!!! Etob. Nest site - Bloor & Islington - Successful rescue of Bullet! Back to the roof safe and sound!
June 10, 2022 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Mark Nash Reports:
Etob. Nest site - Bloor & Islington
June 10th - 2022
Afternoon and Evening report:
Another good day on the fledge watch. By the time I arrived out at the Bloor and Islington fledge watch after completing a successful banding this morning at the Don Mills nest site, all four Bloor and Islington juveniles were observed on the nest ledge. Bruce gave me an update of the mornings events that the little male named “Bullet” (Red tape) had already taken several flights out from the nest ledge and successfully returned back to the nest ledge. Apparently Lucie and Bruce had quite a show!
The afternoon and early evening was once again like watching paint dry with not much happening on the nest ledge. Several feedings (beak to beak) and two food drops took place.
Once again just when we all thought that the evening might be quiet, at 8:10pm “Bullet” burst off the nest ledge and took flight. This time although, despite his best efforts, (and five flights later) after clinging on the wall face of the Kingsway Condo tower about half way up the building, then his second flight had him ending up clinging on the glass dividers half way up the nest building face, then yet another flight over to the rooftop of the Bell bell building where he did finally land for a short breather, and then the 4th flight back over to the nest building unable to gain much altitude and a long way down from the nest ledge he made yet another attempt to gain some altitude to reach the nest ledge.
Unfortunately yet again he lost more altitude and ended up once again clinging onto the window dividers about a third of the way up the glass wall of the nest building. After several minutes of clinging (on the glass wall face much like a bat clinging on a wall) he finally had to let go and was air borne once again, (his 5th and final flight). He ended up flying around the side of the nest building in-between the nest building and the centre tower, eventually loosing his altitude and ended up on the mezzanine level between the two office towers.
While not in any imamate danger at this level as its still two floors above the ground level, it overlooks Bloor street, and it has been our experience over the past 25 years that every downed fledgling over the years that has ended up on this elevation eventually ends up down on the street level and most often than not, on Bloor Street in the middle of the busy road way and the traffic.
With reports from both Bruce and Rob having both seen several raccoons on this elevation during this watch, it was decided to capture him up and get him back to the upper roof area of the nest building (east tower roof above the nest ledge), and back to his parents care (and far out of reach of the raccoons)!
With a successful release under the cover of darkness, I was finally able to pack up and head home by 10pm.
