July 25, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
This past weekend we were all out and about checking in on each of the nest sites to see how each faired through the blasting heat followed by the storm on Friday. On Sunday, I came down here to Etobicoke Sun Life to check in on O’Connor, Jack and the kids and was treated to an exceptional show of flight. I started at Eagle Road and initially didn’t see anyone. I went back around to the Lomond GO parking lot and found one juvenile on the retaining wall of the nest tower. I couldn’t see tape colour but made efforts to find out. A second juvenile was now in my sight on the upper ledge of the center tower sleeping. I was keeping an eye on her too. Both of them were females but which two I had I was unsure of. The juvenile on the nest tower began to vocalize and from the west I could see O’Connor flying in with food. I watched her transfer the food from foot to beak and fly right towards the nest building. The juvenile on the retaining wall met O’Connor in the air, flipped and in her enthusiasm attempted to grab the food from O’Connor’s face. That went over well. O’Connor banked up and out of the way, dropped the food and the catch was made by the juvenile. Great job. The young one then flew with the food to a ledge on the nest building tower to eat. I did manage to grab my camera but was woefully unprepared for photographing this exchange. I still did manage to get some ok shots that upon review revealed the tape colour of the juvenile in question. It was Lizzy!!! She was now doing aerial food transfers with Mom!! I was all a-buzz about this and set on discovering who the sleepy girl was now. It took time for this cropped up juvenile to reveal her tape but eventually she did a stretch that gave me a positive on green, Layton. Layton flew off of the center tower and was now pursuing pigeons over the GO parking lot. Lizzy finished her tidbit and flew over from the nest building to the west tower where she was joined by another bird. I couldn’t tell if this was Little Big Frank or Shania as it was sitting back from the edge and partially concealed but I believe it was another female. Layton then flew in and landed on Lizzy’s head with much complaining. All that work and no pigeon. Layton was unamused. I now believe I had all three girls on the west tower, O’Connor roosting on the camera housing and Jack hiding in the Moneris sign symbol hoping to go unnoticed. He was soon discovered there by Layton and chased right out of the territory with her screaming behind him. She returned shortly, empty taloned, to the west tower and rousted the other two girls off of their perches. All three were now in the air, screaming and playing the day away. By this time I had moved over to Bloor Street and was joined by two local watchers Lucie and her husband Richard. Richard began recently to regularly watch the Duncan Mill Road nest site this year after following the story there for the past three years and only recently learned of the Etobicoke Sun Life site. This is now on their list of places to visit!! They remained with me until dark watching as the kids were now chasing and playing tag while the sun set. Little Big Frank did not make an appearance during my time here but Angie was able to catch him on camera on Saturday after the storm with his white tape clearly visible. It would seem that all of the kids and adults here are fine and well but I will be back to confirm that the third bird in the playful scrum was Shania. Although I am certain she was here, we would like to see that red tape just to be sure. Lucie, Kathy and Rob will also be spot checking for the elusive red taped lady.
Posted on July 25, 2013 8:51 am
July 25, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
There is a great big story to tell that has been long awaited to catch you up on the news at the Etobicoke Sun Life nest site. I apologize for the delay but it could not be helped with all of the activity going on, the blast furnace heat waves and then the following storm that has devastated so many. This is a grand story worth telling though so let’s get to it!
