Breaking News!!! Hurricane is Back!!!
March 29, 2014 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
After my “visitor” flew through at the CPF Raptor Centre Thursday night, I was very eager to get down to the William Osler nest site and see if in fact Hurricane was back. You see, in years past Hurricane would occasionally come up Hwy 27 to the Raptor Centre and hunt around the open field behind the barn. He would course low over the treetops, spooking up flocks of starlings and blackbirds, and then pluck his prey out of the flock. This is exactly what this peregrine did the other night and had me truly believing I had just seen Hurricane.
Fast forward to yesterday afternoon at about 2pm. I pulled in to the William Osler site and found an adult asleep on the south facing edge of the tray and one on the north sign eating. This was clue number one that something was different as Casper has never been seen using the north sign for anything. After eating the male flew around to the eastern H sign where he tucked in and started napping. He was calling softly to the female who was still on the tray and she in turn was calling back. The two continued to “sing” to each other for about 20 minutes when the female took off of the tray, flew out over the parking lot and landed on the southeast corner of the hospital. She looked up to the sign and invited him to breed. The male was off the sign in seconds and did as he was asked, cementing the bond between the two of them. He then flew a circuit around the building and swooped up to the nest tray for another nap. Clue number two, Hurricane is famous for napping as often as he gets the chance!! I was able to confirm Chessie’s band number at this point as she took off of the southeast corner in a spectacular stoop towards the northeast hydro corridor. For the next 20 minutes all was quite while the male napped and Chessie was off site. I was able to get good looks at the male and he had such a dark and full helmet on his head, unlike Casper who’s hood was less complete; clue number three!! Suddenly Chessie reappeared on the eastern H and she was just soaked! She had found herself a puddle and had taken a soaker bath in it! She called softly to the male in the tray who responded to her calls and the two once again were singing to each other. After another 40 minutes, he flew out of the tray and around the north side with Chessie hot on his tail. He flew four circuits of the hospital at the fourth floor level in an outstanding display of speed and control, one which Chessie gave up matching on the second revolution of the building. As he passed the south side for the fourth time, he pulled straight up over the east parking lot, stalled for just a second and then flipped over and swooped down and up to the east H sign. I didn’t need a band number to tell me this was my windmaster, the fourth and final clue. Chessie joined him on the H sign where the two copulated a second time and then the pair settled in on the H for a snack and a nap. It was then that I was able to clearly read the band number on the male as a solid black three character band labelled 5 over X (three character bands have a line between the upper and lower characters). Hurricane is home. I left the pair on the eastern H, facing each other, heads tucked in and comfortably napping together.
After the battle out here last weekend I was already suspicious that Hurricane was back. Last Saturday, Casper was the victor and returned to the site as territorial male. That has now changed and we hope that Casper has returned safely to his Viscount Road territory and awaits the return of his mate Claire from migration. A quick check of that site yesterday did reveal fresh whitewash on the buildings but I was unable to successfully sight a bird there. We will be keeping an eye out for him and we hope that he is doing well.
Welcome home Hurricane!! So glad to see you back safe and sound!!
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