MEC Report Monday June 17th
June 17, 2013 - Mississauga - Executive Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
With 3 hours sleep in me and still on a high from finding Ashley, I bounced down to MEC to see what today had in store for our two girls. As I pulled in, Ashley was being fed by the parents on the retaining wall above the nest ledge and Catherine had discovered not only that her sister was back but that she was getting the food she wanted. She ran across the nest ledge flapping and hopping feverishly and then slipped… …she half fell and half deliberately took off of the ledge and was heading out towards MEC 3 in an attempt to turn and gain height to the retaining wall of the nest ledge. Her flight, lacking the deliberate concentration needed to do this, was un-coordinated and she was instantly caught up in the wind tunnel that moves through the MEC complex almost constantly. The winds were high today and they pushed her to speeds she did not have the skills to handle and she struck the building. The impact was head on and she fell to the ground at my feet. I don’t feel that I have any appropriate words to express how we the watchers at MEC feel about the loss of Catherine today. In direct contrast to the high we were all on finding Ashley last night, this morning we were brought back down sharply to the reality of life for an urban wild animal. The Fledge Watch program that the CPF pioneered and has continued to run since 1996 has saved the lives of hundreds of peregrines and given them a second chance at success. We are regularly reminded that these wild creatures that we watch must walk a fine line to succeed and sometimes individuals do not make it. Although saddened by this loss, we all turned our attention to the success story sitting in front of us on the retaining wall of MEC 1. Ashley has survived her first fall / fledge that landed her on the ground and needing a rescue. She survived a slip down into a cooling tower which her parents alerted me to (for which I am grateful) so that she might be rescued a second time. Now she sits atop the building with a ridiculously huge crop, a new found confidence and a new chance at making a first impression. With Catherine firmly held in our hearts, we turned our attentions to helping Ashley.
For most of the day she slept. Her ordeals over the weekend had taken a bit of the vinegar out of her and she was happy to make eating and sleeping the agenda for the day. Cass sat with her almost all day, never letting her out of her sight. Sante made several visits up to his daughter as well but preferred to post himself on the porch of the nest box should she return home. After a day of not much action, Shannon, Katherine and Margaret made their way home and I set up for the last few hours hoping for a flight. Winston arrived and I must say just in time. It wasn’t long before Ashley began to run and flap along the retaining wall down to the northeast corner where she finally laid down for a good nap. When she woke, it was time for action and she ran flapping as hard as she could all the way down to the southeast corner of the roof. Then she turned the corner. We raced out across Robert Speck and positioned ourselves so that we could see her. Cass was under the Symcor sign prepping food and Ashley wanted it now!! We could see that she was willing to try a drop down into the well of the ledge and we were on edge. She was now on the southwest corner facing Hurontario and the traffic was heavy. Cass took the food over to MEC 2, cached it and flew over to the northeast corner of the nest building. Sante went to the same corner one ledge below. Ashley began running back towards her parents and in her exuberance, her feet lifted off the wall (still moving them in a run) and she was airborne. She flew along the east face of the nest building towards the north, lost altitude and banked around the corner out of view. Winston ran the east face and I the west. We met behind the day care on the north side of the nest building and shared notes. She didn’t pass me and she did not double back and pass him. So she was here somewhere. I looked up and that same sweet face was now staring back at me from the ledge. She was home! She ran all the way back, jumping the gaps, to the nest ledge and was in the box for the night. The flight she took was challenging and complex to pull off requiring her to flap, bank and then swoop up to the ledge with care. This was a huge confidence booster for her and I look forward to tomorrow when she takes her next flight. But the best part of all, she’s home.
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