January 14, 2013 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
On Saturday, Bruce Massey and I decided to go out and check out some of the west end nest sites and see what pairs were up to. We started our tour at the William Osler Hospital where Hurricane and Chessie have been hanging around more often lately. When we arrived, I had a male peregrine on the nest ledge and the female had just flown up to the east tower. I started snapping pictures of the male on the ledge and stopped to take a minute to review them. To my dismay, the male in my photograph staring back at me was not Hurricane. The solid black recovery band could clearly be read and I recognized it right away. The band read 35 / Y and belongs to Casper, a 2009 hatch from north Etobicoke. Hurricane is 5 over X. Casper had been holding territory and successfully produced at least one offspring in 2012 at the Hilton Garden Inn on Caroga Drive near the airport. Casper and his mate Claire had both been seen and photographed on Dec. 9th and after scrutinizing the photos I took at William Osler on Dec. 22, the pair then was still Hurricane and Chessie. I have to admit that time stopped for a minute with a wrecking ball shot to the heart when I realized that this male on site was not Hurricane. What?… …What did this mean? I was really shocked.
I set my mind to trying to confirm the identity of the female in the tower. She had just taken a bath down in the valley and was soaking wet and preening. Her position on the top of the tower did not make it easy for me to see her legs as she sat in from the edge. I can say for certain that she has a silver USFW band and a black over green recovery band; this is consistent with Chessie, not Claire. Claire dons a purple USFW band. I have more pictures to review that may clarify the recovery band number for the female but I am confident that this is Chessie. Now, back to the male…
Casper sat on the nest ledge amidst a ton of activity. Work has been going on in the peregrine off season at the hospital to maintain the facility and there were swing stages active at both the southeast and northeast corners of the building. As the stages began to lift, Casper sat and preened without concern. When they reached the nest ledge level, Chessie took offence to this and was off the tower like a shot. Casper joined her in the air but it was more like he was following rather than being invited to participate. The pair circled around the west end of the hospital and then Chessie went into a fabulous stoop over the intersection and both were gone from sight. It was clearly not a coordinated effort. Chessie was the first to return to the east tower and Casper joined her moments later. Chessie sat in the very front ( west ) portiion of the tower and Casper sat hidden at the very back ( east ) portion of the four teired tower. Now HE was soaking wet. He left the tower and flew over to the southeast corner of the nest building where the swing stages were now down and he began to preen and deal with his wet feathers.
I’ve been doing this a long time now but I still left the site wondering what this all means. I have a lot of questions that remain unanswered as our conversation with the awesome and supportive staff on security revealed no incidence of a fight and no other peregrine located during their walks of the grounds. Bruce and I also conducted an extensive ground search around the hospital, hydro tower and medical centre which revealed no sign of Hurricane. Was there a battle? Is Hurricane still alive? Did he wander away, like O’Connor last spring, only to show up somewhere else? So many questions that are ricochetting around in my head. I will be back to monitor just what is going on here with Casper and whether Hurricane re-appears. Hurricane established this site back in 2006 as a two year old and has held it ever since. I will be watching for him and watching this site as I don’t think this is settled yet. My gut feeling and observations today have me believing that this is recent.
I have posted a few of the photos I took on Saturday that revealed this news to me. They aren’t fabulous as they are meant to show that the band number on the male is 35 /Y and not 5 / X. As much as we try to not get emotionally attached to these birds, it is almost impossible given the intense study, time commitment and monitoring that the CPF and its volunteers does. You invariably get attached to someone somewhere. Hurricane and O’Connor were my “IT” pair. Together they were unstoppable and as separate individuals, they are absolutely fabulous to watch. O’Connor shocked me with her disappearance and rediscovery last spring. Now Hurricane. Still, anything is possible.
Posted on January 14, 2013 11:14 am
January 12, 2013 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
On Saturday, the temperatures soared and the skies were bright. This certainly had many birds thinking spring and the pair at Toronto Sheraton Hotel were no exception. One of our sharp eyed camera watchers caught Rhea Mae and Tiago on Saturday in the nest tray having a discussion and the pair were on and off the ledge throughout the day. It was great to see them on camera and we look forward to the coming season with them.
