Statler and Caster Trying Something Different
March 24, 2013 - Kitchener - CTV-Bell Media Tower
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Bruce and I attended the Waterloo Sun Life nest site on March 24th to determine where the adults were located and whether nesting this year was on their minds. We had several reports of sightings of the pair in the area and also in downtown Kitchener hunting throughout the winter. When we arrived, we parked across from Sun Life and started our scan and walkabout. We circled the building and checked all of the known areas for activity but none was apparent. We could also see that the critical work that began in the off season that needed to be undertaken to safely upgrade the Sun Life building was almost complete and they were doing an excellent job moving that forward as quickly as possible. We checked out the nest box for signs of an incubating bird but were unable to see into the depths and so we started to wander south towards the hospital for a better view. As we walked we saw a peregrine on the communications tower at CTV, an often used perch by the resident pair, and we stopped to scan and identify male or female. It was Statler and she was not alone for long. Caster flew in from the south and mated with her; the pair being very vocal about this fact. Caster then flew off of the mating perch and made a sharp turn that ended with him landing on the south side of the tower. He was gone from view. I suspected that he had entered the communications drum that Bruce and I had noticed when we were driving in that was missing a cover. We walked up to CTV and sure enough, there was Caster on the center post inside the drum. Statler by this time had flown off of the CTV tower and was now on a low antenna on the roof of the studio. I snapped several pictures of both adults and was able to confirm their identities as the resident pair. Statler stayed on the antenna for about 15 minutes and then flew off and into the communications drum. We could see debris flying about as she was scraping out a bowl in the liner of the drum. We moved back towards the high school for a better look and not only was she scraping, she was now lying down on the liner. It was clear to us that she already had an egg she was attending to and based on the pictures I took of her, there was another on the way. As much as we didn’t want the pair to nest in this drum it was already too late. We have experienced this with many of the pairs that we work to monitor in southern Ontario in that they will have seasons in which they alter ledges on a building or sometimes a change of structure altogether but in the end they always return to what is familiar and what supports their success best and that is their nest tray, nest box or ideally suited and chosen ledge. What was absolute was that the pair has an affinity for the territory and they intend to maintain their hold upon it. As this communications tower was not an ideal nesting site and we could see the water dripping from the saturated environment, the likelihood of hatching viable eggs in the drum was scant. The only thing at this point that could be done was to wait and watch. If a hatch occurred it would be miraculous and if they were unsuccessful, a return to their nest box at Sun Life and the hopes of a re-clutch remained high in our minds. Now we wait.
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