Canadian Peregrine Foundation

All Four Eggs in View at MEC

April 28, 2013 - Mississauga - Executive Centre

CPF Volunteer Reports:

We have all been watching the live web camera at the MEC nest site very closely these days as Cass and Sante are due for a hatch any day now.  On Sunday, we were able to capture the image of the four eggs as the adults did a quick changeover and there was no sign of a crack or pip indicating that a hatch was occurring.  This morning, the eggs were again revealed briefly during a changeover and we believe that a hatch is imminent!!  The adults are both very restless and fidgety on the eggs; changeovers and repositioning happening with much greater frequency.  This is very exciting to see Sante and Cass so close to parenthood and we look forward to the appearance of the first little head at this site!!

The images were captured today.  As I write this the adult is standing and pacing!!!!!!!!!!

Etobicoke Sun Life Getting Ready

April 30, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre

Tracy Simpson Reports:

On Sunday, Bruce and I attended the Etobicoke Sun Life nest site to check up on O’Connor and Jack’s progress towards hatching eggs.  We travelled back along Eagle Road for a view of the nest tray and we could see that O’Connor was in the tray laying down with her tail braced against the edge and her back feathers somewhat elevated.  We decided to take an elevated look to determine whether any of the eggs had hatched yet as she is due any day now. 

I found O’Connor in the tray and she was all dreamy faced.  She was sleeping for the most part and boy is she ever cute…   …when she’s sleeping!  She was positioned like a muffin top but not quite the full arch that we saw last year when her first egg had hatched.  There was no evidence of a shell or a young one beneath her yet but Bruce and I agree that she is very close.  Jack was not in the area at the time and was most likely out on an evening hunt as O’Connor had clearly already eaten.  Of course I took a jillion pictures in the hopes of a quick reveal and I was not disappointed when she repositioned.  My little superzoom can do some pretty amazing distances.  No little heads yet in view but close!! 

I will be back to check on the pair again today to see if we have our first hatch at Etobicoke Sun Life.

Mating Continues at Hearn

April 28, 2013 - Toronto - Hearn Power Station

Bruce Massey Reports:

I was down to visit Peter and Angela on Sunday to check on their progress after they abandoned their nest last week.  I found both adults in view on the main building and often times using the platform up on the back of the stack to roost and preen.  Peter continues to mate with Angela but it is unclear whether they will have eggs and where.  I will continue to update you on the progress of Hearn this nesting season and we hope that they pair settle on a suitable ledge soon.

Steath Air Show by Storm at Holcim

April 28, 2013 - Mississauga - Holcim

Tracy Simpson Reports:

This weekend Bruce and I decided on a check up of Storm and Caspian at Holcim Cement after the juvenile intrusion last week.  When we arrived there were no peregrines in view and so we scanned about for a roosting adult.  Nothing.  We continued to search the plant and all of the usual perches.  Nada!  I sat down on the sidewalk on Avonhead Road and decided that I would relax and enjoy my coffee before we headed back to the Raptor Centre and call it a day.  Just then, a bird came whipping over the top of the Holcim fence no more than 12 feet off of the ground, skimmed the top of the fence on our side of the road and then swooped along the contour of the berm to the other side.  Now at first all I caught was grey and big so the first thing I am thinking, based on flight style, is that this is a Cooper’s hawk.  I saw the starlings and blackbirds scatter on the other side of the berm and knew the bird was circling back.  Right over the top of the fence comes the little stealth bomber…  …it’s Storm!!!  With a mouthful of coffee I could barely get out “peregrine” and just waved and grunted until Bruce caught sight of him.  Storm went low over the Holcim fence and then coursed along the front of the small silos facing Avonhead Road and circled back into the heart of the plant.  WOW!!  That was cool!!  Bruce started walking up the road to see if he could spot Storm hunting over the main plant area and just as he was well out of earshot, here comes Storm again!  He flew down through the center of the plant, under the conveyor, barely over the top of the fence, across the road at 12 feet and back along the far side of the berm!  This show of stealth, control and use of the natural contours of the land for cover was outstanding!!  I waved madly at Bruce but he couldn’t hear me and so when Storm came whipping back through, I was the only one to catch sight of it.  He crossed to the Holcim plant and swooped up to the nest ledge, said a quick hello to his girl and he was off to the roof of the low silos.  He sat there for about 5 minutes preening before he was off again into the heart of the Holcim plant and out of view.

Incredible!!  Awesome!!  Not enough expletives to describe the technique we were able to witness by Storm.  Bravo young man, bravo!!!!!

