July 14, 2015 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
I didn’t get there as early as I had intended so my hopes of seeing much I knew was pretty slim. Even so, when I arrived I found Hurricane exactly where I expect to see him on a hot and muggy morning, asleep in the nest tray. Chessie was not on site and after checking around the building the only two kids I could see were Sven and Peggy. Both of them did short flights around the hospital and a few jaunts to the tower and back but they were happy to sleep away the afternoon on the north side in the shade. I will continue to check back in when I can later this week.
Posted on July 14, 2015 10:32 am
July 13, 2015 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Yesterday Bruce and I went out in the early morning cool to check in on the family at William Osler. We found Chessie in the tower with Hurricane and Chessie was quietly kakking. Benny was in the front of the tower and no other kids were in sight. Chessie continued to vocalize and in our scan of the area, we found Sven in the tower to the north. That’s two! Bruce did a walk of the perimeter and found a third bird on the northwest corner that turned out to be Peggy. Excellent. Still no sign of Winston.
Chessie took off from the tower and went very low over to the medical centre roof. There she sat kakking and this had us a little worried. Bruce went up to the 10th floor and scanned the rooftop of the building to make sure that no one was up there and cleared the majority of it; nothing in sight. I stayed on the ground and watched Chessie. She was watching something behind her. Just before Bruce came back out Chessie turned around and walked into the center of the roof out of view and came back… …with a pigeon! Ok, so that’s what has your interest. She ate what was left and then took off back up to the tower for a roost. Just to be safe I went up to the Med Centre roof and cleared the blind spot that Bruce couldn’t see and all was well as the heat was coming on.
Benny and Sven did most of the flying this morning. Peggy was sleeping on the northwest corner and Winston still did not make an appearance. With the boys flying so well and the temperatures so hot, there is a chance that after a morning feed he was napping away somewhere out of our view. Hurricane took off of the tower and flew down to the Med Centre roof and stayed there for a while looking for scraps and lining up the sparrows in the neighboring tree. He eventually took off to the north tower after Benny decided to stoop him on the low roof. As we were leaving Benny, Sven and Peggy were all on the north side of the hospital enjoying the recent delivery of a pigeon brought in by Chessie. Benny was eating it for the most part as Sven watched and Peggy slept. Then Benny did something that I have never seen a two month old male do. He took off with the pigeon and attempted to fly around the hospital with it… …and succeeded!! A bird almost as big as himself. Heavy and cumbersome. What an ambitious little man! He flew around the west side and we could see he was losing altitude. He continued around to the east and headed for the Med Centre roof which is where we believe he dumped his package. So that’s how the pigeons are getting up there!
As we left there was still no sign of Winston. I will be back today to check in on the family and hopefully Winston was just enjoying some independence or taking a nap during our time yesterday.
Posted on July 13, 2015 8:32 am
June 30, 2015 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
The weather was ideal and so was the activity at William Osler today. Bruce opened the watch with a stunning flight by Peggy and the boys all the way to the north tower. She’s only been flying 24 hours and off campus already?! Wow!! Bruce watched her take several more flights and all were good and strong. It’s those landings she needs to practice.
I took over for Bruce late morning and all I can say is wow. The flights by all four young ones were strong, calculated and just didn’t stop all morning. Second breakfast arrived around 10am with both adults returning with a little something. Hurricane came home first with a starling which he swiped off a treetop nearby. He was pursued to the nest ledge by Benny who took it all for himself. Chessie then arrived with a big pigeon, an arrival I didn’t see but I did see the result. From my position in the emerg parking lot I could see Chessie sitting on a light post near the northeast corner. I grabbed my camera and off I went. As I approached I got that sick feeling in the pit of my bones. Chessie being this low could mean serious trouble. Benny was getting rougher every day. What if someone was down? When I got to her I looked around quickly and a gentleman pointed down and said,”I think this is what you’re looking for.” On the ground right in front of the door to the main entrance was a pigeon that had clearly been knocked out of Chessie’s grasp by an exuberant child. She clearly wanted it back. So. I gave it back. I picked up the pigeon and moved it over to a nearby patch of grass that was much safer for her to come down to. And so she did! Food retrieved and kids fed.
The rest of the day was filled with games of tag, high soaring flights and naps. Peggy and Winston never left each other’s side all day. Sven and Benny continued to taunt each other during their rough and tumble games. Winston the watcher joined me for the evening flights and it is very evident that this watch can now be scaled back to spot checks.