Posted on January 14, 2013 9:59 am
January 07, 2013 - Mississauga - Holcim
Tracy Simpson Reports:
I had a delivery to make in the Oakville area and decided to stop in at the Holcim site to check up on Storm and Caspian. As I was pulling up, Storm swooped in from the east and flew up to a ledge on the Avonhead Road side of the plant. As I slowed for a look, I found that Storm had landed right near Caspian and both adults were home!! It was great to see the pair together. After a few minutes of roosting and preening, Caspian took off in hot pursuit of dinner with Storm hot on her heels hoping for a bite. I will be back again to visit with this fabulous pair as winter marches on towards spring.
Posted on January 7, 2013 10:50 pm
January 07, 2013 - Brampton - Courthouse
Tracy Simpson Reports:
The new female identified recently in Brampton, Midnight from Ohio, has been seen regularly hanging out behind the Shoppers World plaza at Hwy 10 and Steeles where a sizable flock of pigeons roost. I have seen her there several times over the past week and today she gave me a show stopping flight demo!! She was roosting on the top of a building and then went from roost to pursuit in 10 seconds flat!! I grabbed my camera and had no time to adjust for lighting. Take the picture!! Wait… …put car in park… …OK now TAKE THE PICTURE QUICK!!! I was able to snap a few shots of Midnight amongst a chaotic swirl of pigeons and I was amazed to see that she was not successful in singling one out. Merely browsing I guess. Sightings have been reported over the past month of the unbanded female in the area but I have yet to see her around. She may have found a location that I have yet to discover. I will be back again to look for Milton, the resident male, and follow up on the progress of who is who, where and when as we head towards nesting season in Brampton.
Posted on January 7, 2013 10:44 pm
January 07, 2013 - Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton
Tracy Simpson Reports:
A big thank you to Julie Nyman for allowing us to share these photos she took over the holidays on Dec. 27th with you. The Minto Towers condos are across the street from Canada Square and there is an exhaust vent that has become a favored perch of the resident pair Stormin and Haven. Julie was able to capture a once in a lifetime photo of the pair roosting together on the same vent and a moment later, arguing over who’s crowding the bed!! Excellent and amazing shots!! It is awesome to see the size difference between wee Stormin and big Haven!
Posted on January 7, 2013 10:33 pm
January 06, 2013 - International, National and Local News
Frank Butson Reports:
Please read this article. An active Bald Eagles nest was destroyed with Ministry of Natural Resources permission. This is in Haldimand County, a spot in Ontario where endangered Bald Eagles nest as well as threatened species the Short-eared Owl.
http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/2013/01/11/pov-no-room-for-eagles-in-green-energy-act
Posted on January 6, 2013 11:05 pm
January 04, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
So before I left the office I decided to see if our dynamic duo had moved at all and in fact by 3:30 both were gone from the ledge. So I went out the back entrance thinking I might catch them on the Moneris sign when suddenly I saw O’Connor’s reflection in the glass doing recon over the rooftops and the area where I had removed the RTH earlier this morning.
She flew over to the West Tower building and landed on the edge as I walked down towards that tower. I had to put my head down as the wind was so sharp but I swear only about a minute went by when suddenly I heard her and jerked my head up. She was way over by Jack’s ‘Man Cave’ building and I honestly thought I’d lost my mind. No way she could get there that fast could she? Well she can and was engaged in dive bombing another RTH that was hunting over that area.
She dove and chased and wailed on that bird until I saw both go down, the RTH was by some new condo towers further out and O’Connor above the bird headingg into a partial stoop. I only saw one bird come up and it was our fearless falcon. I waited and watched as she flew right back to the edge of the Moneris building and parked herself there looking quite pleased with herself.
She’s had a busy day and she’s quite a contrast to our previous female who, in weather as bitter as this, would rather stay somewhere warm and out of sight! This girl is going to keep me on my toes!
Posted on January 4, 2013 5:38 pm
January 04, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
This morning around 9 am a coworker cam running over to my desk to inform me that there was a dead peregrine falcon on the rooftop outside her window.
