May 31, 2016 - Kitchener - CTV-Bell Media Tower
Lisa Reh Reports:
The chicks have changed very quickly since last week’s banding. They are busy plucking at their feathers coming in and are changing right before our eyes! They have lost almost half of their baby fluff and are blending into the stones in the nest box so that it is sometimes difficult to see where they all are. An entire gull has been left in the centre of the nest box that the chicks have not been eating. It is easy to mistake it for a chick. They sometimes nestle into it when they are napping. They actively peck at scraps leftover from their other meals but they haven’t quite figured out how to prepare an entire gull for eating.
Hope seems to have changed the most and has much darker feathers than the others. She has pecked off her yellow identifier tape which is on the floor in the nest box. The others are quickly catching up and are looking less like fluffy, white chicks and more like adult peregrines as they flap and stretch their wings, bob their heads up and down, and move around the nest box. All of the chicks have been out on the ledge and are getting ready for their first flights.
June 7th will be the start of the fledge watch this year and we are planning a training a session that day. More details to follow.
Posted on May 31, 2016 11:15 pm
May 31, 2016 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Marilyn Weller Reports:
Here a some photos from this evening. Nice to be able to see the development of the fledglings!
Posted on May 31, 2016 9:26 pm
May 31, 2016 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Marilyn Weller Reports:
I received an excited call from Paul this evening, letting me know he had spotted a 5th fledgling in the nest. I went to the bridge and met up with Paul and we saw 4 chicks for quite a while, and then, finally, the 5th appeared.
Denis Dupuis had been down earlier in the day and made the same discovery. Denis shared some of his photos from today, showing the fledglings in and about the nest area. Paul will be sending some of his shots later which I will post too.
This will be a challenging year to keep track of 5 fledglings learning to be Peregrines! There is a lot of flapping activity already so I would expect first efforts could be within the next week or so.
Posted on May 31, 2016 8:52 pm
May 30, 2016 - Toronto - Don Mills and Eglinton - Amexon
Mark Nash Reports:
May 30th -2016
A sight visit today yielded an exciting new update for the Don Mills and Eglinton peregrines! Despite abandoning their first egg that was laid on the south facing ledge of 250 Ferrand Drive, the Don Mills pair have re-clutched with three new eggs, but this time on the same north facing ledge that the pair were so successful last season in 2015.
The resident adult female was down hard in incubation duties and only briefly stood up to adjust herself when I was lucky enough to have the camera poised and aimed at her. Three new eggs were observed. Based on Cathy’s and Erma’s recent observations of a week ago, and compared with observations recorded two weeks ago,, it would appear that this new clutch of eggs is about two weeks old.
The resident adult male was on hand to strongly disapprove of my presence and it wasn’t long before I was “encouraged and herded to the exit door” and forced to leave the roof!!
The first egg, laid many weeks ago, remains unattended and abandoned on the south upper ledge elevation and is completely white sun drenched and broken at one end.
Lets hope that the pair are more successful with this new clutch!
Stay tuned……………..
Posted on May 30, 2016 11:02 pm
May 30, 2016 - Niagara Falls
CPF Volunteer Reports:
May 17th - 2016
A huge thank you to Jacquie from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation - (NYDEC) for sending in some of her observations and photos clearly showing that the Niagara Falls peregrines have had a hatch!! Great shots indeed given that Jacquie has been shooting from the USA side with some incredible distances involved!! Great shots Jacquie!!!!
Sadly, as you know, the Niagara Falls Park Commission will no longer allow us to access the site to band the hatchlings, sighting unsafe roof conditions??????
I guess only a huge bucket of money and a dare-devil act has the power 
Jacquie writes:
Hi All,
I just wanted to give you guys a quick update on the Niagara Falls nest site. The top of Terrapin Point on the US side had been closed off for construction, but I finally got a chance to access it when they opened it back up recently. I was there on May 17, and spotted both adults at the box. The female was sitting on the nest and the male was perched on a pipe next to the nest. She flew off, revealing two recent hatches underneath her. It’s pretty far away to age with complete accuracy, but it looked like two 2-3 day old chicks and at least one (possibly 2) eggs. The female came back in with a prey item and fed the two little ones. I was able to see that she is banded, and presumably still “Diamond”, but I could not get a look at the male’s legs to see if he was banded or not. I know last year “Duncan” showed up, (replacing the non-banded Onyx?), and he had been our resident male at the South Grand Island Bridge nest site. I just banded the South GI Bridge nest and both the adults were non-banded, so maybe Duncan is still the male at Niagara Falls.
