning at 7 am. At the same time as I was facing east I clearly saw a large female falcon fly over the subway area at Bloor Islington heading for the apartment buildings there.
My first thought was phew as I glanced at O’Connor thinking it was great as the other female was out of her line of sight and hopefully she was just passing through. I headed inside and into a meeting when I heard the clear sound of a kacking and unfortunately couldn’t leave to go to a window to see what was going on.
I checked several times later on and no sign of any falcons but I did see O’Connor before I left the office later in the afternoon. I can’t say for sure that she ran into the other female but that was my first thought upon reading the Brampton report this morning. This intruding female was flying quite low, not high up the way they usually do when they are just ‘passing through’.
Posted on November 2, 2012 9:25 am
November 01, 2012 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
On my way back from Brampton yesterday, I thought I’d stop in and check up on Hurricane and Chessie after the blast of wind we had the other day. Hurricane was in his favourite spot on the eastern “H” sign doing his favourite thing, sleeping. The light rain that was falling didn’t bother him a bit. Chessie opted to stay drier and was on the edge of the nest tray preening the day away. My how she has grown up. With a good majority of her adult feathers in now, she looks fabulous! She spent the afternoon taking care of her new outfit and Hurricane finally decided that the rain was interrupting his napping and he took off for the nest ledge. He landed on the southeast corner and moved a little south down the ledge to where the kids at this site always sleep. Maybe a bit of empty nest syndrome for Hurricane!! In talking with staff at the hospital, Tobi and Ossie, the young of this season may a reappearance about a month ago before taking off south. As usual, they were playing aerial rugby tag with one another and creating quite a ruckus. Kids!!
Posted on November 2, 2012 8:27 am
November 01, 2012 - Brampton - Courthouse
Tracy Simpson Reports:
I started out my day presenting Project School Visit at Central Peel S.S. speaking to an awesome class of grade 12 students and once done, decided I was so close to downtown Brampton I should check out Milton and his lady friend. This was one bizarre day.
It started off with finding Milton on his own on George St. on the top ledge of the condo he frequents. He was joined 10 minutes later by a female in full adult plumage who landed at the other end of the ledge and started to peck around for a bite to eat. Milton had already eaten his fair share and then some as his crop could be seen from space!! I continued to watch for a while and the pair settled in, after some ee-chupping and chit chat, into a relaxed roost and nap mode. I left George St. to head down to the courthouse for a bit of recon there and didn’t find any peregrines in the area at all. I scanned all of the buildings and each side of the courthouse but came up empty. Back to George St. I went.
When I got there the mood had changed significantly. The pair were now sitting on a low roof together and both were looking off towards the Go station. I tried to focus in on the female to see if this was in fact our unbanded subadult now all grown up but she was too far into the ledge for a look at her legs. Milton then took off towards the north and the female followed him. I drove up to Railroad St. for a look at where they might of gone and found the female again on a low roof. In the rain my camera struggled to focus through the raindrops but I managed to get a few shots of her. In one picture, she was just about to take off and lo and behold, a band! This adult female was wearing a purple USFW band that can clearly be seen in the photograph. This meant that this was not the subadult that Milton had hung out with all summer nor was it Truss who was not located this season. This was a new girl on the block. She took off and flew low over me and landed in a tree to my right. Once in the tree, she proceed to walk down the trunk towards an extremely shocked little squirrel. She was going right at it!! Now, I know only one famous squirrel hunter and I hope she was at Etobicoke Sun Life today behaving herself. I took a few shots but in my flu addled brain, I couldn’t get focussed and on her fast enough to get her band number. Of course it was hidden behind a branch. She took off and landed on a hydro pole a few meters away and I was about to pursue when a local resident came out to ask what I was up to. He assured me that Chester, his squirrel in the tree, would be fine and not to worry about this female peregrine stalking him. Back to the tree she comes for another go at Chester the squirrel. She didn’t stay long and was off like a shot out to the north and over the Go tracks.
Once out of the tree and out in the open, she was met in the air by another female. The two of them went at it in a spectacular aerial dog fight that brought them back into the downtown core. I changed positions for a better look and found Milton on the Rose Theatre preening away and letting the girls sort their stuff out. The combatants split up and one of them landed on the roof of the theatre with Milton but again, too far back onto the ledge for a look at legs. She was back into the air in moments and once again, the battle was on. She found the other female and the two went at it again, diving and chasing one another just above the rooftops in downtown Brampton. Milton just stayed and chilled out.
After I lost sight of them I decided that I would have to come back when the weather breaks and I can see much more clearly. The adults are hanging low enough that band numbers can be read if their position is right so I will be back for more. This spring like weather has everyone all a flutter and I am not surprised to see this spit spat this late into the year. Its not as serious as it will become next spring but there was no doubt that these two females weren’t playing around. This banded female could certainly be a migrant moving through but I don’t believe so. She was not taking any hints about leaving and was fighting to stay so I think this lady is sticking around. As I was driving away, a single female had taken up the chase of a flock of pigeons and was after some lunch. I will be back again soon for another attempt at identifying just who the players are and which one has Milton’s attention. I apologize for the grainy photos but light was bad and it was raining.
Posted on November 2, 2012 8:15 am
October 31, 2012 - Toronto - King Street
Tracy Simpson Reports:
After the Burlington Lift Bridge, I had some time on my way out to Leslieville and so stopped in at 18 King Street East for a looksee as to who was home. I found both adults on the nest ledge staying out of the rain and each at their own end of the ledge. Erin was fast asleep with her head under her wing for most of her nap and Windwhistler was staring out at the cityscape roosting and relaxed. As with the lift bridge, it was great to see the pair at home especially after Sandy has been battering the city with winds and rain for such a prolonged period.
