July 17, 2024 - Toronto - Don Mills and Eglinton - Amexon
Cathy Kerr Reports:
DON MILLS/AMEXON SPOT CHECK : Last Wednesday, Rob, Ted, Sally and I all checked in on the kids. All was great, all 3 seen and seem to be doing well. Ted got some great shots, which I am including here.
Thanks so much Ted!
Posted on July 22, 2024 3:21 pm
July 11, 2024 - Toronto - Don Mills and Eglinton - Amexon
Cathy Kerr Reports:
DON MILLS /AMEXON SPOT CHECK :
Ted stopped by last week while in the area and caught this failed attempt at an exchange by Gideon. She had only be flying for 4 days when this was shot so… Mom Nagata saved the food, and brother Lerxst joined in after.
Lots of pictures but it really shows the training that Holden and Nagata put the kids through.
Thanks so much Ted for the great pictures!
Posted on July 15, 2024 2:19 pm
July 07, 2024 - Toronto - Don Mills and Eglinton - Amexon
Cathy Kerr Reports:
DAY 6 & 7…DON MILLS/AMEXON :
And our watch is over….
DAY 6 was a very long day of watching Peter walk the ledge and sleep. The day before he must of had a bump, as yesterday he didn’t do much. But day 6, he was so much better. Lots of energy, he looked good but there is that confidence issue. And I thought, another day wouldn’t hurt lol.
We saw the rest of the family briefly when they would fly around to check on him. On one such visit, Lerxst landed on the sign. A neighborhood small blackbird took a run at him… He fled, crying, with the bird chasing him. It was so funny to see.
Bob and Rob spent the day with me watching mostly nothing. But as Rob says, we got lots of great pictures of our little guy!
DAY 7
Rob and I arrived to find(as I knew we would ) Peter was off that ledge finally! Yayy. Now to find him.
We headed out to the front.. Found 2 on each building. I asked Rob to id the juvies on one, while I checked out the other building. Mom and Dad were very chill. The fledglings were complaining loudly… And I heard one answer from the building the parents were on! 3! Rob yelled got Lerxst and Gideon…. And I started my check and found our little Peter on the roof!!! Way to go Peter!
So, now we settled in to watch the fun. And boy did we have fun watching. Bob joined us for a bit, Ivy came by and caught some of the action, and Sally was back, and feeling better, so she joined us for the evening fun.
It was quite obvious that Peter had been fed, Gideon must have had a bit as she was better behaved but Lerxst definitely did not. He made a few flights looking for food but by now it was siesta time. And hot.
We all had a nice time in the shade, relaxed, knowing that fledge watch was over, enjoying our last day.
Bob left and boy did he miss a show! Sally arrived tho. There were so many flights, but a few stuck out.
Have you ever heard of a peregrine tantrum? Well, we saw one. Lerxst had been flying back and forth. Then I guess he’d had enough. Screaming the whole time, he flew. Over to the other building, buzzing it(very deliberate), zooming back and past dad, then back and back to the nest building. Hit off it, again very deliberate, back over, fly by again then back to the nest building, did a FLIP (still screaming) in the air (wow & Rob got the pic! ) and headed west. Well, Mom had had enough. She was after him, turned him, escorted him back and deposited him firmly on the roof! We were laughing saying that he needed a little time out!! Wow, was he mad.
A short time after this, Mom flew in with food and took it to Gideon on the top level. Absolutely no way said Lerxst, he was after it in a flash and he got it. Gideon could only watch. She eventually snuck a few pieces from him, but got a good feed once he was done.
In the meantime, Mom fed Peter on the roof until… Alarm calling! And she was off to join Dad, going after an intruder. Another fledgling!! Again ugh. Not sure if it’s the same one as Wednesday(unbanded again) or Sunday but… Boy did it go the wrong way. It came from the east this time, came around and so close to the buildings. Thank goodness our kids stayed put. They eventually chased him south and out of sight . Hope it’s ok.
