Burlington - Lift Bridge

Banding Day Photos

May 31, 2011 - Burlington - Lift Bridge

Sue McCreadie Reports:

Below are photos taken at the banding on May 31, 2011.

We Have Two Very Big Girls

May 31, 2011 - Burlington - Lift Bridge

Sue McCreadie Reports:

Today was banding day.  Anne Yagi, Biologist with the Ministry of Natural Resources performed the banding .  The statistics are as follows:

Lady Lamont - Weighing in at a whopping 1063 grams - Black band 41/X  and she will be wearing a red band on her right leg

Lady Nelson - A little smaller at 988 grams - Black band 42/X and she will be wearing a yellow band on her right leg

There were 2 unhatched eggs in the box, which were retrieved for testing.

Now the fun begins.  Given their size and estimated age of 26/27 days, the official Fledge Watch will begin in approximately 10 days (June 10th)

Photos will follow.

Oh, What A Surprise!!!

May 24, 2011 - Burlington - Lift Bridge

Sue McCreadie Reports:

Bill and I spent some time at the Bridge this afternoon.  All was quiet.  Both Mom and Dad had full crops and there was no sign of the little ones.  I guess they had been fed and were sleeping.  Mom was sitting on the edge of the nest box and Dad was sitting on the old nest ledge.  A poor Turkey Vulture flew though and he had no know what hit him.  Dad took chase and screaming behind him cleared him right out of town.  He returned to the wires and continued to vocalize and look up.  Finally I spotted a Red Tailed Hawk passing in the other direction.  I could barely see him with the binoculars, but Dad was making sure he kept on going.  Dad continued with some maneuvers over and around the bridge.  A freighter came in and Dad landed on the top railing of the bridge.  I got the scope on him and to my surprise, I found it was no longer Sir Adam Beck (Band Black 01/V) it was McKenzie (Band Black 29/Y) born in 2009 at the Etobicoke – Sun Life Centre.  We have no idea when the change took place.  We just know that as of August 27, 2010, this little guy was hanging out with an unbanded female at a Hydro Tower/Apartment Building at the end of our street in downtown Burlington.  We thought they had just migrated.  I guess he only migrated about 3/4 miles south to the Lift Bridge.  Wow, we thought we better get a look at the female bands, but today was not to be the day.  She was sitting snoozing the whole time we were there.

Oh, The Excitement

May 22, 2011 - Burlington - Lift Bridge

Sue McCreadie Reports:

After a very long wait, the weather turned really nice this afternoon.  When we arrived at the Lift Bridge around 3:00 pm, Barry Cherriere was already there and told us that the little ones had made an appearance.  Lo and behold, 2 little white balls of fluff made their way to the front of the box to take a peak over the edge.   What a thrill after such a long wait.  Both adults were watching from afar.  Cirrus was sitting on the eye bolt looking down into the box and for the most part, Sir Adam Beck was watching from the Hamilton Hydro Tower. 

Around 4:30pm, we spotted Dad doing a fly by carrying a fresh catch.  It was a pigeon and almost too large for him to handle.  He ended up in the Playpen to prepare it.  Of course he had to have his share so it would be easier for him to carry.  Shortly after 5:00pm he left the Playpen and took several passes to get enough height to make the next box.  Mom left her perch and went out to meet him.  We thought that she would take it from him, but he eventually made it under his own power.  Mom immediately entered the box and as we left two little white heads were being fed dinner.

We figured we had had enough excitement for one day.

!!! Banding Date has been set for Tuesday May 31st

May 15, 2011 - Burlington - Lift Bridge

CPF Postmaster Reports:

Good news,, we have worked out a banding date for the Burlington life bridge nest site.

Booked for Tuesday May 31st, with banding itself to take place at approx. 11am.

Arrival at 10AM., with extraction of the chicks from the nest box by 10:30 AM and banding around 11am.

An Intruder

May 11, 2011 - Burlington - Lift Bridge

Sue McCreadie Reports:

Bill, Rick and Teresa spent some time at the Lift Bridge this afternoon.  Dad, Sir Adam Beck, spent most of his time on the cable arm on the Bay side of the Hamilton Tower keeping an eye on the nest box.  Suddenly, Dad spotted an intruder.  Even though it was between Hamilton Hydro Towers 1 and 2, the chase was on.  The poor Red Tailed Hawk didn’t know what hit him.  Mom, Cirrus, never left the nest box.

Burlington Lift Bridge New Family Photos!!

May 10, 2011 - Burlington - Lift Bridge

Tracy Simpson Reports:

During my site check at the Burlington Lift Bridge, I was able to get a few photos of the newly hatched young in front of a brooding Cirrus.  A big thank you to the team at PWGSC and the Burlington Lift bridge for their support.  Enjoy the photos!!

!!! A tender moment indeed!

May 08, 2011 - Burlington - Lift Bridge

Mark Nash Reports:

A big thank you to the team at PWGSC and the Burlington Lift bridge staff for this great photo taken from the “peep hole” in the side of the nest box. The photo shows the resident adult female “Cirrus” brooding her new family members. While if has been much more seasonal these past few days with regards to the temperatures, the constant blustry winds are still cooling the air, and as such, most of the new moms at many of the nest sites are not giving us a great deal of views. This is a great shot!

!!! A Hatch at Burlington Lift Bridge!!!

May 06, 2011 - Burlington - Lift Bridge

Tracy Simpson Reports:

I went out to the Burlington Lift Bridge today to check on the progress of the resident pair and their clutch of eggs.  I was able to take a look in the nest box and was delighted to see that Cirrus was brooding two newly hatched young.  One of the chicks appears to have hatched the previous evening while the other had more physical control indicating that it probably hatched on Wednesday May 4th, which ties into previous observations of the restlessness of the resident female on May 4th by Sue and Bill.  I could clearly see that there is still one egg left to hatch and Sir Adam was watching from the other side of the lift bridge as Cirrus gingerly tucked them beneath the warmth of her feathers.  A big thank you to the (PWGSC) Public Works & Government Services of Canada for being so supportive of the nesting pair.  Way to go Cirrus and Sir Adam!!!

Mom Seems Pretty Restless

May 04, 2011 - Burlington - Lift Bridge

Sue McCreadie Reports:

Bill and I spent some time at the Lift Bridge this afternoon.  Sir made a really quick circle of the area, landing in the nest box for about 10 seconds.  They chirped to each other and then he landed on the Hamilton Hydro Tower.  When I looked away, he had disappeared once again.  We moved down the road to the washroom parking lot and with the scope we could see that Cirrus was in the next box, but appeared pretty restless.  She was up and down, up and down.  No little white heads were visible.  It was pretty cool by the lake with a temperate reading of 4 degrees with a cold wind blowing.  If there are little ones, Cirrus will be working very hard to keep them warm.  Hopefully we will know something soon.