June 26, 2014 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:
A big thank you to Ping, one of the new fledge watch team members that had joined us at the Duncan Mills fledge watch for sending in one of the many photos that he took of Rainbow Dash earlier on in the fledge watch.
As you may recall, Ping was one of the team members that got a very introduction to why we are doing a fledge watch, as he jumped into action and rescued little Cosmo from the ground.
Thank you again Ping for being part of the team.
Posted on June 26, 2014 10:32 am
June 24, 2014 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:
June 24th - 2014
Sorry for the delays in posting as we have been dealing with some glitches and challenges with the posting system on the CPF web site at the server where the CPF web site is hosted, and I have not been able to get my postings up to the CPF web site.
A huge thank you to Matt, the CPF web master who has been working overtime to deal with the challenges we have been experiencing with the reporting system on the CPF web site over the past 96 hours. Fingers crossed that the problems are finally fixed. Unfortunately , we have lost some of the most recent postings and observation reports that some of the fledge watch coordinators have posted, but at least its seems that we are back up and running with the reporting system again.
That being said, I am sorry to have to report that we have lost one of the young fledglings at the Duncan Mill nest site. Sadly, little Rainbow-Dash collided with one of the building windows and died instantly on impact.
It is quite sad, as I had only just sat down to get eat a toasted western sandwich and fries in the restaurant at 225 Duncan Mills road when my mobile phone rang with the bad news. One of the young fledglings had just collided with a window on the east side of 225 and was laying on ground outside of the shipping and receiving doors. This terrible news comes only minutes after I snapped a photograph of the four fledglings with my cell phone while they were on the upper roof elevation on the east corner of 225 Duncan Mills road.
I was quite excited that I was able to catch all four fledglings in the same frame, all at the same time, and relished in the moment that all four were doing so well and that I was able to catch them all together. Also, knowing only too well that in a few weeks, this type of shot would likely not be possible as they will become more independent and competitive, and will rarely be all together in such close proximity.
Although not a good photo at all, it was the happening that was quite heart warming to see.
Well, Rainbow Dash’s death is a very grim reminder that although the fledglings are all flighted and now able to hold their altitude, (and no longer in need of our assistance to be rescued from the ground),, they are still inexperienced immature young birds, and they are still going to make allot of mistakes and make some bad decisions, especially when it comes to judging speed vs distances vs braking.
Now over-confident with their new flight skills - (or better said, the lack thereof flight skills), it is historically at this time of the fledge period that we see a higher percentage of mortality, most often as a result of the young fledglings colliding with windows and automobiles as the juveniles are now building up allot of speed and get really careless that usually results in accidents. Hmmm, sound familiar?
I attended the parking lot moments after receiving the telephone call, meeting up with Sally and others that had gathered around Rainbow-Dash. She was collected and will be delivered to MNR on our next meeting with them.
Posted on June 26, 2014 10:05 am
June 26, 2014 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Marilyn Weller Reports:
I had an excited call from Marliese letting me know that Cathy and Larry were on hand to see Lancaster take his first flight around 7:40 this morning. They report that he flew up and landed near the pipe under the bridge!
There may be some adventuresome siblings ready to join Lancaster today so come on down and help with the excitement of witnessing those first flights!
It’s a beautiful day to be watching the sky!
Marilyn
Posted on June 26, 2014 8:36 am
June 25, 2014 - Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton
Marion Nash Reports:
A rather mixed day today, with some long periods of just sitting and watching the peregrines sitting on Canada Square. Some other periods of sitting with nothing to watch.
Then there were a couple of confused moments when there was action galore. One such was when Haven dived on a number of pigeons all in and around the old bus bays. I thought one of the fledglings was also in the mix and had come to ground. Haven was sitting on 2190 staring into the old bus bays. No such luck though. I was mistaken. Malik also gave a good show chasing more pigeons up and around the corner from Canada Square but missing.
Later on Haven went into a stoop of Rio-Can, across the north end of Canada Square to Yonge Street where she caught a pigeon. She flew up to the south west corner of Rio-Can followed by Malik and fledgling. Haven dropped the pigeon and the fledgling stayed and ate. During any activity little Chinook remained on his perch or on the floor of the north-west corner of Canada Square. Sometimes he squawked and sometimes not.
