June 15, 2016 - Mississauga - Executive Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
A huge thank you to Winston for continuing to check in on Josally and Olimar for us over at MEC. Although belated, I wanted to share Winstons observations of the boys from this past weekend.
The two boys at MEC are doing great. Josally is a few steps ahead of Olimar but as of
Sunday evening, both are up and flying and even kiting together.
After Olimar’s night in the tree on Tuesday, he has managed to stay up at rooftop level ever since without needing a rescue. He doesn’t fly nearly as often as Josally and his landings are far more clumsy than his brother’s. With that said, Olimar is able to sustain altitude and maneuver in some serious wind. All week, but especially Sunday, was windy at MEC and MEC winds are hard to predict as they tunnel and swirl. Sunday was so bad that I had to seek shelter as the objects hitting my face were getting in all the wrong places. Even the flag on MEC1 ripped. Olimar’s skill in flight is in contrast to his awkward landings. He doesn’t attempt to land on irregular objects unless that object is his brother. The good news is that all his landings are slow enough to mitigate risk of injury.
Josally on the other hand never had the set backs of his brother so his success has not been retarded. He regularly lands on the Desjardins sign and is much more frequently seen going for short trips around MEC3 and between 1 and 3. I caught him double checking how beautiful he was in the window. Until Olimar figures out his landings, I will still be checking in on MEC but both birds are progressing nicely.
Posted on June 15, 2016 10:27 am
June 15, 2016 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
After what I had seen last night, when I started the watch this morning there was no concern on my part for the safety of our young fledglings. Even though yesterday was their first day of flying, they showed skill in manoeuvring as well as an ability to make good choices when things didn’t work out as they had planned. The continuation of the watch at this point is to ensure good landings, safe flights and that the family dynamic is a positive one. With Casper playing very little to no role at this stage of the chicks development there is a small amount of concern regarding Chessie’s ability to keep up. And so the watch continues.
When I pulled in and parked my car I found Chessie and Casper up on the north east corner of the hospital and although the young were not in sight I knew they were on the roof. Chessie was supervising the fledglings self feeding while Casper sat a few feet away looking for an opportunity for a meal. Casper has regularly been taking opportunities to avail himself of stashes and pick up leftovers for a meal rather than hunt on his own. Since the watch began I have yet to see him actually bring in food for this family. This is not a case of bad parenting but I believe instead a case of Casper continuing to recover from the injury that I can clearly see on the back of his head and possibly other injuries that are not visible to me. After the fledglings had finished eating, Chessie flew over to the tower for a rest while Casper flew up to the south H sign. At this point the entire family took time to rest for over an hour. Just after 10am Chessie went off on another hunt to the north east. It wasn’t long before she came back with a pigeon and carried it up to one of the antennas on the roof of the hospital perching herself just above the fledglings location. She plucked her kill vigourously for about 10 minutes and then fell asleep. Really? Asleep? I couldn’t believe my eyes. After about two minutes of snoozing, Chessie awoke and began plucking again. It wasn’t long before she drifted off once more. This had me a little concerned as this is certainly not the time for napping. Was she getting enough food for herself? Was she so busy with the young that she was not getting enough rest? I decided to keep a closer eye and pay greater attention to her today as much as I was the fledglings. She finished plucking her prey, flew out over the parking lot with it and back up to the corner where the kids were awaiting her arrival. She did a touch and go anticipating one of them to follow her but they both stayed put. She made a second attempt to lure one off into the air but they wouldn’t budge. She flew over to the tower with her prey and landed on the top with it. Casper followed her up to the tower and landed a few feet away whining and begging for a taste. Chessie once again fell asleep with the prey firmly in her grasp. She was abruptly awakened when Casper leaned forward and attempted to grab the food right out from under her foot. That was not welcome gesture. She flew over to the hospital to the north east corner and beak fed Ramses and Sahara. Once done, Chessie flew back to the tower and the entire family slept for the next two hours.