North York Pair Still Going Strong

December 31, 1969 - North York - Nest

Tracy Simpson Reports:

On Friday after I finished spending time with the Canada Square folks, I made my way north on Yonge St to see if I could locate the unbanded male and unnamed Buffalo female at the Trans America building at Elmwood.  When I arrived I found the male at the very top of the building on the east side.  He was perched on the edge of an area that Bruce calls “the prow” as it really is shaped similarly to the prow of a ship.  The female was on the north side of the building on an upper ledge perch on a potlight.  The male took off of his perch and made a spectacular flight northeast on a hunt that brought him at one point low over Mel Lastman Sq.  He was back in a few minutes but without the prize he was seeking.  Within 5 minutes he was off again in the same direction and this time was away for almost 15 minutes before returning empty taloned.  The female remained on her perch throughout his flights and watched to see if he was successful.  The female finally took off on a foray of her own, circled back and landed on the RBC building across the street.  There she checked all of the cache spots for food on the signs, the corners and the roof but none was to be found.  She flew off of the RBC and circled over Mel Lastman Sq. before flying to the north ledge of the Trans America and disappearing into the ledge.  She remained tucked in and out of view for over 40 minutes while the male made another attempt at a hunt.  He was much more successful this time and landed on the north RBC sign calling her.  She didn’t emerge from the spot on the ledge that I had witnessed her entering and so he cached the prey and flew over to the northeast corner of the overhang above the ledge where she was located.  She waddled out from behind a large potlight, looked up at him and started to wail!!  “Dinner!!  Now!!”  She was relentless in her calling of him and when he didn’t move, she flew over to the Invesco building and waited, whining high and loud over the rush hour traffic.  He flew in and mated with her but that didn’t stop her demanding.  The male returned to his high perch on the “prow” of Trans America and she followed.  She physically knocked him off of his perch, all the time whining and begging, and so he circled around and mated with her a second time.  The male now flew down to RBC and showed her where the food was if she wanted it and took off to the northeast.  She finally came down off of the “prow” of Trans America and ate before returning to the same spot on the north side of their building of interest.

While there has not been any signs off eggs yet it would seem that the pair have not given up.  Bruce will be checking out the ledges this week to see if they have indeed picked a spot and whether any eggs are being laid.

First Food Delivery to Nest Box

April 28, 2013 - Burlington - Lift Bridge

Sue McCreadie Reports:

After a couple of visits to the Lift Bridge today, we finally witnessed a food delivery to the nest box.  Mom left the box and searched for scraps.  First to the picnic tables and then to the Hamilton Hydro Tower.  She picked up a very small package from the Hydro Tower and returned to the nest box. 

This afternoon, Bill also witnessed an all out attack on a Red-Tailed Hawk by both Mom and Dad.  Unfortunately there are no photos as the pursuit continued on the other side of the Skyway Bridge.

Canada Square Incubation Continues; Three Eggs Confirmed

April 27, 2013 - Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton

Tracy Simpson Reports:

On Friday I stopped in at the Canada Square nest site at Yonge and Eglinton to check in on Haven and Stormin’s progress towards hatching eggs this year.  I was delighted to meet up with Neil Armstrong from Northan Realty and his collegue Cameron Reynolds who took me up to the suite for a period of observation.  I found Haven standing in the nest bowl re-adjusting her three beautiful eggs, giving them a good turn before settling back down.  She was feeling rather dreamy and was relaxing on the ledge, at times talking in her sleep and calling Stormin for dinner.  Stormin did make a great fly by to check up on her and she chupped at him as he passed.  She gave me a brief look at her precious eggs and I can confirm for certain that there are three.  It won’t be long now before the eggs begin to hatch as the first egg was calculated as being laid on March 30th based on observations by myself, Neil and Cameron.  We will begin looking for the first hatch to arrive around May 1st.  Thanks so much to Neil and Cameron of Northam Realty for all of their support and care of the resident pair, you are fabulous hosts. 

The first 5 pictures attached were taken by Cameron Reynolds from Northam Realty and the last few were taken by myself on Friday.  Thanks again to all for your support!!

Buffy and Legacy Currently Not Incubating

April 27, 2013 - Bowmanville - St Mary's Cement

Tracy Simpson Reports:

I visited St. Mary’s Cement in Bowmanville yesterday to check up on the resident pair and whether they were in fact incubating eggs.  I met up with Ruben and we headed out to the area where the peregrines were expressing interest in possibly nesting.  On our way through the plant, we found Legacy tucked up on a ledge on the east side of the main structure.  There he sat preening away and I must say that he looks so much like his father Tiago.  He has that full helmet head and is incredibly dark.  We continued around to the coal silos and stopped to look for Buffy in the spot that I located her on my last visit.  She was not in the cavity at the top of the silo and we turned our attention to the clinker silos to the west.  Of the two silos in the complex that we can fully see, the one to the east which has an external stair is where I have seen the adults roosting and eating on each occasion that I have been monitoring.  A quick check revealed Buffy on the platform railing halfway up the height of the silo.  With both adults in view they are clealy not in any serious full time incubation at this moment.  Ruben and I discussed the likely possibility that the juvenile female that was out here on my first monitoring of the season may in fact have contributed to the pair not incubating at the moment.  A second attempt was possible as it was not too late in the season for another try.  I will be back out again to St. Mary’s to check in on the pair and I would like to thank the excellent staff at the plant for being such a great host site to Buffy and Legacy.  We look forward to seeing you again soon.