Another bit of showing off when one of the older two fledglings flew up and behind Canada Square then over the top to the antenna where Haven was sitting. He sort of bumped her and then the shenanigans began. Haven chased him over the bus bays and over Canada Square a couple of times until he sat on a cross piece of the antenna. Malik joined in and he and Haven flew circles around the youngster whilst he teetered precariously on the antenna. Earlier one of the fledglings had perched on one of the guy wires supporting the single antenna. Now THAT was precarious perching. He kept his wings open, flapped a bit and gripped tight but he gave up after a few minutes and flew off.
A lesson was introduced when all the babies had settled, two on the roof and Chinook in the same spot. Haven put on a real show for the youngsters. She flew circles around Canada Square and on top, gaining height with each circuit. She made it look so easy !!!
After this there was a short rest period until Malik went into a stoop low over the bus bays and close to the wall of the new bus bays he caught a little bird. I think it may have been a European Starling. He flew around the north end of Canada Square to gain height and then back around to the west side and down to the south west corner where he deposited the bird. There was a flurry of wings and squawks and someone got the spoils. Marion noticed that there was no squawking coming from Chinook on the north-west corner and suggested that one of the peregrines on the south end might be Chinook. He fledged properly and I missed it! What I did not miss was his second flight which was not too impressive. He flew from the east side to the west and tried his best to go up to at least the nest level but he missed his goal by two floors. He bumped a window and fluttered down and continued fluttering in a downward spiral until he disappeared from view onto a low
balcony. We waited and waited and finally he jumped up on the wall.
He was quite confused as this was all different in appearance from what he was used to. He looked around and up and down. After a while he walked along the wall a bit and then stopped, had a think, and lay down! When he was back up he walked a little more, first one way then the other and back. Then he worked up his *brave* and walked all the way along the wall to the end over the bank building. He parked himself on the light over a sign and sat and waited out the storm which hit us at about 6:05 pm. It just teemed down and he sat right out in it. Haven was on Rio-can and one of the other fledglings was sitting on the very south-west tip of the level above the balcony on Canada Square, also out in the wet. That is where they stayed and Marion and I settled for a nearby doorway which gave us great shelter and the ability to keep an eye on the birds. I think we finally packed up just before 8:00 pm. By that time Haven had moved and Chinook was out of our
sight but not out of Haven’s. We will do a search tomorrow for the little bird.
Posted on June 26, 2014 7:41 am
June 25, 2014 - Toronto - Don Mills
CPF Volunteer Reports:
June 25th - 2014
We have hardly heard any screaming for food/play etc today. Karen heard some activity this morning but other than that, it’s been pretty silent which is strange after all the activity going on the past week.
Walk/check at 1-2pm:
-Karen and I took a walk around a few buildings and could see two juvies over on the roof of 220 (nest box building) and when we met up with Bob and Sue outside Harlequin just now, they said they could see another juvie so that’s good to hear if all 3 are on the 220 roof.
-One adult over on Thales building and another adult on the roof (north side edge) of 225 Duncan Mill. Sue says it looks like Quest on our roof so that must be Sky over at Thales.
-I’ll take another look after work and hopefully the black sky I see from my window will pass over by then!
Sally
Posted on June 25, 2014 11:45 pm
June 25, 2014 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Marilyn Weller Reports:
Hi Folks,
I received this report from Maureen who had the mid-day/afternoon watch:
Another slow-wish day at the bridge. The highlight today was the shower of feathers this morning as Voltaire cleaned a kill up in the girders. By the feathers it looked to be a pigeon, but the size of the food package looked more like gull. Hard to say. It was a good feed for all four chicks, at around 10:30. Voltaire fed them all, then went back on the pipe where she stayed for most of the day, returning to the nest briefly and dropping off a much smaller food package at around noon. Freddie has been here and there, when I left at 3:00 he was under the “M†on the bridge.
Looks like most activity has come from Maya and Lancaster, some flapping and hopping but not a whole lot. The other two have spent most of the day hunkered down to the left of the nest.
No one looks too ready/eager to fly yet, and they have been fairly quiet in the nest.
A CTV reporter stopped by briefly for a chat, looked at the birds, and left his business card with Marliesse, said to email or text when there is a fledge.
Other than that, a quiet day.
Maureen
I relieved Ted this evening and he too had a quiet watch during the late afternoon/early evening. On my watch, a bit of flapping but not much action on the ledge. All 4 chicks have shed most of the downy feathers and look very good. Any time now!
Keep looking up!
Marilyn
Posted on June 25, 2014 8:18 pm
June 24, 2014 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
After doing a site check yesterday and finding all four of these monkeys being incredibly vocal and active I decided that today was the day I would start the William Osler fledge watch. The William Osler staff members are currently holding a name the chick contest that is not quite concluded so until they receive their official names, I will refer to them by their tape colours.