At 1 o’clock, Casper took off and disappeared to the west. About 10 minutes later I saw him reappear on the north side of the hospital and for the first time since I started the watch I saw he had food in his foot. He struggled with the rather large package that he brought home as he carried it up to the ledge on the north side. Chessie quickly flew over to see what he had brought home and I raced over towards the north parking lot to try and catch the interaction. By the time I arrived in a good spot for viewing, Casper was already in the air and making his way towards the tower leaving Chessie on the ledge on her own. Casper must’ve stashed the food up against the pillar on the ledge and Chessie made no move to retrieve it. She flew off of the ledge over to the tower and was not carrying anything with her. After about 10 minutes, Chessie left on a hunt of her own out to the west. She returned with a rather large pigeon that she took over to the tower for some prep and then back over to the hospital to the young ones. This was their third meal on the day of which two were rather large. It was a reassuring sight to see that they were receiving all of the food that they needed in order to power their flights. Yet in all three of the feedings that I witnessed, Chessie had only taken a few bites for herself. It would appear as though she was not eating very much but rather giving the lions share to her kids. After this third big meal, back to bed went the family and Bruce took over the watch for me. I gave Bruce points of focus to watch for as there was no need for concern that a fledgling was coming down to be rescued. Instead I had him monitor feeding times and sizes, who the food is being delivered to and whether Chessie was eating any for her self. By 430, the kids had woken up and it was time to burn off some of that stored up energy. Lots of epic flights followed and at one point there was a flight of the full family, all four birds together, that was witnessed by Bruce. They were very few breaks in between the flight sessions of the kids and Chessie was monitoring it all herself. No wonder she’s so tuckered out. By the end of Bruce’s watch he was able to confirm that Chessie had enjoyed a nice meal for herself, a third pigeon was brought in for late snack and that Chessie bore a visible crop indicating that she was taking care of herself. I will be back out once again tomorrow to check in on the family’s progress and ensure that all is going well. Given that Casper hunted for the first time today during this entire watch period and brought home a sizeable meal, it would seem that he is starting to feel much better and beginning to participate more in the family dynamic.
Posted on June 15, 2016 10:17 am
June 14, 2016 - International, National and Local News
Mark Nash Reports:
June 14th - 2016
We have some exciting news to report in that we have finally been able to confirm at least two eggs have hatched in the new CPF nest box atop of the peregrine nesting tower at the Beachville quarry!
Lucie has returned back from England and will down at the Beachville site tomorrow (June 16th) armed with camera in hand so stay tuned……
We look forward to some additional photos as soon as they become available.
Posted on June 15, 2016 9:11 am
June 14, 2016 - Kitchener - CTV-Bell Media Tower
Lisa Reh Reports:
All of the juveniles were safe and sound at the start of the fledge watch at 6:00 this morning. Tenor was on the edge of the top platform while Mystery was prepping breakfast. At about 6:40, Tenor went for a brief flight. He circled around the Bell Media tower and landed back on the top platform. At 6:45, Ziegler hopped up onto the roof in the back of CTV’s parking lot. At 6:50, one of the other babies followed Tenor’s flight path and landed on the east corner of the top of the Bell tower. At 7:15, two kids were on the top of the tower, one was on the nest box platform and the fourth one was on the ledge of the nest box.
At 9:25, 3 out of 4 of the kids were on the top platform! Casper (S41) was still sticking close to the nest box. One of the adults did a low fly by right down King Street towards downtown Kitchener at 10:10 and at 10:20 another adult flew by. One of the parents was sighted just before 11:00 on the King’s Towers antennae while the kids screamed. It quieted down until 11:45. Ziegler, Hope and are still on the top platform, while Casper remained on the nest box platform on the Pine Street side. Ziegler still has her red tape on her band, but all of the others have lost their coloured tape which make it harder for the fledge watch team to identify the birds. Hope took 3 flights during this time, one to the hospital tower and back!! At one point, Mystery coaxed her out and she did a nice loop out towards the hospital and landed back on top of the Bell tower. Caster continued to perch at the hospital tower watching over most of Hope’s flights.
Just before 2:00 a fuss could be heard from one of the ‘grines’ at the Sun Life tower. Hope had taken another flight from the tower towards the hospital and back but couldn’t make it back to the platforms. She tried to land on one of the tower’s steel beams but ended upside down. She aborted that flight and ended up perched on a hydro wire only about 15 feet from the ground on Pine Street. Hope sat there for over an hour and just before 3:00 she made another attempt to fly to the tower platforms, but couldn’t grasp the bars with her talons and ended upside down again. She flew off to the Pine Street medical building and landed on the window sill. She flew back over towards the Bell tower but landed in front of the bushes on the ground. The fledge watch team corralled her and she was easily captured by Rudy.
