Euan Reid sent a report of copulation witnessed of two adult peregrines at the lift bridge, and was kind enough to include this excellent shot. Stay tuned for more developments. Of course we are hopeful for what this may mean for this location again this year.
Yesterday, between 1:00 and 2:30 Bill and I made our daily visit to the Lift Bridge. When we arrived, there was nothing to be seen. All of a sudden, the chirping started. An adult emerged from the nest box, standing guard on the corner, and another adult came out of nowhere and landed on the old nest ledge. We knew something was amiss because of the chirping. Low and behold, another adult appeared flying above the Hamilton tower. The chirping continued for quite a while as the third adult soared over the tower. Then the pursuit started. The chase was on and two birds disappeared over CCIW and out of our view. After about 15 minutes, an adult reappeared and disappeared into the nest box. So when we left around 2:30, there was still only 1 adult accounted for. It sure is different this year with all new perches and hiding places. These birds are darn difficult to spot. This is the third visit in the last week that we have seen 3 peregrines on site.
Hello All
Apologizes for the lack of recent updates on my behalf, but it has been a very busy spring in the field for us, (and an early one for some of the birds that caught us off guard).
There has been so much happening and so many territorial disputes between squabbling peregrines at many of the existing nests sites here in southern Ontario this year, it has been difficult to keep up with all that has happened - (and the Burlington nest site has been no different). I don’t know where to begin, so the best I can do at this time with so much behind us is to start with my most recent news here at the Burlington nest site.. It all played out with the recovery of a dead adult female peregrine falcon found on territory last week.
Could this be Pittsburgh Pete?
Bill and I were at the Lift Bridge today from 2:30 to 5:00. There were three falcons on site today. One in the nest box who came out to see what the ruckus was about. The chase was on with the other two. We are not certain if it was the juvenile that we saw on Wednesday as most of the action was over the CCIW, but my guess would be yes.
We will try again tomorrow for a clear shot of the bands.
Strange happenings in Burlington!!!
Bill and I were at the Lift Bridge this afternoon between 2:00 and 3:00 and witnessed the most unbelievable aerial display. The first clue that something was up was lots of ee-chupping. The next thing we knew, a bird came flying out of the nest box and the chasing and diving and screaming at one another began. We never actually saw a strike, but it was pretty intense. It went on for at least 40 minutes. We thought that it was definitely a male and female as there was a great size difference. When we got home and downloaded the photos, this is what we found:
1. The large bird appears to be a juvenile with black over green bands
2. The smaller bird was an adult with a black bland on the right leg and a silver band on the left leg
Unfortunately, we were unable to read any band numbers, but we will try again tomorrow.
When the chase was over, the adult bird returned to the nest box, disappeared inside, and the other bird disappeared somewhere behind the Burlington Tower
Very interesting happenings. It is possible we have a 2008 Juvenile trying to take over with the adults trying to chase it away or do we have a Juvenile that has taken over the territory from ‘Our Mom’? Hmmmm!
It was just amazing yesterday. We had storms all around us first coming in from the lake and then from the bay. Between 3 and 4 pm, the girls headed out to the end of the pier on the lake side. Barry and Bill rushed out to see the goings on. The girls were diving and chasing anything that came into their view, Gulls, Cormorants and Turns. (Photo - Leave me Alone!). They were flying just inches above the water (Photo - What do we do if we see a fish?), landing on the fence around the weather station (Photo - Nebesny on Weather Station) and on the sea wall just feet away from Bill (Photo - “Nellie on the Wall”). Things quieted down so we headed back to home base. Somewhere between 4 and 5, Mom came in from the Skyway with a pigeon and Nellie grabbed the drop. She flew over to the bridge, back under the skyway and back to try and land on the bridge. The burden became too much and she ended up on the ground, on the bay side of the Burlington pier. Nebesny landed in and stood watch well Nellie struggled with the still flopping pigeon. Eventually, she went over and helped her sister and at one point, they were both standing atop it and were sharing like good sisters (Photos - “Chew your Food” and “Feeding Time”). The rain came in so we left for home for a short break. We returned again around 6 pm and they were still very active. Dad was about yesterday (looking quite well) and he brought in two small meals, delivering both to the girls.
Reported by Sue and Bill McCreadie.
Photos by Bill McCreadie
Hi All, I just had to report this as it was just so funny to see.
There must be something in the water in Burlington to cause this unusual behaviour. This afternoon, the girls took off, flying just above the trees, on the lake side of the Burlington pier. We watched them dip and dive and saw that they were picking leaves from the top of the trees. The next thing we knew, Nebesny arrived back at the “picnic table” with leaf in talons, followed closely by Nellie. As Barry said, “these birds must want salad with their Pigeon McNuggets.” Hopefully, you will be able to see the “salad” in the talons in this photo Bill took of Nebesny on the “picnic table”.
Reported by Sue McCreadie.
Photos by Bill McCreadie - The two juveniles playing with the tree branches, - “A little dalid perhaps?”
