July 27, 2011 - Brampton - Courthouse
CPF Postmaster Reports:
Wednesday July 27th - 2011 - Afternoon observations
Good news to report. Mom and baby are back. Mom killed a pigeon and was preparing it when Milton returned with a kill and delivered it whole and unprepared to Courtney. Pics to come
Finally I got some photos of the elusive American kestrels living, (and producing) at the courthouse!. The rest of the Pefa pics are all from between 3-4pm. I had to leave before Truss finished prepping the pigeon. Good light. Would have been a nice shot. Darn!
Winston
Posted on July 28, 2011 10:42 am
July 27, 2011 - Brampton - Courthouse
CPF Postmaster Reports:
July 27th - 2011 - Afternoon visit:
Just returned from break. Walked around the courthouse and no Pefa’s in view. Saw lots of starling activity and American kestrels freely going into and out of the nest. Looked around near by buildings, no Pefa’s observed.
Winston
Posted on July 27, 2011 1:34 pm
July 27, 2011 - Brampton - Courthouse
CPF Postmaster Reports:
July 27th - 2011 - AM report:
Kinda Quiet, 6:30 to 8:30am
Courtney took two short flights , then flew to Truss on an antenna bumped her off and landed her herself, mom circled and reached out touching Courtney with a talon. Truss then took up a position on a nearby antenna.
Two short hunts (one including a stoop at a gull) for mom, no luck. They both settled down and were alert but settled in.
Toivo
Posted on July 27, 2011 1:30 pm
July 26, 2011 - Brampton - Courthouse
CPF Postmaster Reports:
July 26th - 2011
For the most parts, the day was very quiet with the exception of the morning - 8am to 9:30am and of course the falcon follies - (evening watch) just after 8pm.
Toivo reports from this mornings watch that Courtney was observed in some decent short flights around the courthouse chasing mom for food and holding her altitude - with several flights well above the upper courthouse roof top. Mom brought in food and Courtney was fed. Shortly after her meal, everyone got very quiet and their was not a lot of activity there after. Toivo had to leave for work and departed soon after.
Bill, Sue and Grace were on the watch for the afternoon and although everyone was almost as quiet, they had an interesting observation. At one point shortly after 4pm, Milton was observed actually taking food away from Courtney,, and Truss was enraged with his action!! She screamed and vocalized at Milton, than proceeded to chase him into the air, and continued her pursuit of him in the air for several minutes (with several revolutions in the air, out and around the courthouse building)! She was clearly furious with his actions of taking food from Courtney!
For the most parts of the early evening, the entire family was very in-active and only a few very short flights were observed. By 8pm (the falcon follies time as we say), things did get a bit more exciting, as Truss went out on another hunt,, (Milton simply stayed in his usual roosting position on one of the courthouse ledges). While we didn’t observe her actually making the kill, Truss arrived back at the courthouse with a huge pigeon, again struggling in the air given its huge size and weight. Winston and I caught some good photos of Truss in flight carrying the pigeon and snapped some shots not more than a second after she landed with it, holding it with one foot as it dangled over the leading edge of the roof.
Truss proceeded to pluck and prepare it, then took a flight out and around over Courtney’s position trying to tease her into the air. Unsuccessful in getting Courtney airborne, she finally gave in and brought the food to Courtney’s upper roof top position. Later, Milton was observed once again, going to the food drop spot looking for “left-overs”. Throughout the day, Courtney had been fed at least three times by Truss.
At least one of the food packages, - (a small bird) had been brought in by Milton and delivered to Truss,,, (or should I say, Truss relieved it from him as soon as he arrived at the courthouse with it). I believe that this was part of the earlier morning feeding that Toivo observed.
Courtney made some great flights during the early evening and although her landings are far less than perfect, (most of them were by simply dropping in from above like a rock falling from the sky), she is very skilled at gaining altitude, now using her tail as it should be used to gain and lower her altitude, and showing some very strong flights and elevation changes.
While there was constant north west winds, (some very blustery) winds throughout the late afternoon and evening, it was one again very obvious that Courtney’s aerial activities were for the most part unaffected, and she seems to be dealing well with the changing conditions just fine.
There is very little risk at this point that she will come to the ground and in need of resecuring. If she does, she is more than capable of getting airborne on her own steam.