This has been a fantastic watch and it is thanks to all who supported this family. First and foremost the William Osler Hospital staff with special thanks to Ross Bartlett. The Paladin security team. The amazing guys from Pacific Paving. Most importantly I wish to thank Bruce and Winston for their help in making this watch a success. I will be posting highlight photos of this years watch very soon and continue to check back for spot check updates.
Posted on June 30, 2015 9:45 am
June 30, 2015 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Well the good news is that Peggy has fledged. Ya!! The not so great news is that her first flight ended up with a tree top view of the nest ledge. She took flight sometime just after dawn and when I arrived at 6:30am she was sitting in a tree full of robins near to the emergency entrance. Her placement in the tree was quite good as she had no branches in her way to contend with. She sat in the tree begging for the parents to look after her but it wasn’t meant to be. The parents will not feed their young in inappropriate locations such as trees so she was just going to have to fly somewhere else that is parent approved. She was getting rained on this morning which was not helping at all. When the rain would stop she would preen and dry off. Then just as she was ready to go… …more rain. More wet Peggy. The boys were flying around during the rain breaks and each hour or so one, Winston, would do a low pass past Peggy trying to encourage her out of the tree to no avail. After staring at the same tree for about 5 hours, I took advantage of a break in the rain and a sleeping Peggy to try and get some photos. As I was taking some shots of her 40 feet up in this tree a bird comes whipping really low past me. Good gravy its Hurricane. He skimmed the top of the emergency entrance overhang, using it to cover his approach, and came right at me. I started to head back to my car to put away my camera as the last thing I wanted to do was upset the family when - whoosh - another low pass… …by WINSTON. He was following and imitating Hurricane in defence if his sister! He came out of nowhere and wasn’t nearly as close but his efforts were quiet valiant. Hurricane made another low pass at me after which he retreated to the tower to watch me. A media blackout on Peggy had been imposed by Hurricane and I was to obey. I did as he asked and went back to watching Peggy sleep.
The afternoon into early evening had periods during which the rain actually let up. This was time for the boys to get out and play!! It started around 1pm with Sven and Winston but there was no sign of Benny. I wasn’t worried as I figured he might be over on the north side out of my view. Nope. As I scanned the towers for adults I was looking south and here came Benny!! He was WAY off campus down by Islington and Rexdale where Chessie hunts the local flocks. The minute he returned he sought out Sven for a tussle. Man in Benny rough. He was grabbing Sven by the wings and tail causing him to have an aerial tumble then recovery. Good life lesson but tone it down already.
It wasn’t until late in the evening that Peggy went for that next flight. She lumbered out of that tree and headed for the tower. The landing was rough but she stuck it and wailed her excitement to the world. With her ultimate goal now in sight, home, she launched herself for one more great effort. Then something happened that I have never seen before. Peggy was met in the air by her brother Winston. He flew with her and guided her towards the building rooftop! That’s an adult job! She came in too low and circled a second time, this time managing to grab the wall just one foot below the roofline. She did “the bat” for a good minute or more with Winston on the roof right above her vocalizing encouragement. Not to be easily defeated (she is a Hurricane child) she flapped and WALKED the last foot up to the top of the roof!! Well. Now it was party time. All three boys went over and joined in the celebration of Peggy’s return. I left the family to their reunion as the sun was going down with the hope of great flights tomorrow.
Posted on June 30, 2015 8:32 am
June 28, 2015 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
She did it!! Peggy has fledged. She took her first flight shortly before u arrived at 6:30am and is currently making new friends with the robins in a tree top next to the emergency entrance. Full story to come!!
Posted on June 28, 2015 11:11 am
June 27, 2015 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Bruce opened the watch this morning with all four on the ledge but not for long. Sven, Winston and Benny were all over the place this morning playing tag and investigating everything. That left Peggy on the ledge on her own trying to work up the courage to take that first big leap into the air. She came very close this morning during a period of intense activity where her flapping actually resulted in some lift. Her launches forward though were only wee hops. Still, she is very close to being ready and I can empathize with her reluctance… …look out ’cause here comes Benny!! This little man has become the star flyer of the family so fast that he has become ridiculously confident. That’s excellent for him but not for his siblings whom he regularly terrorizes the second they take flight. The games of tag have occasionally gotten a little rough over the past few days and it is always Benny who instigates the tough stuff. The great part about that is that he is challenging his brothers abilities and encouraging their skill development. The not so great part is that when Peggy goes for that first flight he’ll most likely be all over her wanting to play. Don’t worry Peggy, we’ll be there for you!