While Mom and Dad were out of sight, about 6-8 crows came in! We watched nervously and were relieved they stayed low. And even more relieved to see Mom and Dad return.
Now it was close to dark. Time to pack up. Right? Gideon was on the top floor. The boys were across on the rooftop. Mom. Dad. Settled. Then Peter decided to fly. At 9pm. Over to the other rooftop. Ok. Nice. But no, off he went again. Losing good light, and stamina, he repeatedly missed the rooftops, going back and forth, determined not to end up on a ledge, but he had no choice in the end and we all exhaled, a collective sigh of relief.
He landed on the top floor with Gideon at the other end. Ok we can go now. Everyone left but me. I had to have one last look. Then Lerxst decided, at 9:20pm, to head over to his siblings. Ugh. But he landed, a little wonky, about 3 feet from Peter! And now they were done at last. And I could go home. Excellent job kids!
A great watch
.. No rescues, everyone accounted for. Lovely.
I want to thank building management for their continued support. All the maintenance people and security who keep an eye out for our family (and us!). A special shout out to Ean and Paul.
And of course, my team, Rob, Bob, Bruce and Ted, great job guys! You are the best!
And always a thanks to Mark for his support when I needed it. Marion, you are missed.
Look for our spot check updates…. Fly well little ones, hope to see you come home at some point in the next few years
Posted on July 10, 2024 3:59 pm
July 05, 2024 - Toronto - Don Mills and Eglinton - Amexon
Cathy Kerr Reports:
DAY 5 DON MILLS/AMEXON :
And we are all fledged! Yep, Gideon and Peter took the plunge today…
I got a call from security on my way there-fledgling down in the parking lot on a car! Oh dear… Poor car lol. I got there to find Peter. Security tried to distract him, but he saw me and was off, straight down the parking lot, gaining altitude. Over the street (thank goodness), through the park to land on a house rooftop. Well, not too bad. Ok. Bruce met me there and set up to watch him.
I headed back to check out the other two. Saw Lerxst on the Canada protection sign right away. Then I saw a parent with food… Heading for the nest ledge. I saw her holding onto it on the ledge, talking. Hmmmm… Not normal but then she flew out with it and over to the 2nd level down… And gave it to Gideon!!! Way to go girl… Excellent height for a first fledge. And there she stayed until after siesta time.
Now Peter. I had to leave for an hour for a work commitment. Bruce was watching him and Ted had arrived, so he was watching Gideon. Just after I left, Peter went over the roof (he’d been doing that back and forth for a while). When he didn’t come back, Bruce checked and yep, he was gone. Bruce did a walk about but no luck. I got back and did a drive around, scanning ledges etc. No sign. But we knew he’d show up
.. And he did! Back of the building, low down in the corner, pancaked. He stayed there until dark. We don’t know how he landed, but I suspect it was a bit bumpy. Hope to see him flying high tomorrow.
Gideon meanwhile showed off by flying to the rooftop - a few times. Lerxst was thrilled to see her up there and joined her. So sweet
A good day.
Posted on July 9, 2024 8:46 pm
July 03, 2024 - Toronto - Don Mills and Eglinton - Amexon
Cathy Kerr Reports:
DON MILLS/AMEXON : DAY 3 & 4
It’s been a couple of very hot, humid days! And no further fledges… Gideon and Peter are a couple of ledge potatoes!! But Lerxst is doing great..lots of firsts. The biggest one being making the letters! Day 3 he made the B, on the north facing BANK sign and Day 4, he chased Mom off of the intel sign, making a perfect landing. And spent the night there too.
He also flew across the top of the nest ledge (twice) and did his controlled jump down to the nest ledge 2 more times!! Very impressive. Lots of great flights too.
We also saw a juvie enter their territory (I witnessed this Sunday night as well) and Mom and Dad escorted him out, firmly. Ted has shared his pictures of this… They are wonderful. You can see the juvie is unbanded. (much to my relief… I was worried it was one of the Don Mills boys!). Hopefully he got the message and will not be returning.