Back in late June, we left off on the 21st with Lizzy striking the center tower and being rescued by Rob and Bruce. She was taken that night to Mark and Marion Nash for a hold over for an appointment that was made with our avian vet and raptor specialist Dr. Markus Luckwaldt of the Greenwood Park Animal Hospital on Gerrard. The next morning on the 22nd, Mark and Marion met Dr. Luckwaldt at the clinic where he examined Lizzy and took several x-rays. They went over the images and could clearly see that she had fractured her keel in three distinct places. All other major and important bones were intact and she was surely sore as all get out. A fractured keel can heal completely in as little as 14 days and so this was incredibly good news. Of concern was that when she arrived for her exam, both of her feet were balled up and one she refused to or couldn’t open at all. It was believed that either she injured her leg during the impact or when she came down onto the mezzanine level. On the damaged leg, two toes were working perfectly normal, one toe was at half measure and the fourth toe was unresponsive to stimuli. Mark and Marion were then given medication to help her heal and Lizzy was to be reassessed in three days as to whether the injury to her foot was permanent or temporary due to swelling. The great news is that after a few days of lying down and resting most of the time, Lizzy stood up in her cage and refused to lie down again. Her attitude had improved dramatically and she was now hissing at Mark each time he fed her. Both feet were working as they should and she had a huge appetite! All of this was great news as three days earlier she was unwilling to open her one foot at all. At her reassessment, it was discussed whether this injury required further long term confinement and if not, how soon she could be returned to her parents care. As the keel was already knitting together and the foot was now working, it was determined that she could go back to her family in another 5 to 6 days. What made this such a wonderful success story was the collaborative discussion between Dr. Luckwaldt and Mark Nash regarding her home environment, her parents and the progress of her injuries towards healing. The roof of Etobicoke Sun Life has a retaining wall that extends 4 feet high and therefore once released Lizzy would be completely confined to the rooftop until she was physically capable of flying up to the retaining wall herself. No step ups or cheater hops on this roof. Dr. Luckwaldt and Mark agreed that this would be a good containment area for her and given that she was to be released when she was almost completely healed, it would give her another few days of rest and exercise. A great collaborative decision was then made on behalf of Lizzy. Good to go on Day 9 of healing.
Now through all of this we stepped down the watch to spot checks and holding the fort was Rob, Angie, Kathy and Baylie. Thank goodness for these awesome watchers that continued to keep an eye on Layton, Shania and Little Big Frank! We rallied the troops including the watchers, Bruce, Mark, Marion and myself on July 1st and we released Lizzy to the rooftop and her parents care at 5pm. The watch was officially dawn to dusk again until Lizzy could show that she could fly with control and land with precision. It wasn’t long on the night of her release before her family located her on the rooftop. Jack was the first to find her. He at first made a few shallow half hearted stoops and alarm calls before realizing who she was, breaking off and circling the rooftop doing recon flights. After 4 revolutions, he flew back to the nest ledge and took a nap. Layton was next, landing on the retaining wall right above her sister. She sat there for a while looking at Lizzy and wondering where she’d been these past 9 days. No matter. Sis was home. Shania joined Layton and the family was now celebrating.
For the balance of the week, I took the dawn shift and Mark relieved me at noon to close. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday there was no sign of Lizzy leaving the rooftop and the other juveniles continued to visit. Lizzy was checked on by Mark a few times through the week with a stealthy peek through the hatch on the roof without alerting her to his presence. His Thursday check of the rooftop was more extensive as he could not see her from the hatch. This incurred the wrath of O’Connor and cost Mark a few head hairs but yielded no sign of Lizzy. It would appear that on Thursday she had flown. On Friday everything changed with the behaviour of the siblings. They were no longer on the nest building retaining wall looking down. The morning was very quiet and then as the rains moved in, Shania and Layton both flew onto the ledge to the right of the nest ledge and they were on the far left. They were looking with interest down to the far right. I pulled out my camera and waited. On the far right of the ledge, a juvenile stepped forward and was enjoying the rain. I took several pictures and to my surprise it was Lizzy showing off her yellow tape. She had flown from the rooftop and at some point on Thursday made it to this ledge without losing altitude!! Great job Lizzy!! A few moments later, a second juvenile stepped forward and joined her and it was indeed Little Big Frank. All four were now back together on the same ledge. This was excellent news and with that, we scaled back the watch to site checks again with folks popping in each day to monitor Lizzy’s continued progress.