Given what we have seen thus far, the full time fledge watch has finished as of this evening. CPF volunteers will continue to monitor her activity for the following days to do some spot checks on her.
The rescue carrier will remain at the facilities management office for the next few weeks just in case it is needed. While Courtney is not likely to need to be rescued from the ground because she has simply lost altitude, we know only too well that accidents can still happen with collisions with windows while she is still learning what they are all about.
Over the next few days (and weeks), Courtney will be building up confidence and soon to get over-confident just like any similar age human teenager. It is at this time that accidents can happen, - (collisions with windows, impacts with cars, and other reckless “teenage” happenings).
We can only hope that she has learned from her previous “negative experiences” when she came to the ground and needed to be rescued, and the minor bumps and hits that she has already had with some of the windows and concrete. They do in fact learn from these events. Some learn slower than others 
Recklessness is the next dangerous time for Courtney, as the fledglings become “very reckless and over confident” with their new flight skills. This combined with ‘poor judgement” will be her next hurtle. She will be building up some incredible speeds as she continues to learn how to fly and actually learns how to manoeuver in and around things. Window and concrete collisions at this stage can be disastrous and often lead to serious injuries and mortality. Speed does kill!
It is also important to understand, that Courtney will still be solely dependant on her parents for both food and protection for the next 30 to 60 days while they are teaching her to hunt and many of the other life skills that she will need to survive while on her own. She is still “mentally” a infant that just has only just learned to walk,,, (or should I say, only just learned to fly - sort of). Good landings will take a lot more practice) 
By 9:30pm, all of the grins were roosting quiet and settled in for the evening.
In closing, your ongoing support is still very much needed, and we are asking that you continue to keep your eyes to the sky, as Baby Courtney could still run into trouble. Please don’t hesitate to call us if she needs assisatance and finds herself in trouble on the ground or tapped.
Posted on July 26, 2011 10:52 pm
July 26, 2011 - Brampton - Courthouse
CPF Postmaster Reports:
As I have been saying, the best is yet to come. Going through all of the photos takes alot of time, viewing, selecting, cleaning them up, re-sizing them, and finally getting them posted. So far, over 800 photos just on my end, and there is only so many hours in the day to get throught them.
Atteched are only just a small sampling of what I’ve been able to come up with so far. far more to come.
Stay tuned…………
Posted on July 26, 2011 2:13 pm
July 20, 2011 - Brampton - Courthouse
CPF Postmaster Reports:
July 20th - 2011 Photo of Courtney
Thank you to some of the court staff for this great photo of Courtney on the ledge “from the inside” - taken July 20th - 2011
We rarely get shots like this from the ground, and it’s nice to see a good close up shot of the young falcons while they are still on the ledge. These close up shots help us understand both the health of the young peregrines as they tell us a lot about the young peregrine’s condition.
Thank you for all of your support, as it’s nice to know that we are not alone while down in the streets.
Posted on July 26, 2011 12:36 pm
July 26, 2011 - Brampton - Courthouse
CPF Postmaster Reports:
Tuesday July 26th - 2011 - AM watch report:
Toivo reports this morning’s that Courtney is doing allot of short flights this morning while pursuing mom in the air around the courthouse building.
Courtney is no longer stuck on the ledges, and has both the confidence and basic flight skills to fly around and chase her parents at will. (Now the parents have got their hands full)!! Very few places to hide where the kid(s) can’t find you. :-)
It is at this point that there is going to be some incredible aerial flight displays, as the parents should be starting to coax Courtney into the air with food in the many games of - “if your want food, come and get it”,, and come and “catch it”.
Over the next few weeks, the parents will have to train Courtney how to chase and catch things in addition to the many other flight skills before she will be taught “how and what to actually hunt”.
There will be many lessons of tag, touch and go, catch the food in mid air before it hits the ground that I drop for you, aerial food transfers and many other important lessons. The best is yet to come!
Remember, even after Courtney is fully flighted, she will still be solely dependant on her parents for food and protection for the next 30 to 60 days before she will ever be able to actually catch anything on her own.
At this point, Courtney still has no idea yet that the other birds that surround her are even food!!
She still has a long way to go and allot to learn, but its now time to bring out your cameras, as you are going to see some incredible training seasons over the next two months!!
