William Osler Hatches Four!!
June 04, 2014 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
A catch up on a most important post! Chessie and Hurricane have hatched all four of their eggs and the chicks are thriving thanks to their awesome parents. Bruce and I were out there on Sunday to check in on the family and found Hurricane in his all too famous babysitting position to the left of the nest tray. Chessie was on the roof of the hospital sitting on one of the antenna and all of a sudden decided to take off after some crows. After giving them a really hard time she returned and took over duty on the edge of the tray while Hurricane was out hunting.
It was a while before Hurricane returned but was well worth the wait. Chessie flew out to the east hydro tower and waited for him to come in and he had food for the young ones. She took off into the air and the two made a spectacular aerial food transfer right above the parking lot. Chessie took the food in for the chicks while Hurricane flew up to the northeast corner. He didn’t stay there for long as a Turkey vulture came wandering in to the territory. He went nuts!! He took off after the vulture and as we watched he stooped and contacted before grabbing it right by the tail feathers. The two tumbled down in the air briefly before Hurricane then took off after the other two vultures coming in behind the first.
With the big birds vanquished he returned to the hospital but again it was brief. Chessie finished the feeding and flew up to the antenna on the roof while Hurricane took off northwest. He was gone for quite some time and when he returned he headed right up to the north side “H” sign. He was soaked!! He found himself a pool somewhere and had taken an enormous bath. He spent the rest of the evening preening away while Chessie maintained her guard up top.
The foursome will be banded next week on June 11th so check back for an update on the event!