April 13, 2013 - International, National and Local News
Tracy Simpson Reports:
I wanted to share this picture that was posted a few days ago of a female incubating eggs in Minneapolis / St. Paul as the image is quite unbelievable. We have all been watchful of our southern Ontario peregrine pairs throughout this ( hopefully ) last blast of winter like weather. In Ontario, it brought us wet slush, lots of rain, ice pellets and 1 cm thick freezing rain. We weren’t the only ones to be saturated by this storm front and there are some awesome and committed adults out there doing their best. Myself, Mark, Kathy, Bruce, Marion and many other CPF site monitors have been out checking up on our pairs and all is progessing very well. This shot was taken through an office window in the midwest. Check out this female!!
Posted on April 13, 2013 12:17 pm
April 13, 2013 - Niagara Falls
CPF Volunteer Reports:
First we must say a huge thank you to Roger and Vicki for their efforts to update us all on the progress of the Niagara Gorge pair. It would seem that Diamond and Onyx are still very much a presence in the gorge and when we looked at the shots that Vicki was able to get through the mist and fog, it would appear that there is an adult peregrine lying down in the nest cavity. While this can’t be 100% confirmed as of yet, Vicki and Roger have plans to return to Terrapin point for another recon session soon. We have posted the picture with the potential image of an adult incubating and we look forward to hearing more about the progress in Niagara!!
Posted on April 13, 2013 12:04 pm
April 13, 2013 - Toronto - Hearn Power Station
Bruce Massey Reports:
I stopped in this morning at the Hearn Generating Station for a site check on Peter and his female after a week of very wet, cold weather. Last week, the female was lying down on the roof of the main building and was definately incubating one or more eggs. It would seem that this week she has abandoned that spot and has taken Peter’s suggestion. Today she was lying down inside the old nest cavity and looking much happier and drier. While we can’t confirm how many eggs were left on the rooftop, we can say that she is on track with more and in a much better spot.
Posted on April 13, 2013 11:54 am
April 12, 2013 - Scarborough - Yellow Pages
Marion Nash Reports:
I stopped in at Yellow Pages earlier this week and tried to find Linn and Rueben’s nest location this year. Kathy and I checked all of the ledges and although we found scrapes everywhere, there was no sign of the elusive incubating adult. Yesterday, we stopped by again for a check and found Rueben on duty definately incubating an undisclosed number of eggs. He was one wet little male but never gave up his post. Great job Rueben. I have posted an image of where the pair are incubating this year rather than try and describe the location as the building has a different configuration that is hard to describe. If I were to try and describe it, it is on the north side of the building, facing Milner Ave., on the northeast corner on the west “shoulder”. See what I mean!! Hopefully the map will help to clarify things.
Check back very soon as pictures are to follow!!
Posted on April 13, 2013 11:51 am
April 13, 2013 - Mississauga - Holcim
Marion Nash Reports:
A huge thank you to Barb and Armando at Holcim Cement for sending us an update on their peregrines. Armando was able to get a look at the nest site the other day and confirm incubation by the pair. This is exciting news and we look forward to another great year at the Holcim site. The CPF will be celebrating Earth Day with Holcim at their plant event and we will have further updates and news on Caspian and Storm’s progress!! Thanks again to Barb and Armando!
Posted on April 13, 2013 10:40 am
April 13, 2013 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
With the unexpected return of Hurricane to the William Osler site and the disappearance of Casper, I made it a point to get out to check on things at William Osler as often as I was able to this week. The week began with better weather and Hurricane was busy re-establishing his territory. If there is such a thing as a “happy” falcon, he was it. He visited all of his old perches and made a point of landing and giving a few chup-chups on each one. He was all over the place! ”The “H”, that’s mine. The tower, mine too. Tree by the entrance… …well Mr. Crow, that would be mine.” This went on for a good 20 minutes as he went from perch to perch and claimed them all. Chessie napped in the tray through this whole routine and didn’t really care so long as he brought home dinner by 4. Sure enough, by 4:03pm, he was home with prey for her and he exchanged this gift with her on the eastern “H”. Hurricane returned to the nest tray and sat on the edge staring at the eggs while Chessie ate. No more than 10 minutes later, he was up on the sign with her checking to see if she ate it all. Chessie flew one quick circuit around the building before returning to the tray and Hurricane ran down the length of the sign to look for leftovers.
