March 28, 2023 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Marion Nash Reports:
Looks Romeo hatched at the Etobicoke Hospital in 2017 is trying to move in. So who will win Romeo or Lucky.
Looks like 2 new birds on the nest. Male is Y33 with metal band, female unbanded (I’m naming her Anne, after my wife). There were 3 birds in the area with lots of noise & wonder if Lucky is trying to move back in.
Regards,
Roger
Posted on March 30, 2023 12:55 pm
January 16, 2023 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Marion Nash Reports:
We were just contacted by Toronto Wildlife Centre, as they responded to a report of an injured raptor. On arrival, they picked up a an adult female Peregrine at 721 Royal York Rd., in Etobicoke. They reported that the Peregrine is banded - Black 69 over Green BC She fell off a school portable rooftop still very much alive but unable to fly,, she vocalized but sadly died in transit on the way to TWC. No obvious signs of any trauma.
Sadly this is D’Arcy the adult female from the Bloor Islington Place nest. she was banded at the nest site as a hatchling - on (06/14/2016) in New York.We have no idea what happened to D’Arcy but we will have to keep an eye on the nest site and see if another female is on site.
Posted on January 17, 2023 12:58 am
July 29, 2022 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Cathy Kerr Reports:
So exciting news!! Tornado, hatched at the Bloor and Islington site last year, banded 02/AB has been spotted again!! In Buffalo! She is the daughter of Lucky and D’Arcy, Granddaughter of the late Jenna and Chester, Great granddaughter of Haven!! Huge thanks to Dana for spotting the report in ebirds and letting us know! And great pics and report from Christopher Hollister who got to witness an amazing hunt by Tornado who took down a green heron!! She’s a fierce one that Tornado, as Rob can attest to as he had to rescue her last year lol… I believe he said she was one of the meanest Pf he had ever rescued… And that’s how we like them because it means they are a fighter and a survivor! And boy is she ever!!! Way to go girl!
I’ve included the story with the pics.
Posted on July 30, 2022 4:44 pm
July 22, 2022 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Marion Nash Reports:
Bullet a fledgling from the Bloor Islington Place nest was found dead at Bloor and Montgomery must have hit a window or wall. The report was sent to the banding office on July 10th I got the report on the 19th. Although this is very sad I can at least take comfort in the fact that mortality has been low this year so far with only 1 other loss at St Mary’s Ontario. Hitting windows, concrete walls or wires is beyond our ability to prevent as these youngsters learn to be feathered F-16’s. It is up to the adults to guide them away from danger by bumping them in flight, pushing up on one wing to steer them or pushing down on their tail to break the speed. I have seen this so often but there are times when the adults don’t see it coming. It is all part of the high mortality rate ( 80%) the youngsters have in their first year of life. We can lower that mortality rate to a degree during the fledge period which is about 60% of that mortality. Thank you to all who spent time in the streets looking after the fledglings there and lets hope the other 3 make it to migration and beyond.
Posted on July 23, 2022 2:03 pm
June 25, 2022 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Cathy Kerr Reports:
Lucie Kirchknopf reports:
I started watching at around 7:00 pm, and at 8:15, the activity started when a parent flew in with food. Three out of four kids went for it and as everything was happening very quickly, I’m not sure who the winner was in the food transfer .. I could see it wasn’t BULLET (red) or STARLIGHT (yellow). I’m leaning towards BIP (white) but my photos are quite grainy.
What showed the great flying skills of these kids was how white?, having difficulty getting height to the roof of the condo, was heading towards the glass/wall. Although the parent was right there, white? did an awesome swerve away from the condo and with that extra weight, I’d say that shows some good skills. I tried to capture this in my photos as best as I could.
Once things quieted down, I figured it was time to call it a night. It was about 8:45. I was parked on Eagle Road and while putting away my camera, I just happened to look up at the Bell Building (low rise, about 2 stories) and there they were .. BIP and STARLIGHT lol. So typically I would be getting ready to text someone about this just in case, but something told me to wait .. that these two were going to be just fine. STARLIGHT took off towards Bloor Street and around the corner flying very low. I turned around to see BIP and she was gone too. So I just waited.
It was after 9:00 pm .. I set my camera’s lighting and as grainy as it was, I could make out band colours! All ended well! On the condo beam were BIP and STARLIGHT! BULLET landed on the ‘p’ of the Flipp sign and soon enough BIP joined him. STARLIGHT remained on the condo beam. FREEDOM (blue) was on the nest ledge.
I left feeling quite happy!
Cheers, Lucie
Posted on June 28, 2022 10:17 am
June 27, 2022 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Marion Nash Reports:
just got some photos to post.
On June 10, Marion Nash posted a report from the Etobicoke nest site at Bloor and Islington about a flight by Bullet. During this flight, Bullet clung to the side of our condo on the 20th floor. Attached are 2 pictures of Bullet on the ledge.
Please forward this email to Marion Nash
Pat & George Mitchell
Posted on June 27, 2022 9:51 am
June 22, 2022 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Cathy Kerr Reports:
Lucie Kirchknopf reports:
Bruce saw all 4 on Wednesday morning flying high and well and said if they stayed that way, we could scale back to spot checks. He had to leave to go downtown and rescue a juvie that came to ground. Erika and I were there in the evening and when we left around 9:00 pm, we had 3 on the nest ledge and 1 on the roof.
