September 26, 2013 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Dennis Patrick Reports:
On Sept 25th some of the Windsor Falcon Watch Volunteers met at the Ambassador bridge with Dan Reaume, Bridge Manager of the International Transit Company/Detroit International Bridge. This was an opportunity to show our recognition and appreciation of his efforts to support the resident peregrine falcons and their offspring over the last six years by presenting him with a photo montage of the falcons created by Gerald Peltier. Every year the bridge company supplies a cherry picker and volunteer for the banding process and they have repeatedly come to the rescue of grounded fledglings by helping to put them up on a roof. Their installation of a nest box has also greatly contributed to the survival rate of the youngsters. We look forward to the continued support of the company in our volunteer efforts.
Posted on September 29, 2013 10:23 am
September 24, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
I spent a half hour on lunch today watching Frank and O’Connor and if I hadn’t have seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed it. Frank was perched on the ‘N’ of the Moneris sign and O’Connor was perched on the bottom half of the ‘S’. Both quiet, Frank with a full crop dozing in amiable silence. After about 25 minutes - O’Connor vocalized to him - the same way she does with Jack to indicate she’s leaving! She then flew over the back of the nest site building and perched there.
So she is not only tolerating his presence, she is actively engaging with him..what a great falcon she is!!
I did see Jack today and noticed that when he was visible, there was no sign of Frank around and O’Connor didn’t move from her perch as he went to the nest ledge to preen. Interesting dynamics going on here.
Caught this wicked photo of Jack taking off today!
Posted on September 24, 2013 5:01 pm
September 19, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
When I came in around 7:20 am, a juvie came screaming into one of the back ledges with breakfast in it’s talons. I couldn’t tell who it was from the ground with no binoculars - my first guess would be Frank since he’s been around the past few evenings and is certainly not starving by the looks of him however given the size of the bird I saw this morning - I’d have to say, if it is Frank - he’s one of the largest males we’ve ever banded! No sign of a parent anywhere however there are workers on condos this morning so likely Miss O is tucked away somewhere out of my view.
Posted on September 19, 2013 8:05 am
September 18, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
After several weeks of not seeing him, suddenly since Saturday he’s been hanging around the nest ledge around dinner hour..like right now.
Just tuned in to catch him finishing a meal and was able to see his white tape! Great to see him eating and looking healthy and strong!
Posted on September 18, 2013 5:09 pm
September 18, 2013 - Mississauga - Executive Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
This is an important update on Rogue, the MEC resident female that was injured in 2012 on May 21st and has been in rehab up to this point. She was injured in battle with Cass, the resident female at MEC during this nesting season who was sadly found deceased on July 16th across from the nest building.
Since the loss of Cass, our volunteers and I have been watching the MEC site closely as Ashley, the remaining juvenile from this season, was still very dependant on her parents for care and protection. On August 7th, everything changed.
We have recently just found out that The Owl Foundation and Anne Yagi from the OMNR released Rogue, the 2012 resident female, back on August 1st in the Niagara Area. This would explain a great deal with regards to the discovery of a new adult female in the MEC territory by August 7th at the latest at which time I was able to photograph her and her curious identification feature.
The single silver band placed on her left leg instead of the right
definitely ruled out the possibility that The Masters female had moved
over into this void territory as her silver band is on her right leg.
As I sit back and consider all that I witnessed on August 7th and the
weeks that followed, many factors point to Rogue as a strong candidate
as the new MEC female.
1. An adult showing up out of the blue prior to the start of migration where a void just happened to exist. At this point the male was laying low and not advertising his presence or availability due to having a dependant juvenile still on site.
2. An adult banded with a silver band only and consequently on the
wrong leg it is supposed to be applied. A common configuration in the
Niagara district where peregrines are banded and may be indicative of
that locale as her banding site.
3. Child like behaviour from the female. Its like she’s a kid again or
just won the lottery. I would expect an adult female that has been held
captive for so long to have mentally given up and to be home and free
would bring out this behaviour. The mundane things in the territory
have now become novel and to find her mate still available, her box
still there, her previous challenger gone and now coupled with her
freedom would definitely bring out this kind of response.