As the weather moved in the kids were all beginning to quieten down. Around noon, Peggy went back into the nest tray for a nap and the boys wandered the ledge in search of scraps to eat. Given the rains, heavy at times, all the local prey species were huddled and hidden so food was not abundant for the young today. That should make them good and loud come morning and in Peggy’s case, good and motivated! I arrived around 2pm and the family was all at rest. I took over the watch from Bruce and sat down for some action. Nope. Hello????? Are you guys still up there???? It was the quietest I have ever seen William Osler this year. I went back to the south down to the end of the driveway and looked back to find all four young ones on the southeast corner in one big goopy pile. Half wet, half dry and all asleep. I would say it was like watching paint dry but since paint won’t dry in the rain I wasn’t even able to watch that!! Yet as much as I wanted to go and most likely could without concern, I wanted to make sure that Peggy didn’t get any ideas about flight come suppertime. I am glad I stayed a little longer as at 6pm the whole crew woke up and the boys started flights. They were ripping around the property in the rain playing tag and having a blast. Peggy started to flap quite a bit and was pumping hard when she almost slipped off of the wet ledge. For almost an hour the foursome were active and just around 7pm Winston the watcher arrived. He took over the watch for me until close and the flappy bunch that I left him with didn’t take long before they all tucked in for the night.
Posted on June 27, 2015 11:37 pm
June 27, 2015 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Yesterday I opened the watch at William Osler with Peggy still on the ledge and the three boys flying like little busy bees. They were all over the place and their “off” button was definitely not working!! Go, go, go!! No landing space was now sacred. Everywhere that Hurricane goes to roost and nap was now being invaded by his boys and it was clear that the adults were going to have to go off campus if they were going to get any peace. Hurricane went first and disappeared for over an hour in the morning. I’m not sure where he goes but I suspect over to the Humber College where there are tall antennas that allow him to see his site, his kids and his mate should trouble arise. Chessie was left with the screaming threesome that spent the morning knocking her off of everything. No food was being offered yet and Chessie just continued to do her best to avoid the boys rambunctious morning exercise. Peggy spent the entire time on the southeast corner of the nest ledge and she is looking very ready to go. Head bobbing, wing flapping and little lunges around the ledge kept her busy for almost an hour. When Hurricane returned from his break Chessie went on a hunt to the northeast and returned with a big pigeon. The boys were ecstatic. Chase mommy, catch mommy, my food, get your own! It was crazy! Chessie took the prey to the south H sign to prep and then went directly to Peggy and beak fed. Once she had her fill, Chessie then unceremoniously dropped what was left on the hospital roof for the boys to fight over which they did. Benny the jet continued with his “bite you in the face” greeting with his brothers and managed to score the majority of the meal for himself. Sven is now catching on to this and as Benny ate he kept trying to grab him by the head. Winston, in the scrum, grabbed the food and ran down the ledge which started another scramble until Hurricane brought in another piece for the boys. Wow. Settled down you three!
Bruce took over while I headed down to Islington and Bloor for a spot check. All was quiet through the afternoon until the day cooled and the supper bell rang. All three boys are now making spot on landings in the tower and regularly are fooling around up there. They were for Bruce as they were for me, all over the place and into everything. Winston on two occasions went down to the tenth floor window ledge and Bruce could see that this was a very purposeful action. Hurricane is now using these ledges to stash food as it is a tougher landing to manage for the boys. He hoped that the food would be safe there but Winston had it all figured out. He scored a nice piece for himself and didn’t have to share. The second landing on the window ledge was evidently to avoid Benny as he is now ramping up his playing in the air to grabbing of tails and talons. While Sven is up to the task Winston isn’t quite ready for such aggressive pursuits and play so he hides out away from Benny when he gets a little too rough.
When Peggy does fledge, which should be any minute now, she has three boys to contend with. We fully expect that Hurricane and Chessie will manage her first flights and deal with the boys attempt to play tag with her before she’s even made her first landing. We have no doubt that she will catch up quick in her skills and when she does, oh look out you boys! They are actually being quite good with her right now as they regularly visit her on the nest ledge and snuggle with her. It’s quite nice to see.
Check back for more antics from the boys and Peggy’s soon to fledge moment!!