This exceptional story could not have been possible without the care and efforts of many in the community and with the CPF. First off let me thank the security at Etobicoke Sun Life for their call to action to make sure Lizzy got the help she needed. There are many thanks to go out to Rob and Bruce for dropping everything and running to her aid. We also must thank Mark and Marion for their tremendous efforts in helping Lizzy to get to care, support her healing and monitor her progress once released. Of course we cannot forget the watchers at Etobicoke Sun Life including Kathy, Angie, Rob and Baylie for their continued monitoring of the family. Last but never least, the support and efforts put in by the Greenwood Park Animal Hospital and specifically Dr Markus Luckwaldt and his team. It was their caring, compassion and expertise that helped Lizzy to get back to the wild as a fully functional flying machine!! Congratulations one and all for the awesome teamwork and resounding success!!
Watch for more updates on Lizzy and her family’s progress and pictures to follow soon!!
Posted on July 25, 2013 8:44 am
July 24, 2013 - North York - Nest
Bruce Massey Reports:
Given that the storm front that moved through on Friday affected adults and juveniles alike, I made a point of checking up on the territorial adults in North York with the hopes of a re-sighting. I was fortunate to find the female, an unnamed banded girl from Buffalo, up on a tower near Mel Lastman square and her mate, the territorial un-banded male, moving through and using the RBC building signs, the Trans America roof and the bell tower as stopovers. Both birds have been sighted and are doing well. It is unfortunate that they were not successful in producing young this year but we will continue to keep an eye on them and keep you up to date on their activities.
Posted on July 25, 2013 8:25 am
July 24, 2013 - Scarborough - Yellow Pages
Bruce Massey Reports:
I was out at the Yellow Pages nest site to check in on Linn, Rueben and the kids over the past few days. On Saturday after the storm, I did have both adults confirmed but there was no sign of any juveniles. Tuesday when I arrived, I checked in with security and learned that the juveniles hadn’t been positively identified since last Thursday. I set out for a recon walk of the area and was able to spot one juvenile on a building in the territory. I set up my scope and waited for a view of the tape colour that each of our banded young ones has over the USFW band and my patience paid off. I was able to positively identify Neira by her red tape healthy and screaming for food. During my visit I was unable to sight Loki but it may have just been my timing. Yesterday I was back on site and again had Linn, Rueben and Neira who was actively chasing around the local resident birds. As hard as she tried, and there was one good stoop, Neira still came up empty taloned each time. Loki did not make an appearance yet but he is such a great flyer that he is most likely exploring further afield and it may take a few visits to catch him at home. We will be back to check in again and look to spot little Loki and will keep you updated on how the family is progressing.
Posted on July 25, 2013 8:22 am
July 24, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
Frank has been laying in the nest box for over an hour now and his sister Lizzie has joined him on the ledge. She finally stretched out her leg so I could confirm her yellow tape! Unfortunately the editor cuts out her leg with the tape but it is there in the photo I’ve saved to my desktop. Lizzie is the one of the left in the photo attached 
It’s great to see them together on the ledge again!
Posted on July 24, 2013 5:26 pm
July 22, 2013 - Toronto - Don Mills
CPF Postmaster Reports:
July 22nd - 2013
Kendal’s Diagnosis:
Kendal suffers from a fractured left coracoid in addition to his right clavicle having also been fractured. The head trauma and swelling on the left side of his head, trauma to his left eye has since dissipated less than 24 hours after his admission and as of date, is no longer an issue. There is a tiny ulceration on the left eye, which is being treated and no longer a concern at this point.
After more than 17 years dealing with peregrines and having had to deal with hundreds of fractures over this same time frame, we have long since learned that in these cases, the coracoid fracture (especially for a peregrine and peregrine sized and smaller birds), that this is the most serious of his injuries. While far from being life threatening, coracoid fractures are not surgically repairable for small birds.