4. Sitting in the EXACT same perch spots that Rogue used so often.
5. Almost instant familiarity with the territory.
6. Almost instant acceptance by the resident male.
7. This female currently on site is a larger than average female which
is consistent with Rogue. While all of these things don’t specifically
ID this bird it collectively points us in the right direction towards
an ID. Leading up to this discovery, no adult females were present in
the entire Hwy 10 corridor that displayed this band configuration. Due
to the changes in Brampton and renewed activity at Mississauga North
this corridor was being heavily monitored from Dundas in the south up
to Main Street in North Brampton and this bird was in no way present in
the corridor prior to her discovery on August 7th. Of note, the
remaining juvenile female at MEC from this season’s production was
regularly being seen up to the arrival of this new female. She was
behind in her training for independance as the result of the loss of
her only sibling followed by the loss of the resident female. Losing
her sibling created a situation in which her experiential growth slowed
dramatically due to lack of competition and not having another juvenile
to challenge her made her more complacent than active. Losing the care
of the resident female, who was found dead on July 16th, now put
pressure on the male to complete all of her training, defend the
territory, feed her and himself. Once again her training was slowed by
this event and therefore by the time this new female arrived on site on
August 7, the juvenile was not ready for independence at that time. She
has not been seen since and the fate of this young peregrine is unknown.
We will keep you updated on the events at the MEC nest site as they continue to unfold but we strongly believe that the female now holding the MEC territory is in fact Rogue.
Posted on September 18, 2013 4:40 pm
September 17, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
It’s been relatively quiet around here the past few weeks. Falcon fans in the neighborhood have been telling me they still here 2 of the juvies around 5 am in the morning and I have seen one of them chasing mom around for food as late as last Tuesday.
Over the weekend, Alison over at CMNH caught photos of Frank paying a visit to the nest ledge and right now as I’m typing this I see a juvie on the nest box. Back is to me but it might be Frank again.
O’Connor has been quite tolerant of having them hanging around and I’ve seen no effort to chase them off and send them on their way yet.
Posted on September 17, 2013 5:32 pm
September 12, 2013 - Toronto - Don Mills
Kathy Reports:
Chad and Chris have posted the story of Luna’s adventure in Ohio and some fantastic photos on their Facebook site:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.722096501149458.1073741966.590679534291156&type=1
Posted on September 12, 2013 4:24 pm
September 11, 2013 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Jan Chudy Reports:
Checking in from France via the web cam I managed to get this shot of both adults. Empty nesters enjoying the peace and quiet.
Posted on September 11, 2013 8:13 am
September 11, 2013 - Toronto - Don Mills
Kathy Reports:
This morning I checked my email only to find a message from our great friends in Ohio - Chad & Chris, affectionately known as C&C! They attached a photo of a female juvenile they wanted me to ID - I was so so happy to look up her bands and see that she is Luna, banded Y/69 with Yellow Tape! More details to come as I get them…!
Posted on September 11, 2013 7:49 am
September 05, 2013 - Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton
Marion Nash Reports:
I was out on Thursday 5th September and as always glanced up at the Rio-Can building and found a large *lump* on one of the uprights on the top floor west end of the building. I had no binoculars with me but had a suspicion it was one of the juvenile females. I finally walked to a spot from which I could see her chest and it was definitely a juvie female. Not sure which one. Anyway she flew away and I was on my way home when she re-appeared much lower down on the building. I was on the north side of Eglinton and almost under her and I waited and watched. Wily bird! She flew south along the west side of Canada Square and around the south end to Yonge Street. I waited and sure enough she flushed the pigeon flock from the building south of the CIBC building and chased them across the intersection. The pigeons at the intersection have learnt their lessons well and now fly quite low to avoid becoming peregrine dinners!
She flew back onto the Rio Can building and sat for a bit then chased another pigeon in front of the building towards Duplex Ave but went over the roof of the gold building on the corner and disappeared from view. At the same another peregrine came from the east, struggling against the wind and perched on Rio-Can. I am not sure whether this was the adult male or the juvie male. From what I could see I think juvie male but am open to correction.
At least one juvie still in the area. I am wondering if this might be Imagine as she was the largest at banding time.
Lyn
Posted on September 5, 2013 2:20 pm