It was not one of our juveniles but instead a Juvenile Red Tail Hawk, she was very large and absolutely gorgeous. I saw her two days ago hunting over the Bell Building across the street and remember thinking - you better not let O’connor see you!
Mark informed me that an adult Red Tail wouldn’t come near the nest site however this gal being a juvenile wouldn’t have known the danger. I expect she did run into O’connor as she was directly between the nest site building and the centre tower and her injuries and positioning would indicate she had been aggressively driven to the rooftop.
Both Jack and O’Connor have been velcroed to the nest ledge for the past 5 hours in the exact same positions so I expect this altercation happened very early this morning as both seem to be ‘on alert’.
Many thanks to the Security Team at Sunlife for taking me out and helping with the retreival of her body.
Posted on January 4, 2013 3:09 pm
January 02, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
Happy New Year Falcon Fans! My first check in after an absence of 10 days and I was surprised, that in spite of the cold temperatures, to hear chupping coming from the nest ledge!
Jack was by the nest box and O’connor flew in from the South to land on the web cam and the chup-fest continued so all is well here as we start a brand new year!
Posted on January 2, 2013 9:38 am
December 30, 2012 - Mississauga - Executive Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
I have been out at MEC almost once per week since this new female arrived on site. I have struggled, squinted, sweated and sworn that I would get this girl’s band number by hook or by crook. I am convinced that she knows what I am after and has been taunting me from her perch above with glimpses here and there of her band and I have repeatedly asserted that I would not give up!! Sunday was a great weather day for some spotting, so out I went.
The day was bright but brisk so I stopped off at the local used clothing store to pick up a cheap and cozy sweater ( I forgot to bring one ) and as I reached the check out, I heard a deep voice behind me say, “So, have you got that peregrine yet?”. For a split second I thought, “Are you kidding me? Has the bird now hired people to follow and taunt me?”. I turned to find the friendly and familiar face of one of our great supporters on the Garda Security team from the MEC complex. I shared with him the news regarding the recent presence of the pair but that alas, I had nothing new on the female’s identity.
Ten minutes later I was at MEC 3 and met up with Bruce Massey for some recon and we immediately found the male Sante on the roof of MEC 1 just above the nest box and the female on the south side of MEC 3 under the Dejardins sign. I grabbed the scope and headed across the street for a view of the female as her left leg, the one I needed, was facing outwards. The scope had to be angled sharply up so that I could be as close as I could and tightly zoomed in for a read. I set up and waited patiently for the look I needed.
She sat for 20 minutes without moving and then suddenly, Sante became very restless on his MEC 1 perch and alerted the female to something in the air. She turned and slowly put her left leg forward. With the sun just right and the female holding her position, I was able to see her entire band for the first time in dozens of attempts. GOTCHA!!! The right half of the lower digit was muddied with “gack” but the lines and curves were unmistakable. You have to imagine my elation at this discovery and picture the scene. Here I am braced and tipped over to look into the scope at this sharp angle and now gesticulating wildly at Bruce to get over here and confirm what I was seeing. I always like to have a second pair of eyes check and make sure I am reading this correctly. Bruce and I have confirmed the band number on the MEC female with 99% accuracy as Black S over Green D both rotated left. This female is Cass, hatched in 2009 at the Macomb County building in Mt Clemens, Michigan to Nick and Hathor. Nick is the son of Miriam, a female nesting at the Whittier Apartments in Detroit that the CPF released in 2003 as a part of Project Release and Project Track Em. Miriam and her offspring are famous for their ferocity at their nest sites and her grand daughter Cass is following well in their talon steps.
We only had a few minutes before Cass took off to the southwest and then reappeared above the roof of MEC 2 in stealth attack mode. No alarm calling, just full contact strikes on a Red Tailed that was soaring too close to her buildings. Sante had flushed it and it was Cass’s job to dispatch it. The RT hawk flew around the back of MEC 3 with Cass striking and following in hot pursuit. As I rounded the MEC 3 building, Cass was now sitting perched on the roof retaining wall and the hawk was nowhere to be seen.
After months of painstakingly watching this female, she now has a name; Cass. A great way to start 2013!!!
Posted on January 1, 2013 9:11 am