Hopefully, someone with a really good lens can get a look at him at some point.
I attached a couple photos for you. They were digiscoped, so not excellent quality.
Hope your Peregrine season is going well.
Jacquie
Posted on May 30, 2016 12:30 pm
May 24, 2016 - International, National and Local News
Mark Nash Reports:
May 23rd - 2016
Hello All
We have some great news to report with a huge thanks to Lucie for all of her efforts!! Lucie was down to the Beachville nest site again over the long weekend and has confirmed a hatch!! While we have no way of knowing how many of the eggs have hatched,, the observation report that Lucie filed over the weekend has confirmed that the Beachville resident pair are tending to a recent hatch! While they are much too small to be seen from our site lines on the ground, food was delivered by Joe, (the resident adult male) to the nest box and to the brooding adult female (Virginia) on several occasions during Lucy’s watch.
Congratulations are in order for everyone’s hard work and incredible stewardship!!!
She was also able to confirm that both residents are the same pair as last year,, with Joe Black 48 over Y and Virginia 76 over AX Good going Lucie!!!
It has been a long road so to speak, with the new nest box and a new tower nesting situation for the Carmeuse Quarries peregrines,, but the story as they say, is history now. Having successfully convinced the resident adult peregrines to utilize the new CPF nesting box atop of the new tower several hundred feet from the original nest site on the lime silos accounts for yet another successful project,, that with the support of the great folks at Carmeuse Lime & Stone quarries just outside of Beachville Ontario, its been a win - win situation for all!
A lot of planning, manpower and resources, including that of allot of “time-in” has once again paid off! The nest box was installed on the top of one of the old conveyer tower supports via crane back in November 2015 by CPF and Carmeuse employees. The nest box was manufactured earlier in October 2015 by the Canadian Peregrine Foundation at the CPF raptor centre in Vaughan and transported down to the Carmeuse quarry on the day of the install.
With funding and other important resources, (additional manpower, a lift bucket and a crane) provided Carmeuse quarries, we braved the cold and heights to install the new nest box atop of the modified tower. After properly preparing the new nest box, it was secured and bolted in place atop of the tower. This with both resident peregrines watching closely from their usual roosting spots on the old silos. We did get several fly-bys by both resident adults as they watched closely throughout the entire install.
Stay tuned for further updates…..
Posted on May 30, 2016 12:16 pm
May 27, 2016 - Burlington - Lift Bridge
Mark Nash Reports:
May 25th - 2016
A big thank you again to the guys at the Burlington Lift bridge and PWGSC for the great photos of the resident adults. With the new female having being caught on camera tending to the two remaining eggs, clearly showing her Black 68 over Red U band.
While we are beyond a hatch, you just never know given that there five eggs laid over an extended period of time.
Stay tuned……………
Posted on May 30, 2016 11:50 am
May 29, 2016 - Burlington - Lift Bridge
Tracy Simpson Reports:
A big thank you to Bruce Massey for spending the weekend chasing the identity of the new female on site. He was able to get a clear scope read today of her black over red 68/U band with a silver USFW. She is Jo from the Macomb County nest site in Michigan hatched in 2014 to Nick and Hathor. What is quite exciting is that her father, Nick, is the offspring of Miriam, a 2003 release in Richmond Hill conducted by the CPF.
Great job Bruce and we will continue to watch for a hatch.
Posted on May 29, 2016 1:35 pm
May 28, 2016 - Toronto - Don Mills
Marion Nash Reports:
Saturday May 28th - 2016
Marta took a snapshot today of the new male Mac as he’s been nick-named, feeding the chicks and you can see the entire family in this shot!
This is what we have been waiting for! It appears that Mac, the new resident male at the Duncan Mill nest site has finally stepped up and is now feeding his adopted hatchlings, (as we know, Mac replaced the resident adult male Sky sometime after the eggs hatched), and although Mac has been providing food to Quest all along,, - remembering that he is still very much in courting mode,, this is the first evidence of him actually feeding the chicks. It does appear that Mac is under a very watchful eye of Quest as seen in the photo, with Quest standing just beside of the event obviously ready to jump in should things not go right.
It will be interesting to see if Mac will carry on with the fatherly duties, as it is the male that does most of the flight and hunting training with the fledglings!
Stay tuned……….
Posted on May 28, 2016 12:25 pm
May 28, 2016 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Marion Nash Reports:
May 28, 2016
Got a look at hatchling number 1 during noon feeding keeping a close eye to see if second egg in nest tray will hatch.
Posted on May 28, 2016 12:20 pm
