June 17, 2016 - Kitchener - CTV-Bell Media Tower
Lisa Reh Reports:
At 6:05 this morning, two of the juveniles were located in the nest box. The third finally popped its head up over at Kings Tower while Mystery perched on the small tower in the CTV parking lot. Casper’s release was scheduled for 9:30 and was looking feisty and bright when she arrived in the carrier. At 9:45, Mystery brought in some food. Tenor and Ziegler were feeding on the very top of the CTV tower while Hope hopped around the nestbox platform trying to figure out how to get up top for breakfast. She flew up to the railing adjacent to the nestbox and sat there for a little bit. At 10:05, she flew off the tower and circled around the tower. Hope took two more flights one with one of the parents. Casper (Photo 3) was released on top of Kings Towers right around the same time. She hopped up on the north ledge close to the middle of the tower. She wasn’t up there for very long before she lifted off, swooped down a little and flew in the direction of the hospital parking garage, circled around the tower. She had nice height and landed gracefully on the very top of the CTV tower!! A smooth release and beautiful flight!!
At 10:45, Hope (Photo 4) still on the nestbox platform flew up to one of the wifi antennas but was awkwardly perched there and soon lifted off and flew around CTV and directly over the top but wasn’t able to negotiate a landing as she soared over the top. She flew over to Kings Towers and landed halfway done on the antenna there. One of the adults flew off and joined the other adult and Hope at Kings Towers. At 10:50, Casper (Photo 5) flew in with a small food drop on the top of the CTV tower. One of the young ones, grabbed it and ran into the centre of the tower to feed. Caster landed on one of the wifi antennas on the east side of the tower underneath the nestbox.
Shortly after 3:00, both Mystery and Caster flew by the CTV tower trying to entice the young ones off the top platform. They were visible from the Pine Street side of the tower. Then they move over to side facing Grand River Hospital. It was a hot 30 degrees Celsius and the kids were all staying put. Mystery flew by again but there were no food drops. One of the adults came in at 5:30 and made a food drop to all four who were on the top level of the CTV tower.
Photos courtesy of Tony Bergauer and Karen von Knobloch
Posted on June 17, 2016 11:49 pm
June 17, 2016 - Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton
Marion Nash Reports:
Spent a few hours watching today but nothing yet likely wont take first flights until Sunday or even Monday. Haven was the only one flying.
Posted on June 17, 2016 8:14 pm
June 17, 2016 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Marilyn Weller Reports:
Earlier this evening, Pulse was released on the rooftop where he paced and flapped a lot. He seemed very anxious to return to the bridge and his familiar surroundings.
Pulse lost his footing on the roof, slid to the brickwork of the building wall, tried a short, low flight across University Avenue, and gradually made his way to a fence rail on the bridge side of the street. He then took another short, low flight and came to the faculty lot next to the bridge, and took a walk along the base of the bridge.
Our faithful volunteer, Paul Gosselin,slowly and respectfully walked along beside Pulse until Pulse got onto the curbing near the fencing behind the bridge. As I watched from a distance, Paul squatted down beside Pulse, staying very still and quiet. Suddenly Pulse hopped onto Paul’s arm. He then climbed up to Paul’s shoulder and then decided to hop onto Paul’s head. Fortunately Paul was wearing a hat! Pulse perched on Paul’s head and Paul very slowly raised up, giving Pulse the opportunity to then hop over onto the fence rail.
From the rail, he made his way to the equipment shed and then the trailer rooftop in the construction area under the bridge. He then made his way to the roof of a construction van where he sat for a while. We were concerned that the workers arriving in the early morning would startle him and he could be in trouble again.
Paul again worked his magic and was able to coax Pulse to get back on his arm again. From there, Kim (from the Bridge Company) helped to get him into the cage. She brought the lift back again and put him on the second cement ledge of the bridge,up above the faculty lot where we hope he will find good footing and a safe resting place for the night.
These birds never cease to amaze me!
Great job, Paul! I never would have believed this if I hadn’t seen it myself! It was very evident that Pulse knew he was safe with Paul and that Paul was there to assist. Paul is now, officially, the Windsor Peregrine Whisperer!
Hoping for a good rest for all tonight and maybe a better flight tomorrow.
Posted on June 17, 2016 1:06 am
June 16, 2016 - Kitchener - CTV-Bell Media Tower
Lisa Reh Reports:
Tony was the sole fledgewatcher at the start of the watch at 6:15. To the relief of the fledgewatch team this morning, all four juveniles were accounted for. At one point three out of four juveniles were in flight. It’s next to impossible for one volunteer to keep track of these teenagers!! The fourth was found on a hydro pole on King Street just north of the CTV tower. Tony went back to his car to grab a towel just in case he needed to rescue a grounded bird. By the time he got back the fourth had left the hydro pole. By 6:35, all were accounted for. Two on the tower on the East side and to on Kings Towers. At 7:10, they were all in about the same positions. Zielger (red tape), was positively identified on top of the microwave dish. She’s the only one with coloured tape on her silver band, which makes it much harder for the team to id these birds.