This particular injury could only be best described as having a permanently dislocated shoulder, one that could prevent full extension of the wing, and a huge loss of muscle strength and wing control.
As you know, peregrines are very unique in their flight set and skills, unlike many of the other birds of prey. Peregrines (and most other large falcons in general) have thick heavy bodies and very small wings in comparison to other raptor’s.
Other Eagles, Hawks, Owls and Accipiter’s have much broader wings, and many of these other birds of prey can both easily fly and stay aloft even in dead air, as their larger wing mass allows much greater lift and sustained flight. Peregrines although, (and other similar type falcons) due in part to their smaller wings and heavy body mass, need allot of assistance from air movement, updrafts and altitude to allow them to do what they do, requiring incredible wing and muscle strength and in particular, wing flexibility and mobility.
While he may be able to fly from perch to perch, (maybe ground to perch), we must remember that the peregrine is the F-16 jet fighter of all birds of prey, one that is a hi-performance open air dependant bird. They hunt from altitude, in the open air from above and behind their prey, utilizing an incredible muscle set and wing make-up to achieve this type of performance, one that not only allows them to both survive, but to be able to out perform the very birds its needs to provide for itself and family.
That being said, the prognosis for this type of wing / shoulder injury does not look promising. At this stage, for Kendal, only time will tell.
Our fingers remained crossed for Kendal.
Stay tuned…………
Posted on July 24, 2013 10:31 am
July 24, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
Lovely cool morning and Miss O’Connor was happily preening away on her web cam perch this morning. Wonderful to see her back in her favorite spot again! I did see Frank earlier on the web cam - that boy sure loves the nest box
Tracy has been lucky enough to see all three girls at home over the past weekend. I guess they’re out and about during the day so I don’t get to see them all together anymore but rest assured the family is all accounted for and doing fine!
Posted on July 24, 2013 10:07 am
July 23, 2013 - Toronto - Don Mills
Ann Brokelman Reports:
Stopped in on Don Mills on the way back from a meeting. Only had a short visit. First saw Carina on the ledge of 240 SW corner eating something large. Quest flew by me as I watched from Harlequin. I could hear a second juvenile calling from the back of 240. Just as I was going to look for the juvenile Quest came in with more food and landed on the ledge with Carina. Carina crop was huge but she wanted the food mom brought in. She chased her and grabbed the food. Quest moved ahead, Carina over and over followed her on the ledge. Finally she knocked Quest off the ledge and the food went flying in the air. Quest lost her dinner. Carina continued to eat the left overs on the ledge. At the time I left Carina and Luna were on 240 and Quest was on 220.
Posted on July 23, 2013 9:38 pm
July 23, 2013 - International, National and Local News
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Ok. So here’s the story. Back in 2012, a pair of peregrines were hanging around at the Alt Hotel near Viscount Rd which is on the north side of Pearson International Airport. We were alerted to their presence as the hotel had called for assistance regarding these birds on their building. Not knowing what they were, they reported two loud grayish birds with one louder brown one dropping prey remains around the grounds. After investigating the site, Bruce and I were able to confirm the pair of peregrines and identify them as Claire banded Black *S over Green *B hatched in 2009 at the Blue Water Bridge in Michigan and Casper banded solid Black 35 over Y hatched in 2009 at a residential nest site in southern Ontario. They had produced at least one male offspring that we were able to photograph and we were able to determine that their buildings of interest were the Hilton Garden Inn and the Alt Hotel. We continued to check in on the pair and by early December, Claire was no longer present. This prompted Casper to incur on a neighboring territory, the William Osler Hospital, and oust the resident male Hurricane who was missing and replaced sometime after Dec. 22, 2012. We continued to monitor both territories and by mid January Chessie, the resident female at William Osler, was now following her new mate Casper down to the Hilton. In Feb. 2013, they were photographed in the Hilton territory and were also seen roosting at the Osler territory. Casper was forcing a decision by Chessie; which site dear? In March they were copulating in both territories but Chessie finally settled on the Osler site which Casper was bound to follow. Just prior to egg laying in late March, I attended the site and found the male sitting calmly in Hurricane’s usual roost spot mimicking his behaviour. No imitation here, it was indeed Hurricane back on the site. We checked the Hilton territory off and on for weeks thereafter with no sign of any adults whatsoever. No white wash on the buildings. No presence at all. We deemed the territory now void and moved on to the nest sites that were now hatching eggs and in need of our attention.