Posted on June 27, 2015 10:21 am
June 26, 2015 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Thursday, oh Thursday. Benny kicks off the morning by kicking tail?? Wow! After I watched this crazy stunt I checked the location of our other young ones. I have Sven sitting nicely in the tower having stuck the landing perfectly. Winston was on the roof line singing and young Peggy, youngest of the four, still in her spot on the nest ledge. The boys that at one time used to run around like busy little ants on the ledge were now jack rabbiting all around the Osler property. The focus of the day for the boys was the tower. All day long. In and out of the gridwork and always landing smartly on target. At one point Winston made his first tower landing and Benny went over to congratulate him… …by biting him. Don’t know that this should be adopted as a formal greeting but Winston did return the gesture. Not to be left out, when Sven had his tower time Benny bit him too. All is fair I guess. Of the three boys Benny the jet was the boldest taking all opportunities to chase adults and harass all moving objects including a poor butterfly just minding its own business. Remember Benny, butterflies are friends not food and besides that, they taste terrible. Peggy spent most of the day off and on sleeping and preening. She is very close to first flights and when she gets airborne these bratty brothers better just look out. Bruce arrived around 2pm and took over the watch from there. Things were quite quiet and there was some weather moving in. Just before the rain Mom brought some food into the south sign. Two of the the boys went over and got food. Winston however tried to do what his brother did, float up to the rooftop by just using the wind. It wasn’t quite as smooth but he still got the same result. When the rain hit, the female was the only one that stayed dry. She did however have a shower as she was flapping her wings and running up and down the ledge.
After the rains, at first heavy and then the later showers, there was some rest followed by some flights by the boys. Peggy spent her time exercising and sleeping.
The boys made the tower numerous times. There was only one bobble, but the bird recovered and landed at the southwest corner of the nest ledge. With the parents on the tower and on the South H sign, the juveniles tucked themselves in at the east end of the building and I left for the night.
This wonderful Friday morning started with the three boys getting into everything; the tower, antennas, tag games, H signs and Hurricanes personal space. Peggy is now sitting on the southeast corner with her back out ready to go. I expect that a first flight for her will happen today. Check back later for an update on her progress.
Posted on June 26, 2015 8:45 am
June 26, 2015 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
So Wednesday Benny was on a mission to tear it up. He had been flying amazingly well all morning and was now bored. Sven and Winston were on the north side of the nest ledge and Peggy was on the northeast corner. Benny landed on the ledge next to Sven and walked in between him and the back wall. Benny then lunged forward at Sven and pushed him off of the ledge. Sven was shocked to be in the air and he looped out over the north parking lot and made it up to the roof. Next was Winston. Benny ran down the ledge to his brother and pulled the exact same stunt except this time Winston struggled to get up to the roof, circled around and finally made rooftop on the south side. Benny didn’t dare try that stunt with Peggy as she would have just pulverized him. She’s a tank and will move of her own will thank you much. Sven took another flight as he was miserable on the roof and wanted to go home. I should preface this by saying that Sven still has a head full of down and of the three boys was the least ready for this. Sven’s flight got him what he wanted which was home to the ledge. It wasn’t pretty as he threw himself at the louvres and bounced onto the nest ledge rather than landing smartly. He shook it off and went back to bed. Winston ran the rooftop screaming all morning. My tough guy on the ledge, wee Winston, was now a chicken outside of his comfort zone. Peggy was unimpressed with it all until she realized that food was going to them and not her. Still, she was unmoved. Sven did yet another flight back up to the roof and when Bruce arrived, Sven and Winston were on the roof, Peggy on her corner of the nest ledge and Benny the jet was on the north H taking daddy’s spot on the couch.
Bruce took over at 2 o’clock with all 4 birds accounted for. It was pretty quiet for about an hour or so but as the afternoon cooled down then there was some action. The two boys that were evicted by their brother in the morning started to rev up. Occasionally Peggy would pop her head up but for the most part she dozed until 5:00 or so. Brother Benny had joined his sister for a nap for an hour or so. The two roof boys, Sven and Winston, revved up and started to doing laps and lengths. Benny joined them, but he did more adventurous flights with an occasional flight out and back from the roof. Then it got really hard to follow the boys when Chessie and Hurricane got involved. They generally sat on the northwest antennas and the boys, mostly Sven and Benny, would fly up and chase the parents off them. When Benny did it the first time, he knocked Chessie clear off much to her surprise. Chessie was unimpressed and returned the favor by hovering over top of Benny as he sat on the antenna but he didn’t budge. At one point I had Benny, Sven and an adult on 3 separate antennas. Winston was also doing well with flights and landings but did have a tiny wobble in some of them. He missed an attempt at the ledge and ended up on the 10th floor window below. Mom made several attempts to encourage him off but he was too busy looking at himself in the window. Finally mom encouraged him back up to the ledge and Winston walked around back to the north side. That essentially was the night, with all the chicks showing up on east ledge and tucked in by 8 o’clock.