On Tuesday, Hurricane was on the north “H” sign and preening the day away. I didn’t remain long as the rain was now moving in and Hurricane was quite happy to fall asleep in the light showers that were falling. As the rain became more intense, Hurricane, with eyes fully closed, began to whine about the weather and eventually he woke up and moved to cover. The entire time Chessie remained in the tray and did not get off the eggs.
By Thursday the cold, wet weather had moved in and most pairs were now staying pretty close to cover. I decided on a quick check and could not see a single bird on site when I arrived. I wasn’t there for more than a few minutes when Chessie began to call. Just then, a falcon came racing up the south side of the building and another up the north side. This brought Chessie out of the nest tray alarm calling. Yes indeed, I now have three falcons above my head and its pandemonium! Chessie flew to the tower and landed. Hurricane was immediately at her side and the two were vocalizing. The third bird was definately a female and she was circling low above the parking lot but what was missing here was the ferocious defense of the nest site. Chessie left the tower and met the female in the air and there were two rather sedate attempts at contact and then Hurricane entered the mix. Chessie flew back to the tower while Hurricane chased the female along the north side of the building and escorted her off of the property. Chessie immediately flew back into the tray and was down on the eggs right away. Hurricane returned and remained on edge but calm as he took up position on the west ledge of the building. All the while I was taking pictures and the shot I was able to get of the two females about to make contact… …it looked as if Chessie didn’t have any bands!! The other female was definately in juvenile plumage and I could not see any bands on her either. While I was sure that it was just the angle of the shot and feeathers in the way I needed to confirm this for my own peace of mind.
Yesterday I was back out to visit the pair and I found the female on the west ledge of the building. A few photographs later and it was definately without a doubt Chessie. She took a run at a few crows and then disappeared around to the east side and out of my view. I went back around and could not see her or Hurricane and I may have missed an exchange in the tray of incubation duties.
You need not doubt that I will be back as often as I can to watch the progress of the pair. I want make sure that all is on track and we are up to date on who is “on the dance card” as this territory has yet to settle down.
Posted on April 13, 2013 10:34 am
April 13, 2013 - Port Colborne - ADM Mill
Doug Garbutt Reports:
At the time of my last report, our resident female was on 2 eggs. With the cold snap, she was on them as if in full incubation mode. Last week within the period of 3 days, she was observed eating the shells of both eggs. She has not been back in the box since then (at least not for any length of time). The male is the same one we have had for the last few years, Buffalo Bill. We think the female is also the resident as she is unbanded. It’s not too early for a 2nd clutch as she produced one last year. We’ll hope for the best.
Posted on April 13, 2013 10:23 am
April 13, 2013 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
A bit of exciting news for Rhea Mae and Tiago! Legacy, their offspring from the 2010 nesting season, has been indentified and located at the St. Mary’s Cement plant in Bowmanville with a female named Buffy. The St. Mary’s pair failed to hatch eggs in 2010 and 2011 and then last year, they altered the location of their nest site to the east silos and hatched at least two eggs. Last year, as Legacy reached adulthood, may have been the year that he arrived and took over the territory which would coincide with the observed changes in nest site location and behaviour. Congratulations Rhea Mae and Tiago on another offspring successfully making his way in the world!!
For the complete story, please visit the St. Mary’s Cement page!!