Meanwhile, Ziegler flew to King’s Towers and Tenor to the antenna. During the afternoon Caster and Mystery were busy flying around after their newly fledged kids! At one point, one of the adults flew off to chase a small raptor out of the immediate area. There is a nesting pair of Merlin’s in Mount Hope Cemetery that are a little too close to Caster & Mystery’s territory. At 6:00 p.m., one of the adults brought in a meal for Casper in the nest box, and then took off with it towards Uptown Waterloo and landed with it up on the east parapet. A 2nd and 3rd ‘grine’ were sighted on top of the Sun Life tower! At the very top of the tower was Ziegler!! What a big flight for this newly fledged falcon!!
Hope was examined and hydrated. She wasn’t injured and at 6:40 p.m. was released from the CTV rooftop adjacent to the Bell Media tower. She hopped onto the building’s edge walking back and forth and getting a bearing on her new surroundings. Caster was on perched on top of the hospital antenna watching over the family. Tenor took a flight towards Caster and his perch but headed back and landed on the very top of the Bell tower on top of the drum. Mystery flew back to join Tenor on top of the drum with Ziegler hot on her tail!! At 7:20, Hope flew back out towards the hospital around the tower but she couldn’t get enough loft and again couldn’t latch onto the steel beams with her talons and went upside down and flew down towards the CTV building and ended up lightly hitting the lower windows and landed in the garden. For the 2nd time today, Hope was rescued from the ground! At 8:00 p.m. Caster and Mystery both arrived and are trying to coax the juveniles to fly. At 8:25 one of the kids did a couple of flights around the tower. At 8:30, one of them takes a flight to the roof of King’s Towers. After about 10 minutes, the juvenile flies back to the tower but isn’t able to land on the satellite dish and flies to the hospital roof. Caster follows the youngster and again stands guard from his perch on the hospital antenna with lots of vocalizations to his kids. Casper has not had a confirmed flight and is resting in the nest box. Hope will be released in the morning after a good night’s rest.
Photos courtesy of Karen von Knobloch & Michael Hilborn
Posted on June 15, 2016 12:46 am
June 14, 2016 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Marilyn Weller Reports:
After a day with some great flights by Gordie and some shorter flights by Ariel, Westview and Ojibway, finally this evening number 5 was convinced to leave the nest. Volunteers were scouring the area as darkness set in as we can’t be sure of its location. Had a count of 4 Peregrines around the bridge, but not positive that we know where the 5th is tonight.
The team is polling our members for one more name and hope to have a suitable name picked soon for number 5.
Today’s photos are from Denis Dupuis, showing rooftop releases done over the past couple evenings. The Ambassador Bridge gets lots of kudos for their help when we need to return a bird to the rooftop.
Also, many thanks to our good friends at Erie Wildlife Rescue and to Dr. House at Brack Animal Hospital for the great care of our fledglings! All are healthy and feisty and eager to soar!
Posted on June 14, 2016 10:19 pm
June 14, 2016 - Toronto - Don Mills
Marion Nash Reports:
Now that the danger of grounding is over and all fledglings are keeping high we are winding down the watch to spot checks. We will still post any pictures and news anyone sends in.
Posted on June 14, 2016 9:26 pm
June 14, 2016 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Linda Woods Reports:
Rhea Mae and Tiago finally make an appearance together, then the little one awakens from the back area.
Posted on June 14, 2016 9:00 pm
June 14, 2016 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Marion Nash Reports:
Finally the chick has climber out of the nest tray while mom takes a break guess it was feeling just a little over protected lol!
Posted on June 14, 2016 11:28 am
June 14, 2016 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
I arrived at the William Osler nest site just after dawn and found that Ramses had already taken his first flight. He had landed smartly in the hydro tower but was in a precarious position as he was on a diagonal beam. Casper flew into the nest tray and woke Chessie up as the sun was beginning to rise. She immediately went on a hunt and came back with a fresh kill that she stashed on the north side. Moments after she returned Sahara wound up and took her first flight. She flew out and over the parking lot and tried to circle back to the nest ledge but the winds were not helping her this morning. She banked once again and turned towards the hydro tower, flew up and landed neatly in the tower not very far from where her brother sat. Neither chick was rewarded with food after their flights. Ramses was the first to fly next and made his way back towards the nest building. He headed straight towards the east side, banked around to the south and landed on the retaining wall of the roof without any problems. He jumped down onto the roof and that is where he spent the next few hours napping out of my sight.