When I arrived I checked in with security, got the rescue carrier in place and headed outside. Two of the chicks were on the southeast corner and two were on the northeast corner all lazing about. Ok. So maybe they aren’t as ready as I thought. The two oldest reached 36 days of age today so they may not go anywhere just yet. Well… …while I may not have had a fledge as of yet I certainly had LOTS of action!!
The falcon choir began at 8am with all four chicks singing their little brains out at the top of their lungs. Hurricane had just come in with breakfast and they were all looking to get their fill. He tried to beak feed but it was just too frantic so he finally gave up the little piece that he had and the biggest female grabbed and ran with it. After tripping over the food onto her face with as much grace as possible, she bolted down and around the southeast corner with her sister right behind her. The two squabbled and fought over it for a few minutes and they each came away with a little chunk. The boys were furious. They continued to complain until Hurricane came in with a piece for them and began to beak feed the boys. I watched as big sis peeked her head around the corner and seeing more food, ran as fast as she could to get in on it. Her little brother with the white tape turned and howled right in her face as she came skidding to a stop but that didn’t stop her. She quarterbacked her way into the feeding fray which gave Hurricane the moment he needed to get out of there taking the food with him. Oh boy, that went over well. The next two hours was spent flapping and screaming, running and screaming then bouncing and screaming all over the south, east and north ledges. What really made this all so epic was that Hurricane continued to fly in, land and then leave just as the chicks reached him. He did this constantly all morning in the hopes that he could entice a young one to fly with him. Not yet.
By 11am they had all settled down for a nap and it looked like the afternoon lull was getting started. As soon as the chicks were asleep, Hurricane once again flew in and woke them all up. He was incredibly determined to get a flight out of someone. By noon the entire family retired to rest with all four chicks sprawled all over the ledge, Chessie up on the roof antenna and Hurricane in the tower. All was quiet until around 2pm when the family was once again on their feet. Chessie brought in the first feeding and was instantly surrounded. She’s a big girl and the chicks can’t easily push her around so she stood her ground while her four offspring pinned her to the back wall. The only way out was to feed her way through the mass of screaming chicks and so feed she did. It was like watching a little sowing machine going a mile a minute and the food was just a-flyin’. There was a storm moving in and Hurricane was anxious to get the kids fed and settled so that they would stay put so he decided to help. He came off of the tower and kited beautifully over the top of the hospital. He changed position only a few times and then he saw it, his prize, waiting down below.
Out front of the nest ledge is a sign about 5 or 6 feet high and on it sat a dove. Hurricane banked and dropped like a stone down to just above ground level and then made a swoop pass over the top of the sign. He grabbed the dove and banked up hard skimming the face of the hospital all the way up to the ledge. Stunning!! This time it was one of the boys who benefitted from this incredible hunt. After this Hurricane flew over to the tower with Chessie and they both watched as the sky darkened and the winds really picked up. Chessie left the tower and landed on the northeast corner while Hurricane flew to the southeast. The two adults had encapsulated the chicks on the ledge and they both began to walk them towards the nest tray for protection from the storm. There the foursome sat and rode out what proved to be a fantastic storm and the chicks got their first really good soaking.
From that point forward, preening and sleeping was on the agenda and the family once again settled for a while. As the 5 o’clock dinner bell was ringing, the female with red tape made her way down to the southeast corner with her brother in white tape and the two began to howl in unison at their parents. They wanted food… …NOW!! Hurricane flew over and did two “touch and go’s” that had little big Red just furious. She was so angry that food was not forthcoming that she threw a temper tantrum of epic proportions that ended with her grabbing the louvers at the back wall and trying to rip them off. While that is certainly impossible she tried with all her might nonetheless. The family of four youngsters continued the “singing” until around 7pm when the big feed came in. Chessie arrived with a nice big pigeon and the four dined until they were stuffed silent… …silent for the first time today it would seem!! After eating, all four little spoiled brats flumped down on the southeast corner in one big pile for a great big sleep. Not a bad way to end a busy day.
Tomorrow should be another great day of activity at the William Osler nest site as the watch really gets started.
Posted on June 24, 2014 10:14 pm
June 24, 2014 - Toronto - King Street
Linda Woods Reports:
It was a quiet evening for Thea. She enjoyed a dinner served at home around 6p.m. Erin first dropped the food on a roof top just across from the nest ledge and Thea did not react to Erin standing over top of the prey. I think she was sleeping. The meal finally was brought into the ledge. A male intruder peregrine came back into the territory again today. We saw this activity yesterday morning and Bruce said it was back again this morning and yet again this evening. Windwhistler was on it and pushed it out of his territory. Certainly would like to know where this bird is coming in from, might tell us who it might be. Let’s hope this bird gets the message and moves out of the downtown area.