Posted on November 2, 2012 7:16 am
October 31, 2012 - Burlington - Lift Bridge
Tracy Simpson Reports:
On Wednesday as I made my way back from Fort Erie, I decided to stop in at the lift bridge and see how Cirrus and MacKensie handled the rainy days of Sandy. I found Cirrus in the hydro tower on the Hamilton side digesting a huge crop! It was great to see her. I set my sights to spotting MacK when all of a sudden, they both burst out of the hydro tower and were on the attack. Attacking what I am not sure as whatever it was, it was tucked in under the Skyway and out of my sights. Moments later they both landed by the nest box on the bridge cables but MacK wasn’t to stay there long. He was off again screaming like the wind and swooping the same spot on the bridge. I tried to locate what it was that was so offensive but to no avail. MacK gave up the attack after a few dives and headed off on a mission to Burlington. Within 5 minutes, he was back in the Hamilton hydro tower looking really ticked off. Before I left he had settled into a peregrine version of calm and Cirrus stayed firmly plunked down on the cabling. Great to see the pair at home!!
Posted on November 2, 2012 7:04 am
November 01, 2012 - International, National and Local News
Frank Butson Reports:
From an article by The American Bird Conservancy
Protected Species May be Killed by Proposed Prairie Dog Control, Environmental Groups Charge :
(Washington, D.C., October 16 , 2012)
Defenders of Wildlife, American Bird Conservancy, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Audubon of Kansas have urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reject an application by Scimetrics to use the rodenticide Kaput-D for the control of black-tailed prairie dogs in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.
The groups say that because Kaput-D, which contains the anticoagulant diphacinone that causes poisoned animals to bleed to death, is not selective in the animals it impacts, it has a high probability of killing non-target wildlife, including species protected under the Endangered Species Act, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Black-tailed prairie dogs are regularly exterminated from ranchland as pests, primarily because they are thought to compete with cattle for forage. Their populations have been reduced by as much as 95 percent of their historical numbers and continue to decline.
In a letter to the EPA, the groups point out that the proposed registration decision is based on information provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for another pesticide, Rozol Prairie Dog Bait, which contains a different active ingredient, chlorophacinone.
The groups stress that the EPA cannot simply insert Kaput-D in place of Rozol in its scientific assessment. They advise EPA to complete formal “Section 7” Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultations with FWS on endangered species impacts from the use of this specific pesticide. They suggest that EPA complete such a consultation prior to registration, both to avoid litigation risk, and so that endangered species concerns may properly be analyzed and necessary use restrictions incorporated.
“EPA cannot simply piggy-back onto another prior consultation for an entirely different active ingredient. Registration of Kaput-D prior to completion of Endangered Species Act consultation violates the Act,” said Dr. George Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy.
Diphacinone causes internal hemorrhaging and damage to capillaries throughout the body. Affected animals exhibit differences in behavior or weakness prior to death, which makes them susceptible to predators that in turn become poisoned. By the time the targeted the animal expires or is predated upon, it may be carrying in its system a “super dose” of the rodenticide, which can result in secondary poisonings of non-target species, including much larger animals such as eagles and badgers.
Prairie dog colonies are used by many protected wildlife species that prey on or scavenge prairie dogs or use their burrows for shelter. The use of rodenticides in and around prairie dog burrows can have significant impacts on animal populations beyond the intended target. The proposed label change would make this product available for this use throughout the range of the prairie dog, an area covering 2.4 million acres in the western United States. Numerous species will be impacted by this use.
Birds and non-target mammals that feed on grain-based baits are at risk of direct poisoning. Field applications endanger a broad spectrum of grassland birds, including prairie-chickens and sage-grouse, as well as songbirds such as the Western Meadowlark, and shorebirds such as the Upland and Mountain Plovers. Prairie-chickens and sage-grouse are species of special concern that are being considered for possible ESA listing. Non-target predatory and scavenging species at risk of secondary poisoning include the highly-endangered black-footed ferret, as well as badgers, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, skunks, Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, hawks, and owls.
Raptors are highly susceptible to secondary poisoning from some of the chemicals used in rodenticides. They can spot dead or dying black-tailed prairie dogs that are more difficult to see from a ground-level perspective, and they have been observed to be attracted to Rozol-poisoned prairie dog colonies. The Golden Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, and Burrowing Owl are among nine species with documented dependence on prairie dog colonies. All three have been identified as being of “Species of Conservation Concern,” defined as species that are likely to become candidates for listing under the ESA without additional conservation action. Further, Bald and Golden Eagles are protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. In particular, Golden Eagle populations appear to be experiencing declines throughout most of their range, and the availability of poisoned prey is expected to exacerbate population declines.
The groups also take issue with the premise of approving yet another product to eradicate the black-tailed prairie dog, which has suffered massive declines throughout its range due to poisoning and disease. The registration of Kaput-D is likely to result in expanded prairie dog poisoning, thus increasing the likelihood that the species will itself require federal endangered species protection in the future.
In their letter, the three groups say that “EPA should also consider the impacts of an increasingly poisoned landscape on future black-footed ferret recovery efforts. Elimination of more prairie dogs and their burrows from the landscape due to poisoning will undoubtedly diminish the future success of ferret recovery by reducing the number of suitable sites for reintroduction and restoration.”
Given the magnitude of the impact to non-target wildlife, and given that use of this product will almost certainly result in the death of birds in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the groups are asking EPA to deny the proposed registration. http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/121016.html
Posted on November 1, 2012 12:35 pm
