Happy Canada Day From Canada Square Fledge Watch
July 01, 2014 - Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton
Marion Nash Reports:
I had a good two hours with the peregrines today. I arrived at 5:45 pm and there was no one about! But things began moving a few minutes into my watch.
Firstly, one juvenile popped up on the top ledge 4 south of the big wall on Canada Square. Next up were two flying together and I still had *solo* in view on the ledge, so I had the three juvies again today!
I am assuming that the two together were Equinox and Linden simply because they have been flying together almost since fledging. The little chappie on his own must have been Chinook.
All three juvies gave a wonderful exhibition of their progress in flying and I would say they have mastered flying 101 and 102 and are now working on flying 103. Their flights are all strong! Equinox and Linden are now flying *at speed* and zipping around all the buildings in the area, the two condos, Rio-Can, 2180 Yonge, over 2190 Yonge and of course all over and around the home building Canada Square. They dive on one another, tag each other and practise their talon touching although I had a really scary moment today! The two little daredevils talon GRABBED over Rio-Can and continued flying latched on to one another over the apartment building on Duplex Avenue getting lower and lower until finally letting go. Then they zipped around some more and later on did the same thing over the north end of Canada Square and Y/E intersection although not for as long!
Malik challenged them to some flying competition. In spite of their progress he still outmanoeuvres and out flies them. You can see when he puts on a spurt, they are just left fluttering in the breeze. He did have all three in the air at one time and there is still a difference in skill between Chinook and the other two but Chinook has improved tremendously since last week! He is maintaining altitude and choosing to fly lower then climbing. He circles around for a climb to a higher perch and does well. I think it was a bit breezy higher up today because all seemed to struggle flying due west. When they flew east it looked so easy!
Haven was nowhere to be seen for quite a while but she did eventually come flying in from the east with a food parcel. Hysteria and pandemonium in the air over Canada Square!! One juvie tried twice to take the food from her and missed but Haven hung onto it. Then on the third attempt he took it, flew halfway across the roof of Canada Square and landed somewhere out of view.
One of the two older ones is practising stoops now, not chasing anything but his wings were back and he went into a dive albeit a short one. One of them also amused me by doing a sort of *roll over* defence thing even though there was no-one ton whom he could present talons. It looks really funny, as if he is tumbling.
One was on the very top *spire* of the north west corner of the tall condo when his brother climbed and just bumped him off.
One of the boys popped up on Canada Square and he had a huge crop! I am guessing he was the one who grabbed the food parcel from Haven without so much as a please or thank you. His chest bulged so much he looked like a wannabe starlet.
All three juveniles were in the air again before I left. They flew at different times, over different places and to different spots but all were high. None of them struggled to fly, except when flying west.
Lyn