Now that Courtney can sustain flight and able to hold her altitude, are fledge watch in the streets is almost completed, as she is not likely to find herself on the ground in need of rescue. While we will be monitoring and spot checking her progress over the next few weeks, it’s now up to the parents to do their part of the job as our job is almost done.
We would encourage any and all to continue to come out when you can, as we’re not kidding with regards to the “best is yet to come”! Don’t forget to bring your camera’s, binoculars and spotting scopes!
Photos from Winston.
Stay tuned…….
Posted on July 26, 2011 11:45 am
July 25, 2011 - Brampton - Courthouse
Bruce Massey Reports:
July 25th - 2011 - PM Watch report:
We were rewarded this evening during the afternoon and evening fledge watch with a continuation of the morning and early afternoons events with Courtney demonstrating some incredible flights. It is obvious that she no longer has problems gaining altitude as she was able to achieve and gain altitude with some skill and confidence without any problems.
While the constant north west breezes aided her in most of her flights, she is learning very quickly how to utilize her tail and wings to her advantage and made several good flights from the lower ledges on the courthouse around the building to the upper roof elevations. On two occasions, she had flights where she soared with her parents around the courthouse building far above the roof level and almost looked as if she knew what she was doing
Both Milton and Truss spent some time with Courtney in the air during several sustained flights and it appears that both parents are doing allot to encourage her to stay in the air for longer periods when she is actually airborne.
Milton does although seem to be much less involved with the day to day events compared to Truss, in comparison to other nest sites where the adult males are much more involved. Also, Truss seems to be doing the larger percentage of the hunting.
Courtney still seems to be clumsy as she is still tripping over her feet and slipping off the leading edges of the various elevations, but nothing more or less than we would have seen from a young peregrine at this stage.
She did have several slight minor bumps with the concrete edges of the walls on two of her approaches while trying to make landings to the upper elevations, but once again, nothing out of the ordinary. These soft bumps are good learning experiences, ones that will not be forgotten.
By the end of day, Courtney was still flying around from different spots on the upper roof elevations and has clearly shown that she has gained the confidence that she needs to stay aloft. Her strong flights are showing a huge improvement over yesterday’s.
It would appear that Courtney has actually figured out that she is a bird, and can actually fly!!
Stay tuned……..
July 25th - 2011 - AM Fledge watch report:
0515 - Arrived in a torrential Thunder storm (So heavy, that I could barely see a fire truck pulling out a 100 yds. ahead of me. ) Had to wait in car for 15-20 minutes for it to subside.
0545 - Went to last known location of Courtney (North West Corner of Courthouse). Only saw one of the Adults (I think the Female) on top of one of the antennas, but no sign of Courtney. I started out on what turned out to be 2 circuits of the, one in close paying particular attention to bushes & Trees on the West side and a second one from a distance out, checking ledges & rooftops. Adult was still looking West so I crossed checked around the Police Station, and the Plaza. I stopped into the Coffee shop and as I stepped out I saw an Adult (Female) stoop low to the South, roust about 20-25 gulls and continue South & West and land in the tall Condo Antenna. This was an atypical enough behaviour that I followed and started to scan the lower elevations of the plaza. Much to my surprise I saw a familiar shape. Much to my surprise Courtney (An appropriate name apparently) was perched over the Front Entrance of the Provincial Traffic Court (It was measured to be roughly a 1/2 Kilometer away). Mom was still on the antenna. By this another watcher (Toivo) had arrived and we set up to keep Tabs on her.
About 20 or so minutes before Toivo had to leave to go to work, Courtney was flushed off her perch by a crow and it chased her across the intersection but had second thoughts when Mom stooped it from the Condo Antenna. It Turned away & Mom caught up w/Courtney and encouraged her up to the roof level @ the South end of Nest Building. Courtney’s landing wasn’t the best and she did tap the Metal @ the back but it was a light Tap.
0900 - Mom flew over to the Release Ledge and brought back some food to the Southwest side of the ledge, Courtney ran as fast as possible, snatched the food off Mom, who flew off.
0910 -I took a break and I found the adult Male on the Door railing facing East & Courtney was in her fathers favourite spot doing her fathers favourite thing “sleeping”.
1010 - While catching up on my notes, glanced up to see Courtney flying South and then West. She didn’t come back around, but she was keeping her Height and I figured she had to have slipped into a ledge and she would pop up eventually.
