July 12, 2014 - Oshawa - Oshawa Activity
CPF Postmaster Reports:
July 12th - 2014
What a great day and a successful banding! A huge thank you to all of the Lakeridge Hospital staff and their administration for hosting the banding event and making the day such a great success! A big thank you goes out to Mark Heaton from the Aurora District of the Ministry of Natural Resources who gave up yet another one of his days off to come out and band Oshawa Lakeridge Hospital’s newest resident, a young female peregrine hatchling that was produced by Oshawa’s first resident pair of peregrine falcons!
A huge thank you to the CPF team, Marion Nash, Tracy Simpson and Kathy Smith who also gave up yet another weekend of their time to pull this event together from our end to ensure that the young hatchling was extracted and returned back to her parents on the upper roof top.
Shortly after 10am, a huge crowd assembled down in the main lobby of the Lakeridge hospital, and by 10:20am, the star attraction had finally arrived from the roof. The entire outside rooftop nest ledge was viewed live from a colour GoPro camera worn by Tracy and Kathy that was displayed live-real-time on a large flat screen colour monitor that the hospital set up in the lobby beside the banding table to allow live viewing of the rooftop happenings.
Tracy and Kathy from the CPF were responsible this go-round to both safely extract the young peregrine hatchling from the upper roof elevation and to then remain on the upper oputside nest ledge elevation to distract both of the resident adult peregrine parents so that they wouldn’t realize that their young hatchling was missing during its absence for the banding. Marion from the CPF manned the banding table this banding to assist Mark Heaton from the MNR to do the banding.
Mark Nash from the CPF manned the mic and public address system to walk the audience through the banding procedure and to answer any questions throughout the banding event, and to take some of the photos to document the event.
A big thank you to Walter Raemisch who sent us some great photos of little SALVEO during her banding! Thank you Walter!
The particulars: The young hatchling was weighed, checked for its health, and successfully banded and named without incident and safely returned back it parents.
The little female hatchling, - now 28 days old,, (now identified clearly as a female, weighed 910 grams and was named “Salveo” by the hospital staff after a name the chick contest was completed). The name Salveo means “To be well, To be in good health”),, and that couldn’t have been any further from the truth, as she was a very healthy baby peregrine hatchling indeed!
She was banded with a Solid Black Canadian Recovery leg band number - Y over 90 and in typical fashion, a small piece of coloured Red tape was applied to her Silver USFW band so she can be easily identified at distance during her fledge period.
Tracy was able to confirm via photographs that she was able to take at the nest ledge level after the extraction that her two parents are in fact Simcoe and Alfrieda, confirmed via their leg band numbers.
Ernest (Earnie) Schouwerwou was on hand (the hospital staffer that first discovered the peregrines on the hospital less than a week ago) to help with the banding and was able to hold little Salveo during the banding process.
A great day indeed, with an incredible team of people that really scrambled in very short notice to make this all happen!!
The hospital has agreed to work with CPF and plans are now underway to have CPF manufacture and install a proper nest box on the hospital for their resident peregrines thus ensuring that they have more accommodating nesting conditions down the road.
As we have long since learned, with that of many of the urban nest sites, that a properly constructed nest box with the appropriate nesting sub-straight and drainage can make the difference from a total failure (or partial hatch) to a much better situation for the nesting adults, and increased production and success rate for the adults. There was also talk of a nest camera which would be a very welcomed addition to the nest, as it provides a great management tool to help with the logistics and management of the nest, in addition to being an incredible educational opportunity for all!
Stay tuned……………….
Posted on July 12, 2014 11:37 pm
July 11, 2014 - Oshawa - Oshawa Activity
Mark Nash Reports:
July 11th - 2014
We have been able to pull together the banding event for Saturday July 12th at 10am in the main lobby of the Lakeridge Hospital!
You are all invited to attend!
Please come out and support your peregrines.
Stay tuned for banding photos and details…………..
