Turf Wars in Brampton, Here We Go Again!!
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.