Shortly after 9:00, Karen, Michael, Martha and David had arrived as it was going to be a busy fledgewatch! The conditions were challenging being both windy and warm today. The team scoured the area and all four fledglings were found and there were many flights! Even with all the volunteers on the ground, it became a blur of birds all whizzing around. Tenor took a nice flight at 10 a.m. from the CTV tower towards the hospital and back to CTV (Photo 1). Ziegler had a bit of trouble with a Kings Tower landing and flew back to successfully land on top of the microwave dish at CTV. One of the adults came in for a food drop for the two youngsters on top of Kings Towers. Tenor and Ziegler (Photo 2) spent a lot of time on Kings Towers keeping Hope company.
Mom and Dad did a few fly bys and circles supervising the youngsters. At one point, Mystery took off to the Sun Life tower to hassle a maintenance worker on the top of the building and swooped in fairly close at times. Mystery came in and landed at the opposite end of Kings Towers on the King Street side and jumped down on the roof and picked up some food remnants and then flew off and tried to entice the kids to follow her (Photo 3). She dropped the meal and it fluttered to the ground.
Casper, who finally fledged from the nest box, was on the 2nd level from the ground of the Bell Media tower and stayed put there all morning (Photo 4). Around 11:30 she started moving around the platform she was on and made way as if to take off but decided against. At 12:45 Casper launched herself off of the platform and up King Street. She tried to land on a lamp post but failed and circled back towards CTV but she was flying low and out of sight! Kim and Karen were pretty certain she ended up on the ground and quickly grabbed their rescue gear and headed over to search for her. They searched Pine Street, up and down the streets and parking lots but couldn’t find her anywhere. They decided to go back and search the CTV parking lot.
Karen heard a flutter and went behind CTV and Casper appeared like a ghost about 40 feet in front of her in the middle of the parking lot! She flew a few times low to the ground behind the CTV building and was even dive bombed by a crow twice!! Kim and Karen tried to get her to move towards the fence, Kim went and grabbed the carrier and came back from the other direction while Karen proceeded to move slowly closer while waving the towel close to the ground. The crow came in for dive bomb over Casper which made her freeze. Karen was now only 10 feet from her! Casper let her approach and Karen successfully toweled her as Kim came in with the carrier and into the carrier she went!!! She was taken into CTV for some quiet time and hydration. Rudy was consulted and arrangements were made with CTV to release her from the top of Kings Towers at around 3:00 pm. The wind was so strong on the rooftop the team decided it was in Casper’s best interest to wait until tomorrow morning for her release which is planned for 9:30 a.m.
Hope is flying well since yesterday’s release. at 2:10 p.m. she came in for a landing at the top of the CTV tower (Photo 5) and Mystery flew by at 3:10 p.m. (Photo 6). Glenn and Barb arrived to take over the the afternoon shift. At 4:55, two of the kids were on the top of the CTV tower, one was on the nest box. Shortly after one and then the other flew down from the top into the nestbox. At 5:05, Mystery brought in dinner and circled the nest box, two times teasing the kids and on the second pass dropped dinner into the nest box. Tenor had to wait while Hope and Ziegler greedily tucked into supper but finally grabbed a morsel from his sisters. Mystery flew south into the gusty winds and could be seen far off towards mid-town and circled back overtop of Mount Hope Cemetery. At 5:20, one of the adults was back on the hospital tower. At 5:30, Mystery chased a small raptor out over the CTV tower and landed on top and perched on the upper rail until 5:45 when she flew off back towards Sun Life. The three juveniles remained in the nest box. A little after 6:00 Mystery flew to the hospital antenna from the south, perched for a bit and then heading back out over Mount Hope Cemetery. At last report at 6:30, the kids hadn’t attempted any more flights and were all on the tower.
Whew, what a day! And what a great team!! Thanks to all involved for rescuing Casper on her first big day of flying!!
Photos courtesy of Karen von Knobloch
Posted on June 17, 2016 1:06 am
June 16, 2016 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Linda Woods Reports:
Bedtime snack for the Sheraton chick June 16 8:20pm.
Posted on June 16, 2016 8:23 pm
June 16, 2016 - Oshawa - Lakeridge Hospital
Marion Nash Reports:
One of the falcons from lake ridge hospital was hanging out on our roof watching a young one fly.
It was quite impressive I thought you might enjoy the photos. They were pirched there for over 5 hours.