As reported by Mark Nash earlier, on July 4th a juvenile peregrine falcon female was rescued from the ground in the Hilton Garden Inn territory at 427 and Dixon Road. She was turned over to Mark Heaton that day, was banded and then released on the roof of the neighboring Hilton hotel (there are two). Bruce and I were determined to check this out once watches were concluded.
On Sunday, we attended the territory and were on a mission. We started at the Alt Hotel and made the rounds. Bruce was at the Alt Hotel with no birds in sight and I was at the Hilton Garden Inn. I had located an adult male roosting on the light above the sign. Casper’s favorite hang out. I sat and waited for the look I needed at the band and was able to clearly photograph the 35 over Y on his solid black band. This was confirmed Casper. We continued our search and I located a second peregrine on the office towers one block south. I raced over to find a juvenile female on the edge of the roof. I was able to photograph, and Bruce confirmed this by scope view, that this female was unbanded making her a second surviving produced offspring by Casper and his unknown mate. We left the territory for another site with intentions of returning in the evening for the late day roost. I found the adult female on the sign of the Alt Hotel and had already had the adult male on the Hilton Garden Inn sign. I waited her out and was able to confirm by scope view that this is in fact Claire banded Black *S over Green *B. She’s back!
Our theory is this. Claire partially migrated in the late fall of 2012 prompting Casper to seek partnership elsewhere. He invaded the Osler territory and wounded Hurricane in battle. Casper won the day , the site and Chessie. At breeding season in March 2013, Chessie decided on the Osler site as her nest site of choice and Hurricane, watching from afar, was determined, now stronger and wiser, to get her and his territory back. Hurricane engaged Casper and won this round and was back at Osler with Chessie. Casper had now disappeared and was healing up from battle. Claire returns to the Hilton Garden Inn territory. Her and Casper reunite and produce a late clutch resulting in the July 4th fledge and rescue. This juvenile female had obviously not been on the wing long. If we estimate her age as around 45 to 50 days, that would put her hatch date as late June. Tracks with all that’s happened. By that time we were all engaged in dawn to dusk watches and this pair slipped two girls in right past us.
Congratulations Casper and Claire on another successful year. We are determined to confirm just which building the nest site is on although we suspect the Alt Hotel or the Hilton Garden Inn. We will keep you updated as we learn more.
Pictures to follow.
Posted on July 23, 2013 11:49 am
July 23, 2013 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
For the past few days I, along with all of our staff and volunteers, have been doing site checks to account for all of our wild peregrines after Friday’s 110kph sustained winds reported by Pearson Airport. On Saturday, I was able to confirm that Chessie and Hurricane were both on site and are flying great. I was also able to confirm the presence of Blizzard having photographed her and her white tape being visible. On Sunday, I made another foray out to the site and located Chessie and a single juvenile, this time being Maverick. It took a while to get a visual on his blue tape but it was worth the wait. Yesterday I stopped in for a third try as I was still looking to account for Aura, the second female with red tape. She was the second fledge at William Osler and has been a high flyer ever since. I found Blizzard and Maverick alone in the east tower and no other peregrines on site. Both juveniles were concentrating their attention to the west over towards the Humber Arboretum and I believe that’s where the parents were with Aura. I will continue to check in until I can confirm the presence of Aura (she scoots in and out so much now) and will keep you updated on the progress of their training.
Posted on July 23, 2013 11:15 am