By Wednesday morning Benny the jet had his big shoes on and was behaving more like an adult than a 43 day old chick. He was on the north H and suddenly began to alarm call. He took off and started to chase a Great Blue Heron over the emerg parking lot. He made one grab at its tail and then circled back to the roof. Like father like son. More updates on Thursday’s adventures to come!
Posted on June 26, 2015 8:17 am
June 24, 2015 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
I think we should have a special award at the end of the fledge season for “Dumbest Thing Done by a Tired Watcher” and I certainly qualify. After trying to open my fledge watch chair with my car remote and taking half a minute to realize what I was doing wrong it was clear to me that I was losing it. Now I figured I better just sit down and sort out my notes before I do something else goofy. So glad no one saw me do this.
So we left off Tuesday morning with Benny having fledged to the roof of the hospital. He ran back and forth all morning trying to figure out how to get back down to the ledge without flying again. They all try “cheater” drop down flights at one point or another and here was his big chance. Each time he lined himself up for the drop down onto the eastern H the incredibly gusty and high winds got the better of his courage. To make matters incredibly worse both of his parents were sitting on that sign which drove him crazy wanting to get to them. Chessie took off on a hunt around 11am and came back shortly with a pigeon. She took it up to the eastern H to prep and this is where things got rather interesting. The three on the ledge were losing it as she plucked and prepped the food right above them. They ran and screamed trying for the perfect position but she just ignored them. Benny ran back and forth on the roof line trying to get himself perfectly aligned for a drop down and even looked as though he would try it. He decided to wait and wail about his impatience rather than do something about it. Hurricane sat across from Chessie and watched with great interest as she prepared lunch. Then our dear Chessie did the unthinkable; she began to eat. In front of the drooling stares of her hubby and kids she ate half of the pigeon and in tiny wee bites no less. It gets worse. She took the remains of the meal and, get this, stashes it between the top of the sign and the wall then sat there preening. The whole family stopped and went silent at this turn of events. Both Hurricane and Benny were ready to pounce on it should she happen to leave it unattended. The kids on the ledge just stared and prepared themselves ready to run should she bring it down. But no. She sat for a good 5 minutes with a juicy piece at her feet defying ANYONE to dare try and touch it. After 10 full minutes of this she relented and took it to the ledge.
Benny finally took flight again just shortly after noon which had me on my feet in seconds. He was heading for the tower where currently there is large earth movers, dump trucks and other equipment working feverishly to finish the revamp of the east parking lot. If he slips and falls the amazing crew from Pacific who are doing the work have set up a procedure with me for stopping all equipment and giving me access to rescue but I need to be quick. Benny went for it but realized that the winds were too strong for him to land and he turned back. He hit the winds whipping past the northeast corner and almost lost control. To save the day he tucked tight and threw himself back onto the roof. Enough of that he says. Nap time.
Bruce took over at 3pm so I could get to work with three still on the ledge and Benny on the roof. The winds died down around 6pm and so Benny decided it was high time to rip it. And he did.
Throughout the evening he made several awesome flights. At one point he made it down to the north H, daddy’s favorite roost. Bruce watched as he stepped off of the sign into the wind and with perfectly set wings FLOATED up to the roof edge. First of all, he’s been flying less than 12 hours at this point. The sign is a complex landing and the float, well that’s just poetry. What I think is so amazing is that Hurricane has been pulling the kite/float move over that corner all day showing the next generation of windmasters how it’s done. Bravo!! Then Benny faked Bruce out by taking a flight and disappearing from view. Bruce followed him around but had lost sight of him. Bruce looked everywhere as he’d seen him brush a window and come around a little low. What Bruce didn’t realize is that Benny had recovered his altitude and was back on the ledge. After a bit of walking, consulting and rechecking he found all four on the nest ledge trundling off to bed. Great job Benny!!
This morning Benny started his flying at just after 6am and has yet to really stop. Check back later to see who goes next and for more tales of Benny’s big day.
Posted on June 24, 2015 12:28 pm