Posted on July 11, 2014 11:35 pm
July 10, 2014 - Oshawa - Oshawa Activity
Mark Nash Reports:
Thursday July 10th - 2014
I met with Kevin and several senior members of the hospital staff and we proceeded to one of the north upper roof elevations to investigate further. Moments after our arrival to the roof , we were immediately met by two very vocal and rather annoyed adult peregrines that were already airborne, stooping and diving at our presence. I was directed to a lower elevation and quickly scanned the rooftop with nothing unusual to report. Despite not seeing anything after clearly seeing 98% of this very small roof elevation, the adult peregrines were far tooo upset with me to just be protecting a territory or food caches, so I asked if the latter could be moved to take a look at the other end of the roof.
The latter was repositioned that allowed me a view of the last few feet of this particular roof elevation where my original view had been partially obstructed by a chimney that exited from the top of the roof. It didn’t take but a second once the latter was repositioned to see the tiny secret that the chimney was hiding. A single small young peregrine hatchling was observed, looking quite healthy and very alert indeed!
The resident adults were photographed by all and hopefully we will be able to confirm their identity via the leg band identification as both adults are in fact banded. The larger female dawns a Black over Green leg band and the adult dawns a Solid Black leg band, with Yellow tape overtop of his silver leg band.
We suspect that this pair is the very same pair that attempted to nest on the Oshawa City hall back in April of this year that we were monitoring, where three eggs were produced. Sadly, the pair abandoned the nest ledge and their three eggs the following week after our site visit as a result of a heavy rain and wind storm moved in that drenched the ledge with water and high winds. Typical of most commercial urban rooftops, with the lack of suitable nesting sub- straight, and water accumulation are among some of the many reasons the peregrine nests fail in these environments. Unfortunately, we were unable to secure the necessary funding support we needed that would have allowed us to manufacture a suitable nest box and get it installed in time to prevent this inevitable outcome.
The nesting Oshawa city hall peregrines were both identified via their leg bands by the photos that I was able to take during my site visit. Both of these peregrines are know to us as the same pair that Rob photographed in Whitby back in January of this year.
We have confirmed that the resident nesting adult female at the hospital is in fact the same female that attempted to nest at the Oshawa City hall back in April of this year. The adult female peregrine was hatched in 2012 in New York State in the USA. She dawns a Black over Green leg band – 73 over AW and she was named “Alfrieda”,,,, named after one of the architects of the Central Terminal in Buffalo NY USA where she was produced.
Her solid Black banded male mate - band # 63 over X with Yellow tape overtop of his silver USFW band on the other leg is one that we banded on May 24 2012, produced at the Canada Square nest site. ** We have not confirmed that this is the resident male at the hospital as yet.
If it is in fact the same male, he was named “Simcoe”, (and was produced at the Canada Square nest site at the Yonge & Eglinton nest here in up-town Toronto). You can see the history of the Canada Square nest site on the CPF web site at - http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/c/sightings/toronto-uptown-yonge-and-eglinton
Given the age of young Hospital hatchling, there remains a very short window of opportunity to get it safely banded. Thank goodness for Kevin and the hospital team for all of their incredible support and cooperation, and the dedication and amazing support of Mark Heaton from the Ministry of Natural resources, as I was able to coordinate in part a banding time for this Saturday!! Scramble, you bet,, but by Saturday morning, the little peregrine hatchling will be named, examined for it health, banded and returned safely back to its parents.
Stay tuned for additional news, as its going to come fast and furious given the rather short time this has all taken place!
Posted on July 10, 2014 11:30 pm
July 07, 2014 - Oshawa - Oshawa Activity
Mark Nash Reports:
July 7th - 2014
Some really great news to report! During my spot check of the young Scarborough fledglings on Monday, I received a telephone call from Ann who reported reading a report of peregrine activity in Oshawa by the president and CEO at the Lakeridge Hospital.
By the time I got home that evening, I opened e-mail communication from the President and CEO of Lakeridge Health Oshawa with a report and suspicions of territorial peregrine activity at the hospital. After reviewing his photos that he attached to his e-mail, it was easy to re-confirm that his feathered visitors were indeed peregrines, (peregrines that are known to us), and his report of the harassment by two adult peregrines that his maintenance staff had received earlier while conducting roof inspections suggested that something else was going on other than just territorial behaviour.
A site visit was scheduled for the afternoon of July 10th.
Stay tuned…………….
Posted on July 7, 2014 11:29 pm