1200 -Decided to take break @ Coffee Shop. Iced Tea & 2 Red Velvet Cupcakes)
1230 - Called by Sherry she had found Courtney, on the East Side on a ledge @ 6th Floor Level, tucked against the wall.
1240 -Confirmed above Report, she stayed that way pretty well through the afternoon. Occasionally she would be vocal, flap her wings, but she would settle down. Her parents alternated being near her.
1630 -Mom went low over Service Ontario building, this were the Crows were hanging out.
1700 -Just as I left, Courtney made a very good flight to the upper roof of the Courthouse. The landing wasn’t all that great (She Flared Up & landed a foot or so on the Roof).
Thanx Bruce
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
Posted on July 26, 2011 12:01 am
July 24, 2011 - Brampton - Courthouse
Sue McCreadie Reports:
Bill and I have spent some time over the last few days at the Brampton Courthouse helping out with the Fledge Watch. We thought you might be interested to see a photo of Truss as a baby when she was rescued on her first flight at the Burlington Lift Bridge on June 18, 2009. Then look at her today! Isn’t she beautiful? What a thrill to see one of our Burlington Lift Bridge girls go on to raise a family of her own.
Posted on July 25, 2011 6:33 pm
July 24, 2011 - Brampton - Courthouse
CPF Postmaster Reports:
July 24th - 2011 PM Close
By 9:30pm, Courtney had taken her second flight of the day, ending up on a ledge on the norht west side of the courthouse almost level to that of her nest ledge! A decent flight around the courthouse for the south east ledge, (and with a little nudge from her mother during the flight, she was steered around from crossing Hurontario Street, and made it back to the nest building.
Having been fed three times throughout the day and evening, Courtney’s excitement had finally worn off and she settled down for the evening.
July 24th - 2011 AM Watch report
0545- Upon arriving on site, I immediately went on Walk about, given the long and very detailed update I received from the Evening Crew the night before. After an enjoyable walk around the building, seeing an Adult on a South East Antenna and an enjoyable walk on the West side of Hurontario (Seeing the stashed pigeon on the Northwest balcony level) and the Adult (Female) that came in to prepare it. As I finally got back to the Parking Lot and saw Courtney revving up on the South East Corner ledge @ the same height as her release level.
0605-Courtney flew North along the ledge, tried to make it to the roof above (The parents favourite) she didn’t quite make it (Did hear the audible Impact) and then tried to make the roof on the East/West wing & missed that And came down on The original release ledge.
0615-Mom into South East corner of ledge, but made no attempt to feed her.
0630-Courtney sleeping
0835-Courtney up and preening.
0930-Courtney active, under Moms Eye.
0945-Courtney settled down, Mom on Watch, Dad not visible.
1040- Courtney occasionally vocalizing. No sign of Mom or Dad.
1050-Dad into Ledge w/Courtney and started to Feed on Food Scrap @ Corner. Dad busted by Mom and he flew to East facing roof and ended up on South facing roof. Mom kited around for awhile and then flew over to South East Ledge called to Courtney and when she didn’t fly took her some she had previously stashed.
1130-Courtney still down on Ledge. No sign of Parents.
1200- Some gulls flying overhead, got Courtney’s attention, made a brief appearance & then Dad brought in food. Courtney grabbed it so Fast and I think Dad tried to grab it back, but all he had was a single Primary Feather.
1215-Dad no longer @ same position.
1230- Courtney up on East side of Ledge.
1240- Mom in w/food took it over to Dad who was hiding in his favorite corner. He flew out to East and back & then circled 2-3 times over the entrance. Mom left pigeon remains there & then proceeded to go over by Door where there seems to be another stash. Courtney has moved over to be as close to parents as possible. She is also showing signs of attempting to join parents.
1310- Courtney back down out of sight.
1345- Mom agitated, Turkey Vulture to East on Direct Line over Nest Building. She flew out circled, came back and tried to get Dad to help, when it was obvious that he wasn’t going to do anything she flew out South East alarm calling which was enough to convince the TV to swing out of the way to the South. She then flew back an berated the Male for not helping.
1445- All quiet, and the evening watch crew arrived and we spent an pleasant hour or so visiting. Nothing much happening w/the Birds except the Male did a fairly low high speed pass after a Crow over top of us.
1645-Left Evening Watch in the capable hands of the evening watch crew.
Posted on July 24, 2011 11:20 pm