The second flight for Sahara was a long one. She attempted to fly back to the nest building and was too low for the ledge. She circled south over the parking lot and headed back to try again. Still too low, she tried to circle out towards the north. That didn’t work out either. She finally flew back to the hydro tower where she landed on the lowest level. Ramses continue to nap on the nest building roof when Sahara took her third flight. This flight, again a long one, had her making several circles out over the parking lot and she finally ran out of steam. She headed towards the low Medical Centre roof where she landed safely and spent the rest of the morning roaming the rooftop. She wasn’t alone though as all of the resident robins and goldfinches came out to greet her as she sat preening on the edge of the roof.
One thing became very clear after this mornings round of activity and that was that Chessie was pretty much on her own. Even though Casper was around, he wasn’t involved in anything. Chessie was doing all of the hunting, escorting, defending and providing for the chicks. When Casper was on site, he spent almost all of his time in the nest tray sleeping or on the southern H sleeping. He was very inactive throughout the day and on two occasions disappeared for over an hour. Could this be due to his injury? It is unclear at this time. One thing is for sure though, he is not participating and appears to not be invested in these young birds success at this time. Whether he is still in recovery from his fight I can’t say but he is flying very well.
By 11 o’clock Ramses received a feeding on the nest building roof and that sparked a new round of activity. He took a flight out over the parking lot and circled back to the hydro tower where he landed and stayed, albeit briefly. He quickly flew back-and-forth between the nest building and the tower which garnered him yet another food reward. Up to this point, Sahara had yet to receive her first taste of anything. Sahara finally tired of the low Medical Centre roof and made a huge flight out over all three parking lots that ended up with her landing in the tower. This was a fantastic flight with an excellent landing. Even so, this wasn’t the best place for a nap. She made her sixth flight over towards the nest building and with a little help from Chessie she nudged her way in to the nest ledge. She was home. This sparked a nap time that lasted for both fledglings until around 5 PM when things got really crazy. Ramses started making flights everywhere. He was driving me crazy because he kept landing on the edge of the chimney right at the top. While the chimney is not active, there still is a danger present for landing on that open topped chimney. Thankfully Sahara began to fly as well to the tower and back and that took Ramses’s attention away from the chimney. Both fledglings eventually ended up on the roof of the nest building and had a great reunion. The flights by both of the fledglings continued throughout the evening hours and it was seeming to go on nonstop. By 8:30 PM both of the fledglings had made it back to the nest ledge and had each chosen a pillar to flop down against. By 8:45 both of the fledgelings were out cold having spent all of their energy in the last hour of the day flying back-and-forth from the tower to the roof and back to the nest ledge. Chessie did not provide a bedtime feeding for these two so I expect that there will be a big breakfast arriving first thing in the morning. I will be back early to check in on their progress and continue the watch for this family. A few photos from the day will be posted later.
Posted on June 14, 2016 7:55 am
June 13, 2016 - Scarborough - Yellow Pages
Marion Nash Reports:
It turns out that there are 3 chicks not 2. There was 1 boy and 2 girls all healthy and good weights
Mark Heaton from the OMNRF banded the chicks with assistance from colleagues Scott and Craig and CPF volunteer Kathy Smith. This years chick extractor was CPF volunteer climber John Miler.
Canadian Wildlife Services did blood sampling on all 3 chicks as part of a toxicology study of fire retardants in our environment.
Male named Kojis 650 grams band Y over 29 with blue tape
Female named Lorraine 890 grams band S over 63 with red tape
Female named Velcro 845 grams band S over 64 with white tape
Thanks to Paul and Louis from Petra for putting this together for us and getting us access to the roof to collect the chicks.
Fledge watch should start in about 10 days stay tuned to follow the progress of the little ones.
Photos courtesy Ann Brokelman and Mark Nash
Posted on June 14, 2016 12:20 am
