Brampton - Courthouse

FLEDGE WATCH - Brampton Courthouse - Saturday, June 29 - Tuesday, July 2

SATURDAY -  It wasn’t a great day to be in the air with all the rain and wind, so it was good that PERCY stayed put on the ledge all day according to Winston.  Mom ROSE was close by at all times.

SUNDAY & MONDAY - Toivo reported PERCY being on the ledge early Sunday morning.  When he returned later, PERCY was no where to be seen and neither was mom.  Only Dad NICO was around and hanging out on the nest ledge.  Because we know ROSE’s behaviour, it wasn’t difficult to speculate that wherever PERCY was, mom was close by.  ROSE returned to the nest ledge late Sunday afternoon.  Neither ROSE nor NICO seemed overly concerned and we felt they knew exactly where PERCY was, even though we did not.  On Monday, no one saw PERCY or ROSE.

TUESDAY - When I arrived early afternoon, it was just Dad NICO that I saw on the ledge.  He stayed put for quite a while until he took off and landed on a tall condo west of the nest site.  He stayed there for a while and I knew there was a reason he was perched there.  A few hours later, NICO flew there again, this time with food in his talons.  It wasn’t difficult to hazard a guess that PERCY was somewhere in that area!  With my bins on him constantly, I waited and watched while he remained on the rooftop .. and finally ..  shortly after 5 pm .. I saw 2 falcons flying in the distance.  I thought at first it was a pigeon .. and then no, it was definitely a peregrine .. so I thought .. mom?  Well, even if it was mom, given that she’s been with PERCY, by his side, all day long, he just had to be there!   I was quite a distance away and even through my binoculars, I could easily be looking at pigeons, so having my camera handy really helped.  Yes, I saw a parent .. no mistaking that.  But then a second peregrine was perched on the roof too and sure enough, it was PERCY!!  I had to get closer and take more photos, and then confirmed that I was looking at that juvie brown chest!  Before long, I saw all 3 on the roof and I can’t tell you what it felt like to have found our boy!!  When I left, PERCY was still on the condo roof, ROSE was back on the nest ledge prepping food, while NICO was perched on another building. Toivo and Winston continued to watch, but I didn’t stay since I was quite satisfied knowing PERCY was okay!

Update on WEDNESDAY - Toivo reports PERCY in the air with parents tonight showing off some pretty darn good flying skills!  Happy day!  Cheers, Lucie

When I arrived Sunday early afternoon, I did a complete search of the courthouse, including the kestrel’s territory.  I have never been this close to a kestrel nest area and since I didn’t see peregrines, I got some photos of the kestrels.  Oh so cute!  Also nearby were the goldfinches and I enjoyed watching them too

Toivo has been keeping an eye on our little one and thank goodness for that!

He arrived to find him down, probably blown off by the strong winds we have been having. He rescued him. Way to go Toivo!!!

After a rest, I joined Toivo and Mark Heaton and we got that little guy (yes its a boy) banded, his name is Percy, and then back up on the nest building, and back to his parents.

Toivo and I were happy to see his parents up with him within minutes.  Lovely. I headed back to work and left Toivo to watch.

Later in the afternoon a storm came up but Toivo  had lost sight of him but just knew he was not on the ledge any more. After the storm passed, Toivo observed Mom bring food across the street on the very large roof. She popped down, then a bit later, up without food. Bingo! Our little guy was across the street.

And there he spent the night.

Yesterday was a long day for Toivo and Lucie. Percy got fed multiple times on that roof and didn’t make an appearance until late in the day.  Such a cutie.

Hopefully they will get to see some nice flights today!

Go Percy

Thanks Lucie for her great pics of him on the roof.