Have a good day
Mike
Posted on June 16, 2016 8:18 pm
June 15, 2016 - Kitchener - CTV-Bell Media Tower
Lisa Reh Reports:
All 3 babies were accounted for at 6:30 this morning. Two were in the nest box and one on the top of the microwave dish on the Bell Media tower. Volunteers gathered at 9:30 for Hope’s release and spread out around the area. It was decided to release her from the rooftop of the Kings Towers to give her a higher altitude. The wind was fairly low and the sun was out at 10:00 a.m when she was set free on top of the apartment building. Mystery swooped around the Kings Tower antenna, vocalizing alot while Caster calmly looked on from the small tower in the CTV parking lot. Hope hopped onto the south west ledge facing King Street. She spent a good hour there, flapping her wings, hopping and taking a small fly hop from one ledge to the other. At times, she’d hop down to the rooftop out of site of the fledgewatchers.
At 11:45 Mystery and Tenor flew over to Kings Towers. Tenor stayed with Hope there as Mystery flew off towards the hospital. Hope and Tenor perched on the north ledge. At 12:20 Tenor flew to CTV and then back to Kings Towers. A few minutes there were more flights by adults and juveniles with falcons seeming to be flying everywhere! Only Casper had not been confirmed to have flown. Around 1:15, one of the adults came back to Kings Towers with a food package trying to encourage Hope and Tenor to follow. The meal was dropped off and a few minutes later the adult came back again to try and call them out. All got quiet again when the parent flew off towards the hospital.
At 3:40, it got exciting again. Tenor flew over to the hospital antenna and landed below where Mystery was perched. A few minutes later, both flew to the Kings Towers possibly due to a maintenance worker on the rooftop. As Tenor landed on the antenna, Hope (not confirmed) flew over to the Bell Media tower, circled it and flew back to the Kings Tower roof. Meanwhile, Tenor also flew back to the Bell tower. Both adults perched on the Kings Tower antenna and it quieted down somewhat. At 4:35, Tenor took another flight from CTV to visit Hope on Kings Tower.
At 7:30, Tenor and Hope were still on the Kings Tower roof in the rain while the other two were by the nest box at CTV . One of the adults perched on the hospital antenna. At 8:30, Tenor and one of his sisters, flew from the next box platform over to Kings Tower in quick succession. One of them tried to land on the roof but missed, recovered and flew around again. It missed again, recovered and flew around but missed and landed on one of the top balconies. A tenant came out onto the balcony right after the juvenile got there! At the end of this rainy, wet fledgewatch, Hope and one of her siblings were still on the King’s Tower rooftop, and the third on the balcony. Tonight we have an empty nest box as this day ends!
Posted on June 16, 2016 12:55 am
June 15, 2016 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Marilyn Weller Reports:
The first off the nest this year is a male and volunteers have named him, Westview, for a new school in the west end of Windsor, whose mascot is the falcon. Next off the nest was a male who was named, Gordie (for Windsor’s own, Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe). Next to fly was a female, and the group chose, “Ariel” for her. The other female fledged next and the group decided to honour our local nature area and our Aboriginal neighbours with the name, “Ojibway.” Finally today, our last fledling, a male, has emerged from the nest, and the name chosen by our team, was “Pulse” in order to honour the lives of our brothers and sisters in Orlando.
The team came up with some great names again this year, and we have some ideas still on the table for future use.
Thanks to everyone for helping us name our brood. We have some amazing and very dedicated folks helping to keep our fledglings safe.
Posted on June 15, 2016 10:51 pm
June 15, 2016 - Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton
Marion Nash Reports:
Spent a couple hours with Haven, Malik and their chicks today just to get an idea of how they are progressing so I and plan on when to start the watch. Although my lens is a 150 to 500 it is still a very distant shot but looking at the photos I got of the chicks it will be another few days until they are ready. 2 of the chicks still have lots of down on them 1 a little less but they have not yet ventured out of the nest to the “veranda” the concrete ledge just off the nest ledge same level which is the usual next move for the chicks at this nest site. Not much flapping and exorcising of the wings either so perhaps this weekend we will see more progress and will start the watch if it looks like they are ready.
Took a few shots of Haven flying but again very far so they are not the best pics.
Posted on June 15, 2016 6:56 pm
June 15, 2016 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Marilyn Weller Reports:
Fledgling number 5 (still unnamed) apparently spent last night in the nest box, well out of sight as our team spent many hours searching after we thought this one had launched. This morning, she finally tried her wings but was not very successful yet. She basically made her way to the ground but without injury. After getting her onto a fence, she tried again with the same result so volunteers got her safely into a cage and she was taken to Erie Wildlife Rescue for banding and some additional rest. Hoping to be able to release her on the rooftop tonight.
Thanks to Mel Diotte and Denis Dupuis for some more great photos. Several show the reunion of 2 fledglings with Voltaire on the rooftop, getting a nice meal with mom. Beautiful photos!
Posted on June 15, 2016 6:20 pm