I added a few of my pics as well.
Another hot, muggy day tomorrow. Sure hope we have another fledge in spite of the weather.. They are ready… They just don’t know it yet
Posted on July 9, 2024 8:36 pm
July 02, 2024 - Toronto - Don Mills and Eglinton - Amexon
Cathy Kerr Reports:
DON MILLS/AMEXON : DAY 2
Bruce arrived to find Lerxst on the garage roof. I was there shortly after and we watched him there for 2 hours. He finally flew off and around to the north side of the nest building, 10th floor… Pretty darn good. But it got better. He didn’t stay long… He flew out over Eglinton and turned came back and made the roof! Way to go Lerxst!
He walked around to above the nest ledge to say hello to his siblings and harass Mom for food. He eventually flew over next door to the rooftop!! So good.
Now, there are a lot of people who walk their dogs below the nest. And when one came by, Mom and Dad started patrolling above. Well, Lerxst decided to join in. Absolutely not said Mom and she escorted him back but he did not want to go and tried to go south… No way said Mom. And she firmly deposited him on the rooftop. The dog had left by then lol. And it was the heat of the day. Lerxst tried one more time to join Dad this time, but again was sent back to the rooftop. He finally gave up and had a rest.
Later, he made so many flights, it was amazing. Some were good, some not so good. But he recovered every time and landed on several different ledges. He finally stayed put on an eighth floor ledge and rested. Whew.
Bruce had left so missed most of it but Bob had joined me, so he enjoyed the show.
We were then joined by Ted. And Lerxst finally woke up and showed off his flying skills to Ted. He ended up after a few flights back above the nest ledge. He was looking down at his siblings, wanting to join them. So, he jumped very purposely off and with great control, flapped straight down to the ledge. Wow. Quite the feat, very impressive! And Ted got the whole sequence!! Thank you Ted. Bob left us then and a short time after Rob came. Ted then left to check out the kids at Don Mills site.
I should mention that Gideon and Peter had a very lazy day. They only perked up, and in Peter’s case showed up, when Lerxst joined them. It was a happy reunion.
Parents brought food and there we left the three siblings together for the night.
What a great day.
Posted on July 9, 2024 8:17 pm
July 01, 2024 - Toronto - Don Mills and Eglinton - Amexon
Cathy Kerr Reports:
DAY ONE DON MILLS/AMEXON :
Happy Canada Day! And a beautiful day it was–we have a fledge!! The oldest boy, Lerxst, has had his first two flights!
Rob and I arrived early this morning and found Mom, Nagata, above the nest ledge. We saw Gideon (girl) and Lerxst on the nest ledge, looking out at the world. I’ve been checking on them the last few days and found Gideon up and most of her down gone and Lerxst also up, with very little down. Little Peter just was peeking over. So I knew we were ready.
After a few hours, Lerxst was off! Mom was right with him… Around the building they went and came around. Lerxst tried to land on the nest building, hit the concrete (fairly gently), he fell about 3 levels, recovered and with Mom below him guiding him, headed across to the other building, where Mom helped him land 4 stories up. Not bad for a first flight! And there he stayed for the next 6 hours lol. We were joined by Bob(Bruce even dropped by to say hello). Mom and Dad finally started to try and get him to leave, showing him over and over how to get off the ledge. He finally was off, (heading straight for us it seemed) heading for the nest building, missed the ledge, recovered, headed back, touched off the concrete just 2 floors above where he just had left and headed low back to the nest building. He gained height and landed, not bad at all, on the 7th level. Well done Lerxst!! And there he spent the night.
Gideon spent the day up and down, practicing. We only saw Peter’s top of head until the evening when he hopped up on the concrete block just back from the ledge. Nice to see you Peter! But it didn’t last and we didn’t see him again. They were fed and quiet at dark.