Posted on June 24, 2014 10:05 pm
June 17, 2014 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
I headed down to try and see which of the three young ones would be the first to travel up to the retaining wall on the nest building to start the day. When I arrived shortly after dawn, Pierre was the first to show up while Sunni and Skyla remained out of sight. Little Heaton remained on the nest ledge and when Rob arrived food was just going into the ledge brought in by Jack. Kathy arrived shortly after Rob and at 7:30am, food went to the nest ledge again and to the retaining wall as well. Pierre was still the only visible bird on the nest building roof by the time I left for work and left the watch with Kathy and Rob. Shortly before 8am a second bird popped up on the retaining wall and they were able to identify it as Sunni by his yellow tape. He sat on the retaining wall next to Pierre eating but still no sign of Skyla as of yet. Jack had taken up position on top of the camera and O`Connor was over on the east tower of Kingsway on the Park. By 9am all remained quiet as the family all had full bellies and the day was beginning to get quite warm. It stayed relatively calm and quiet throughout the morning and in the early afternoon Pierre took flight over to the Kingsway on the Park condos. He veered off rather quickly and headed back west towards the subway station. As he flew over he made for the west tower and landed fairly well on the roof. Sunni was eager to follow and made a spectacular flight around the buildings before finally landing on the west tower with Pierre. At 3pm Jim arrived to help Kathy and Pierre took a flight around the back of the west tower disappearing from sight. His flight was good, strong and high so Jim was confident but he set to seeing where he was nonetheless. When I arrived around 4:30pm we picked up Pierre`s location on the west tower where he was occupying the southeast facing window ledges. What made this rather delightful to watch was that a pigeon had landed up there with him and was roosting on the other end of the window ledge while Pierre tried to figure out what to do with his new found friend. I had parked on Eagle Road when I arrived but the best viewing was from Lothian so I decided to move my car before the severe thunderstorms they were calling for arrived. As I walked down the laneway towards Eagle Road I could see a bird in the middle of the road that was a fair size and dark. I instinctively dropped EVERYTHING in my hands and ran down the laneway just as a car went whipping around the corner towards the bird. I was seen by the driver who stopped right away while I gathered up little Heaton who had obviously just come off of the nest ledge. I walked him over to security and placed him in a carrier before calling Mark right away. Something was not right with Heaton as he was terribly thin even after all of the feedings we had watched on camera and from street level. I checked his mouth for signs of Trichamoniasis but all looked clear. After consulting with Mark and deciding to let him rest while the storm passed through, we discussed arranging for a health consultation while I headed back out to the south side of Bloor Street to make sure that our other chicks didn`t get blown off by the high winds. The rain and wind whipped around the street soaking me and birds alike but we all managed to weather the storm; except for little Heaton. Just as the rains were calming down I received a call from security that when they went to check on him that he didn`t look well. I raced back in but it was too late. Little Heaton was gone.
As difficult as it was I headed back outside to maintain my vigil on the other three. Sunni and Pierre were still on the west tower and we had yet to see Skyla all day. I stayed until dusk when I was joined by a new watcher, Stacey, and we chatted and watched until the sun was fully down. I then gathered up little Heaton and took him back to the CPF Raptor Centre for holding and it was then that I was able to really look him over. There is no way to know for sure but I believe that there was definitely an underlying health issue with Heaton that was not readily obvious on camera. Leading up to this he was flapping, running, calling and eating and so nothing seemed out of the norm except for his very tiny size. We were all shocked and very saddened at this loss and this was a difficult time for all of the watchers and his fans. While we deeply regret that little Heaton did not survive, we are all grateful that we had gotten a chance to get to know him. We are now all turning our attention to the three remaining fledglings that are still in need of our help and I can`t thank the Etobicoke Sun Life team enough for their strength, vigilance and efforts. You are the best.
Posted on June 24, 2014 10:05 pm
June 24, 2014 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Linda Woods Reports:
Oliver, Sheraton’s fourth juvenile took his first flight today, unseen. He was spotted on a building just south of the hotel. Yeah! Finally. The other three our doing well staying high and out of trouble. I hope the three keep Oliver company and show him how it’s done. Rhea Mae and Tiago are keeping watch on all four.
Posted on June 24, 2014 9:59 pm
