!!! Corona tumbles, Jewel is MIA
June 20, 2022 - Kitchener - CTV-Bell Media Tower
Lisa Reh Reports:
The watch started early at 5:40, with Amy and Piper, diligently looking for Jewel & Corona.Corona was on the small drum tower, and Jewel was sighted on the tower in an awkward spot facing Pine Street. Corona took a flight from the small drum tower and flew towards Grand River hospital, landing awkwardly on a lower rooftop and went out of sight.
At 7:12, Tara reported that one parent was on the tower on top of the hospital one fledgling was above ‘H’. The other parent was on the CTV tower. Tara thought she could hear the second fledgling on the hospital but couldn’t see it. At 7:30 there was still no location on the second fledgling. Both parents flew off from their previous positions.
At 7:55, the little one was still above the H. One adult flew towards the Sun Life building. There is some flapping from the young one above the H and still some calling was heard but Amy was unable to tell where it was coming from. An adult showed up above the H and probably delivered a package as the fledgling was now out of sight now, perhaps having breakfast. The adult flew back to the top of the hospital antenna. Amy found the second fledgling on top of the Pine Street medical building! At 8:15, the fledgling flew from the Pine Street building to the top of the chimney where the chimney swifts live on the low rise building beside Kings Towers. Karen identified Corona above the H on Grand River Hospital. Jewel who was on the chimney disappeared.
As more watchers arrived, they checked rooftops from various vantage points but still no Jewel. At 10:00, Corona made the flight back from the hospital to the CTV tower, facing Mount Hope Cemetery. One adult was at the nest site, the other had been around too, still no sign of Jewel. Many more volunteers were on the watch, searching for Jewel and putting the word out in the neighbourhood and on social media of the missing peregrine. Kellie suggested that there was a possibility that she fell into the chimney as that is where she was last seen. After 1:00, Corona was back on the hospital and got fed while the volunteers continued searching for Jewel. At 1:50, Corona was now on a windowsill of the hospital.
At 3:00 there were a few people on the roof of the hospital, the parents were vocalizing their displeasure. David reported: “mid aft Corona did a bit of flying, was on a hospital window ledge for a bit, then ended up on a lower hosp roof above the emergency entrance. Both adults were ‘yelling’ at the person on the roof. I kept my eye on Corona, and she all of a sudden took off, did a small loop over Mary St, then a bigger climbing loop, then headed to the Sun Life tower! She made two unsuccessful attempts to land, around the 17th floor, the 2nd on the hospital side, briefly tumbled down one floor, then flew back towards the hospital. She disappeared behind the hospital, Park Street side at a decent height and then lost sight of her.” At 5:55, Corona reappeared and flew from the hospital back to the top of CTV tower, tumbling, failed to land and kept going. She flew up to the Kings Tower roof, and had a messy landing there but made it!
At 6:55, Karen reported that “Corona had a long flight back to the platform and seemed to want to go towards Sun Life but one of the parents interceded and seemed to force her back to the tower. She had a successful landing on the top level. Both parents out hunting.”
A long day for the fledgewatch team, Kellie reported at 10:28: “Still no sign of Jewel. Corona stayed invisibly on the top platform of the nestbox tower until almost the end, with occasional vocalizing. Papa came in with a package around 8:50 p.m. Mama enticed him to hand it off in mid-air, she grabbed it and prepped it on one of the white, vertical panels. Corona became visible along the Mount Hope side of the platform. After the package was prepped, Mama flew up top and gave Corona the food. Mama was perched on the short tower and we (Ev, Michelle, and Fraser) were thinking of packing up for the night, as it was a few mins past 9. Corona chose this time to fly yet again, and headed towards her mother on the short tower. She missed, circled back around, and then slammed kind of hard into the tower. She seemed okay, although it definitely made a loud sound when she crashed into it. She’s perched on the lowest bundle of wires, best viewed from King Street in front of the hospital entrance. When we left her, she was still in the same spot, but it’s not a great spot, and will likely want to move.”
Photos courtesy of Amy Becker & Kellie Superina
