Rob reports 1st egg this morning
April 19, 2023 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Marion Nash Reports:
Well, 2023 has been an interesting as well as emotional time at our local peregrine falcon nest site down at Islington and Bloor.
First was the death of the resident female D’arcy. It wasn’t long after her demise that another female showed up. The new female is not banded.
More recently a new male has come in and taken over. Our long time male, Lucky, has unfortunately been pushed out. Lucky was a Toronto born bird and one helluva dad. We have no idea where he’s gone off to since this younger male moved in on his turf. We just hope he is well and will find a new territory, and mate.
Now for the new male. My Rexdale friends should take note of this. Meet Romeo. He was born at Etobicoke General Hospital up at Hwy 27 and Humber College Blvd in 2017. I probably had my bins on him that spring during fledge watch. Who knows where he’s been the last 5 years but peregrine does mean “having a tendency to wander”. This photo of him bringing in food to the female was taken by my friend and fellow watcher Roger. Thanks to Roger for being able to get photos of the bird and confirming his ID through pictures of his leg band numbers. Roger has named the unbanded female Anne after his wife.
I don’t like these changes but I know this is how nature works. Survival of the fittest, only the strongest survive, blah blah blah. As a watcher, one cannot help but get attached to the birds year after year. I saw some amazing parenting from Lucky and D’Arcy during past fledge watches. Shit that makes your heart jump into your throat as you gasp at what you are seeing, Seeing an adult fly under a struggling juvenile bird, giving it bumps to help keep it from coming down to the busy street below. WOW! Or intervening as a juvenile gets too close to the reflective glass of the office towers, trying to keep its offspring from making a potentially deadly collision with the windows. WOW WOW WOW! As someone who has seen young birds hit these windows. The sight and sound of the strike is unforgettable. It’s heart breaking when you have to recover a dead young falcon. So when you see a parent bird step in and prevent a strike, it is a real whirlwind of emotions.
I hope the two new adult birds are up for the challenge of raising young falcons at this somewhat dangerous nest site. As you can see in the bottom photo, their first egg came sometime this morning. I wonder how many eggs there will be? Fledge watch will be later in the season, if all goes well.
