June 19, 2012 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:
June 18th - 2012
A big thank you to Joan for sending in her photos that she snapped of Amora who visited their second floor window ledge. Amora spent some 12 plus hours more than a little confused with the windows and all of the attention she was getting from the on-lookers below and behind the glass. Amora was likely the most photographed peregrine in history yesterday!
Posted on June 19, 2012 9:45 am
June 18, 2012 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:
June 18th - 2012
I must apologize for the lack of updates as I have been doing a few 16 plus hours a day in the streets on the Don Mills fledge watch and by the time I’ve got home, I haven’t been able to keep my eyes open even long enough to eat.
While today was not the longest day I have spent in the streets on a fledge watch, it was close.
Shortly after 6am this morning, I found Blaze flying around 220 and 250 Duncan Mills buildings, with many good strong flights and landings to the upper elevations of each of the two buildings. While his landings are still much to be desired, he did land and for the most part without incident. Later in the morning, he visited his sister Mira who had earlier taken her third short flight over to a sixth floor ledge at 240 Duncan Mills Road.
Throughout the day, Blaze has taken some very good strong flights around the four office towers and gained altitude without any problems. At one point, he landed on the upper roof top of 220 Duncan Mills Road. He was followed quickly his mom Quest and she stuck by his side as he investigated his new world.
By the end of the day, both Blaze and Mira were flying high above the two buildings with very strong flights and were actually playing catch me if you can games with each other.
Shortly before 9am, Amora took her first flight from the nest ledge, flying south across Duncan Mills Road and landed on the top of the canopy of the rear entrance of 225 Duncan Mills Road and that is where she stayed until dark. For 12 hours she tried to get through the darkened glass of the office suites on the second floor and paced back and forth on the ledge and out onto the red canopy just several feet from the ground. Sadly, despite the fact that her parents have been feeding her two siblings throughout the day, Amora did not receive any food or attention all day.
Fearing for her safety given all of the raccoons, foxes and other less desirables and other threats that we have seen moving around after darkness over the past five days during the watch, and the fact that she lacked both the confidence and in ability to gain any altitude ,,the decision was made to rescue her off of the canopy and return her to a safer altitude on the upper roof top area.
With the support of the management group, building security and the great team of CPF fledge watch volunteers that stayed late and assisted, Amora was successfully retrieved from the 1st floor ledge without incident.
She was then examined for signs of trauma and injury and was then re-released under the cover of darkness to the upper roof top where she will be able join her two siblings and available to her parents care and be able to start again with some much needed altitude.
Stay tuned ……………..
Posted on June 19, 2012 3:38 am
June 16, 2012 - Toronto - Don Mills
Ann Brokelman Reports:
Posted on June 17, 2012 10:50 pm
June 16, 2012 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:
A few photos of Blaze and the girls at Don Mills.
Posted on June 17, 2012 10:45 pm
June 17, 2012 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:
June 17th - 2012
9:10am, Mira takes her first flight and Amora remains on the nest ledge!
details to follow.
Posted on June 17, 2012 11:04 am
June 17, 2012 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:
Saturday June 16th - 2012
5:05 am start minutes before Blaze takes his first flight. At 5:08 am Blaze takes his first flight. Both of the young females still on the ledge.
The big event today was really Blaze during his second serious of flights, a long serious of bumps and grinds with three different buildings and three different windows.
Still an infant both in mind and body, little Blaze took his second serious of flights and learned in part what windows are all about. Three bumps later, losing altitude after each collision he got his first real life lesson that hopefully he will retain for future reference. We can expect to see more bumps and grinds as he has still a lot to learn about calculating speed, the use of his brakes and distances! Then there is his concentration and focussing on the activity at hand!
Stay tuned, as there is more to come………
Posted on June 17, 2012 10:43 am
June 15, 2012 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:
Friday June 15th - 2012
Arriving at 7 am this morning, the hatchlings were already in motor mode and Blaze continued to pace back forth on the upper ledge from one end of the building to the other screaming for his parents attention and as you might expect, - food!