A great first day! Looking forward to seeing more great flights from Lerxst and would love to see Gideon in the air but she is still a bit young… But you never know! Peter still has a few days to go.
Posted on July 9, 2024 7:43 pm
June 17, 2024 - Toronto - Don Mills and Eglinton - Amexon
Cathy Kerr Reports:
DON MILLS /AMEXON BANDING :
Our last banding for 2024 and Holden and Nagata had the best surprise for us—THREE CHICKS!!! Now as we were only expecting 1 chick(due to previous documentation) , there are a couple of possibilities here. After the first 3 eggs weren’t viable, she ate them for their calcium and reclutched 4 more. Or something or someone, interrupted the process and after laying the 3, she kept them viable until she could safely lay the 4th egg. Absolutely no way of knowing exactly what happened here as there was no way to watch this nest. And at the end of the day… We have 3 healthy, very fiesty, loud chicks! That is all that matters. Way to go Nagata! I am absolutely thrilled to announce 2 boys and a girl for them. If anyone is wondering why we did not go up to check again, it is because we do not want to disturb them any more than we already had. And the purpose of checking is so that we can confirm a hatch date, to help with determining the banding date and when we need to start the fledge watch. Glad it’s not this week as it’s going to be a scorcher lol.
What a wonderful way to end the bandings this year!
I want to thank Mark Heaton and Eva Bobak, of the Ministry of Natural resources for volunteering their time to band all of our chicks. I also want to thank my team (the best) of Sally, Lucie and Rob for helping out (also volunteers) at the bandings. And of course John Beals, our climber who is so great at this.
And a big thanks to all of the buildings the peregrines have chosen to nest on, from property management to security, and maintence staff, for their continued support.
And to Mark Nash
Introducing :
GIDEON , 894g, female, 44/AB, red tape
LERXST (sounds like Lurks, named after guitarist with the band Rush, his nickname, you are welcome Don ), 672g, male, X/73, white tape
And, PETER, (named after long time security and friend, who loved the peregrines, at Amexon, who passed away earlier this year,
X/74, Blue tape
Can’t wait for fledge watch…
Posted on June 25, 2024 7:22 pm
May 24, 2024 - Toronto - Don Mills and Eglinton - Amexon
Cathy Kerr Reports:
Don Mills /Amexon update : on March 26 we saw 3 eggs. We started hatch watch on April 29th. We went up and found 4 eggs, no hatch. Kept checking, no hatch. Now I knew the 3 eggs were definitely not viable any more, but since we did not know exactly when the fourth egg was laid, there was a possibility of a second clutch. Of her knowing that the others were not viable, she laid her final egg later. So I had to know. I decided that I would keep checking until May 31st, then call it. Sally and Rob went on this journey with me. Keeping on checking. On Friday 24th, I pulled into the parking lot and saw one parent land on a letter. So I drove down to check if the other parent was on a letter by the nest. Got my camera out and saw dad land on the nest ledge. With prey! And up popped Nagata, who grabbed it from him, then he also popped down! Hatch! Holding our breath, up we went and saw that lovely sight of a white fluff ball. I did my happy dance… I’ve been fledge watching here for (now) 13 years… I’m so glad this year is a go!! Nagata sat on those eggs for at least 58 days…
Thanks to Sally and Rob for checking with me and for their great pics!
Posted on June 21, 2024 8:13 pm
March 28, 2024 - Toronto - Don Mills and Eglinton - Amexon
Cathy Kerr Reports:
DON MILLS/AMEXON : Congrats to Holden and Nagata! It’s 3 eggs, so far! We’ll find out at hatch time if more, as we won’t be going up to check again until then so as not to upset them. These pictures are from 2 visits, one Sally came with me and today’s when Rob came up. He’ll be sending me his pictures later to share.
These are from Sally and I.
Can’t wait for hatches next month
Posted on April 27, 2024 3:37 pm