!!! Full Clutch!!

April 26, 2013 - Hamilton - Sheraton Hotel

Kathy Reports:

Thank you to Hanny over at BCAW for catching this great photo yesterday of Madame X and Surge’s 4 eggs!!!

A Great Earth Week Event and Three Falcons at Holcim

April 23, 2013 - Mississauga - Holcim

Tracy Simpson Reports:

I had the distinct honor of attending the Holcim Cement Earth Week event on Tuesday at the plant and spent time with the employees sharing the Canadian Peregrine Foundation’s passion for raptor species at risk with them.  In attendance with me was Oscar the Peregrine and Alexandra the Great Horned owl; I think they were both a hit!  After the event, I headed out to the parking lot and looked up to see a peregrine flying in from the west over the parking lot.  I grabbed my camera and took a couple of quick shots before this female in the air moved out of range.  I watched her soaring over towards Avonhead Road and so I decided to spend some time watching the resident pair, Storm and Caspian, as they continue to incubate a clutch of eggs.  When I reached my watch spot, the resident female Caspian was out of my view, presumably now on the nest ledge incubating, and Storm was not in the immediate area.  It wasn’t long before Storm came racing in like a shot and swung behind the silos low and out of my view.  I looked to the north end of the silos to see if he would make his way back around but what now flew towards me was a female.  ??????????

So who was incubating the eggs?  Before I could finish that thought, Storm came screaming in from the north and met the female in the air.  This was not “happiness to see you”.  The two tussled in the air for a brief moment and upon release of the talon lock, Storm flipped and grabbed her right by the chest!  The female howled at this contact and tried her best to make a hasty retreat to the north with Storm now hot on her tail.  ???????????

Now I’m befuddled.  I have lost sight of both birds and there is clearly no love lost between them.  I quickly grabbed my camera to review the pictures and you’re just not going to believe this.  The female I have photos of is…   …a juvenile!!  I know you’ve heard me tell this same story now half a dozen times but I can only tell you what I see and can prove with certainty.  I stayed on site and waited for the two to return but it was Storm who came back alone, made a brief circle flight above the nest ledge and then flew to the top of the highest peak on the main plant.  There he sat, for a while, until he was once again off like a shot to the southwest.  I waited again for his return and he came back alright…   …chasing the juvenile female through the territory and out to the east.  Again he returned alone after 15 minutes and back to the peak of the plant he went.  The peace lasted all of 20 minutes and boom!!!…  …off goes Storm to the north and out of view.  After 10 minutes he was back again and in pursuit again of the juvenile female out over Avonhead Road.  This last intrusion finally brought Caspian off the nest ledge and she was furious.  I now had three falcons in the air as the two adults escorted this pesky juvenile off the edge of the territory to the south.  Caspian broke away from the chase and beat a hasty retreat back onto the ledge and her eggs.  This time Storm stayed away from the territory for a good 30 minutes before returning to a smack down drag em out fight with a Red Tailed hawk, the hawk quickly deciding that Storm was way too enraged to mess with.  He stooped and smacked this Red Tailed a half a dozen times before trying to grab it by the face.  Fury times 10!!  The Red Tailed moved out as fast as it could get gone and Storm finally returned to the peak of the plant where he remained in position as I finally pulled away.  Phew!!!!!!!!

I have a lot of pictures to review but I can say for certain that the story of the pesky juvenile is being told at nest sites all over southern Ontario.  I will be taking a very close look to see whether this juvenile has bands and if conspicuous red tape appears on her left one as it did in Port Colborne.  I will also now be pulling out all of the pictures from all of the sites that a juvenile female has been seen at this year so far (William Osler, Burlington, Port Colborne, Brampton, St. Mary’s, Hearn and now at Holcim) and checking closely to see if we have a single bird working the lower province or if these are different young girls looking to make a name and a nest for themselves.  In Port Colborne, we believe based on the band configuration and colours that the juvenile is Lucky Seven from the Niagara Gorge nest last year.  If it is in fact her visiting all of these sites, she better take care who she chooses to challenge.  We have some pretty tough resident adult females out there and the males are taking her on as well.  Today Storm made his opinion abundantly clear and she was lucky that Caspian was otherwise occupied.        

Pictures soon to follow.