Yellow Pages Still on Track but No Hatch Yet
May 15, 2013 - Scarborough - Yellow Pages
Bruce Massey Reports:
Tracy and I went up to the Yellow Pages nest site to check in on Rueben and Linn’s progress towards hatching young this year. They have moved to a different ledge on the building this year that faces north and so we set up in the parkette just to the north of the building. We found Rueben on the peak of the building rather relaxed and enjoying the day and he spent the next 20 minutes up there preening. Linn was nowhere in sight and we believe that she was in the nest ledge incubating. Rueben took off of the top of the building and flew down into the ledge and was there for over 5 minutes. Did we miss Linn emerging? Nope. She refused to move as evidenced by the popping up of Rueben after which he flew to the next ledge over. There he sat and preened for a while and Tracy and I decided to head back over to the parking lot after Rueben’s ousting from the ledge. Just as we left the parkette and were at the corner, Rueben came off like a shot and took a pigeon right out of the parkette feet from where we were standing!! He flew out over the townhouses, circled around to the Investor’s Group “kitchen” but didn’t stop there. He flew back up to the west side of the Yellow Pages building and began to pluck. We decided to stay and see if this food was intended for the nest ledge and we watched as he ate at least half. You see, Rueben is a smart lad. How do you get big Linn to move? How was he going to get his turn? Pidgie!! That’ll do it!! He flew off of the antenna on the west side and into the nest ledge with the remainder of the package. Linn quickly waddled out of her spot on the eggs and took the food from Rueben who quickly jumped on the eggs. Ha!!! Linn took one last look at the man that foiled her plot not to share, shouted out a few choice chups at him and flew around to the same antenna on the west side that Rueben had just left. She ate every last scrap even though she already had an impressive crop!! There she stayed roosting and preening as we left.
We can say for sure that there has yet to be a hatch at Yellow Pages but we believe, based on our observations of partial incubation on April 9th, that the first young one will be coming soon. Food did not go to the ledge to feed young but rather to get Linn off the eggs so Rueben could have a turn at them. Boy, he knows her well.