Today was hot and humid and we were anticipating possible wicked thunderstorms. Since that didn’t happen, I didn’t come by until 8:00 pm. Well .. I didn’t have to look very hard as all 4 were on the nest ledge. Left to right: The girls, FREEDOM (blue), STARLIGHT (yellow), BIP (white), and their brother BULLET (red).
I left at 9:00 pm as mom was bringing in food, so I imagine they stayed put for the night.
Cheers, Lucie
Posted on June 25, 2022 7:42 am
June 13, 2022 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Cathy Kerr Reports:
Lucie Kirchknopf reports:
Well, after her release 2 days ago, I have to say that BIP (white) was definitely the star of the show today and deserves to have all the photos! Aside from her amazing flying skills, she has successfully landed back on a ledge and, once again, displaced an adult to land on a letter!
FREEDOM (blue) finally fledged and ended up on the second condo where we didn’t see her for most of the day. It got to the point where I wondered if she was even there, but she finally appeared in the early evening as we breathed a sigh of relief that she was around! At the end of the evening, she surprised us all by flying onto the ledge where her siblings were and stayed there for the night.
As for STARLIGHT (yellow) and BULLET (red), they win the couch potato award and don’t deserve any honourable mention today lol, other than just looking cute.
By 9:00 pm, all was very quiet as the three siblings ended up together. My camera battery died before I could get that adorable photo. BIP stayed on the condo beam where I imagine she remained for the night.
I am totally blown away by the skills of these juvies .. landing on letters and flying onto the ledge and this just after a few flights! Looking forward to seeing more great flights from all of them.
Cheers, Lucie
Posted on June 24, 2022 3:13 pm
June 14, 2022 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Marion Nash Reports:
Got a call today from Bloor Islington Place one of the fledglings was seen on the roof top of the center building and had been there for some time. I let Bruce know where he was and later in the afternoon he still had not jumped up the the retaining wall. Because it was so hot today in the sun Bruce decided to go up and catch him up and hold him over int the Security area in the air conditioning and release him tonight on the nest building. Tracy came out to do the release it was Bullet and he was napping and gave her a real hard time about disturbing his sleep. He refused to get out of the carrier on the roof on his own and she had to reach in grab him and haul his little feathered butt out. It was dark and he did not fly so all went well so hopefully the watchers will see him there on the retaining wall in the morning.
Posted on June 14, 2022 11:17 pm
June 11, 2022 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Marion Nash Reports:
Etobicoke Bloor & Islington nest:
June 11th - 2022
Arrived at Bloor & Islington nest site by 8:30 PM after a crazy day picking up rescued chicks from other sites and doing two other releases, it was Bip’s turn (White Tape) to go back to the roof and to mom and dad’s care. We met the fledge watch team in the streets on Eagle road, (Bruce, Lucie, and Erica who were on-site at this time) and went over the release plan.
Mark guided Lucie up to the rooftop to release Bip just as darkness was closing in. This was the third time Lucie had a chance to experience the release routine at Bloor and Islington and she was eager to go through the process again. The resident adult female was sitting up on the upper rooftop retaining wall of the nest building but because she was so quiet and everything went so well during the last release at this site, Mark felt all would be fine to proceed again with this fledgling’s release.
The release of Bullet (Red tape) the evening before went quite well despite the fact that the resident adult female was roosting quietly on in the same spot on the upper roof retaining wall. She watched Mark come up through the roof access hatch, walk across the roof, and release Bullet in the old overturned swing stage motor housing cage that we have used for several years with great success. This open-ended cage allows us to release the fledgling in a very controlled procedure that contains the fledgling long enough and prevents it from bolting out and off the roof while allowing us the time to exit the rooftop. We couldn’t have designed a better device for a release!
(It’s like utilizing our typical rescue carriers (with the door removed once we get to the roof) and simply leaving the carrier on the roof with the bird inside. This method allows us to safely depart the roof area without scaring the fledgling into a panic flight. This is a time-tested method that we have used by the CPF for many years to safely releasing a fledgling back to a roof, one that contains the bird in the carrier long enough for us to exit the rooftop and allows the bird to exit the carrier on their own time. We later go back to the rooftop when it’s safe to retrieve the carrier, sometimes days later). Yet another reason why we have several rescue carriers at each nest site, and why everyone that is mobile has their own rescue carrier in the car.
Well, I guess one person on the roof didn’t upset the adult female last evening but it was quite evident that two people on the roof were more than she was willing to tolerate. Despite the darkness, mom took flight and dove and stooped on them and screamed at them until they exited the roof through the roof hatch. From the street, we could see that Bip immediately had jumped up onto the rooftop retaining wall ledge beside mom and began to beg for food. A successful release without incident!
We stayed in the street and watched until 10:00 PM just to make sure that Bip didn’t attempt to make another flight and all was quiet, chicks in bed for the night and Bip was still in the same spot atop of the retaining wall just above the Flipp sigh.
Posted on June 12, 2022 10:03 am