Posted on April 13, 2013 9:56 am
April 09, 2013 - Bowmanville - St Mary's Cement
Tracy Simpson Reports:
After completing my Project School Visit presentations in the Bowmanville area, I travelled to St. Mary’s Cement in the hopes of gaining further insight as to the activities of the resident adults. I met up with Nick and then headed out to the silos for another round of observations and I was initially unable to locate any falcons on the structure. I scanned the area and even without binoculars I had no trouble in locating Buffy on the ladder of the west silos. She really is an impressive presence! I continued to scan the ladder that runs up the side of the silo and located the resident male two levels above Buffy. Both adults sat preening on the railings for 20 minutes before the male took to the air. He flew over towards my location and disappeared behind the east silo before coming around and swooping up to the ladders at my location. I managed to snap several pictures of him and it would appear, with 99% surety, that the resident male has a solid black Ontario recovery band that reads 39 over Y. This male is Legacy who was hatched at the Toronto Sheraton Hotel in 2010. He had come in with food and moved to the top of the east silo and was calling for Buffy to come. When she didn’t arrive, he ate the really small package himself and then moved back to the east silo ladders. This is the same location that I photographed Buffy at yesterday and it looks like this is the site they have chosen this year to attempt nesting. After a few minutes Legacy flew off of the east silo ladder to the side of the structure where he located a second cache of food. Off he went over to Buffy who was already full to the brim. He landed above her and began to eat his prize and that’s when the oddest thing happened. Another female peregrine falcon arrived on location and was flying circles above the resident adults. Neither of the adults moved to intercept or showed any aggression towards the third bird and this had me perplexed. I started snapping pictures like mad and upon review I was able to see that the third bird was a juvenile female. The most likely explanation was that this was the female hatched here last year that must not have migrated but instead remained in the territory throughout the winter with her parents. That female, named Madison by the staff at St. Mary’s, was rescued last year when she entered one of the buildings and became disoriented. I watched her doing figure eights around the distant silos while Legacy continued to eat his meal. Occasionally he would vocally scold her but made no move to attack or intervene. After his meal, Legacy took to the air and met the juvenile over the silos and again, no attack was in the offing. Instead he flew circles with her and vocalized his displeasure at her interruption of the nesting process. Legacy escorted the juvenile female out to the south towards the lake and just then appeared what looked like another falcon. The birds were dipping in and out of my sight and so I cannot be sure of this but I believe there may have been a fourth, this one the size of a male. Buffy didn’t move from her perch until all the falcons were past me and down by the lake. She flew over to the east silos up to the roof area and perched there for about 10 minutes watching to the south. Legacy returned 5 minutes later and flew up to the west silo stairs and Buffy took off to join him. There the pair remained for another 10 minutes before they both took off east through the plant and out of view.
Back in the office I had the pleasure of speaking with Ana for quite some time about arranging for the construction and installation of a nest box for their pair. Ana, Fabio, Nick and Rueben are all very excited about the prospect and we will keep you updated as to the progress of the nesting season and the potential for a nest box at St. Mary’s. Again I must thank the great staff at the plant for taking time to speak with me and helping me to gather further observations of the resident pair. While there is no confirmation of incubation or eggs at this time, we look forward to a productive and exciting nesting season at St. Mary’s and I will be back to visit again very soon!
Pictures to follow soon!!
Posted on April 13, 2013 9:43 am
April 08, 2013 - Bowmanville - St Mary's Cement
Tracy Simpson Reports:
I had the pleasure of delivering our Project School Visit program to students in the Bowmanville area this week and made a point of stopping in at St. Mary’s Cement to check in on the nesting progress there. Last year, after assisting in the rescue and banding of a juvenile female that the plant staff named Madison, Mark and I went out and spent some time monitoring the resident adult pair. We were able to identify the adult female by her solid black recovery band bearing the markings rotated Y over O. Of note was that her recovery band was on her right leg instead of her left. This female is Buffy who hatched in 2000 at the London TD Tower to George and Calypso and was raised by George alone after Calypso was fatally struck by lightning . We were delighted to see that a juvenile from that nesting season had survived and has gone on to breed highlighting the great job George did on his own. While we were successful in getting an identification on the female, the male was more elusive and all we knew was that he was also wearing a solid black recovery band indicating he was hatched in Ontario.
I arrived on site in the morning and met up with Nick who graciously took the time to assist me in investigating the silos that the resident adults were interested in last year. A full search of the silo area initially yielded evidence of the peregrines presence but they were not readily visible. At the base of the east silo, I took a picture of the crevice that had evidence of whitewash and to my astonishment, I found the resident female, Buffy, at the far right of the ledge. From the angle that we were standing at it was difficult to see whether she was fully lying down or not but the displacement of the feathers on her back led me to believe that she was in fact lying down. The spot that she has chosen is completely inaccessible and only viewable from the ground level and so we cannot be certain whether she has an egg yet or not. During our observation period, the male did not make an appearance and a scan of the area didn’t reveal his location. We will be keeping a watchful eye on the St. Mary’s pair for signs of nesting and further monitoring will be conducted to determine if Buffy and her mate, who has yet to be identified, will be nesting this year. My thanks to Nick, Fabio, Ana and the excellent staff at St. Mary’s Cement for their help today and I look forward to our next visit.
Pictures will be posted soon!
Posted on April 13, 2013 9:13 am