The adults fed another six times again today, and throughout the day, feed each of the hatchlings beak to beak on several occasions. By the early afternoon, Mira - (green tape) was now ledge hopping and following her brother back and forth from one end of the building to the other. Although much more cautious in her jumps to the next ledge, she soon build up the confidence to work her way down to the far end of the building and eventually back again.
Amora (Red tape) on the other hand, spent most of her day in the nest box itself and only ventured out to the nest ledge edges.
By 4PM, Blaze took his first flight in an effort to get to his dad over on 240 Duncan Mill Road. While only a short flight first to the north, he then turned around to the east and then north east and finally ened on the top of a window sil above a window on the west face of 240 Duncan Mill Road.
As his screaming continued through out the late afternoon, (and with both his parents ignoring him), he remained on the window sil until darkness and was still there by 10pm.
Both his sisters retired back into the nest box at darkness.
At one point throughout the day, Quest visited the nest box and spent over an hour taking s snooze with Amora. The two made physical body contact throughout the snooze and it was quite a tender family “mom and daughter moment”. Again today, Quest fed all of the hatchlings beak to beak at one point or another and spent several hours on the nest ledge with her daughters.
Sadly I was unable to take any photos. Throughout the day, I also spent several hours dealing with other challenges and happenings with others on the5 ongoing fledge watches.
One of the Holcim hatchlings was successful rescued by Holcim staff and we were able to alert Mark Heaton from the OMNR to go out to band the downed fledgling. Yet anther juvenile was rescued from downtown Toronto and taken into the Toronto Wildlife Centre for examination.
Earlier on in the day, Frank carried out yet another rescue of one of the Sun Life fledglings that came to the sidewalk. Rescued successfully, and held for examination.
Later on in the evening, Frank called again to tell me some bad news in that yet another one of his Sun Life fledglings took flight but died after colliding with a window while trying to make it back to the nest ledge.
Again later in the afternoon, Kathy called me to let me know that
Big Frank had to be taken to the hospital emergency by the EMS after stepping on a large nail while in the streets during the watch.
Tracy had to be dispatched to pick up Marion from the Canada Square fledge watch and they travelled from the Canada Square fledge watch after closing it off to the Etobicoke Sun Life centre to do the release of the downed fledgling that was earlier rescued by Big Frank. Thank you Sun Life security for falcon sitting again for us!!
After the Don Mills watch, I drove to the Sun Life centre to pick up Marion to get her home, and Tracy proceeded to the hospital to get status on Big Frank.
Home finally by midnight, (trying to stay awake long enough to get my postings posted and back to the Don Mills fledge watch by 5am tomorrow. Some one please bring me a PAIL OF COFFEE!!
Its been a long day, and tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for us all with Big Frank out of the picture! I hope to get a status report on Big Frank later on this evening (or should I say early this morning). Let hope that he’s going to be OK!!! I’m sure that he will. He’s a tough guy!
Stay tuned, as with the Hearn fledge watch starting tomorrow, our lives are going to get much more complicated………..
Posted on June 15, 2012 11:59 pm
June 14, 2012 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:
Thursday June 14th - 2012
First day on the watch started out with getting orientated with the area and buildings and setting up. A huge thank you to Harlequin and Donna for allowing us to use the vacant office in the 9th floor that offers a great vantage point at some elevation should we loose track of a fledgling that may end up on a roof top or a ledge that simply can’t be seen from ground level.
A quick check in with the security at 220 Duncan Mill Road to let them know that we are back in the streets on the fledge watch. Confirmation of roof top access with the management of 225 to ensure that we have access to release downed fledglings from this elevation.
All three hatchlings still on the ledge, but the young male - named Blaze - (with Blue Tape) is already running the entire upper length of the ledge of the south elevation of the nest building. His two sisters, (one and two days younger) named Mira and Amora ae still on the nest ledge and have yet to venture beyond the boundaries of the vertical concrete columns at each end of the nest ledge. Blaze on the other hand has long since mastered the jump around these barriers!
He continued to aggressively run and back and forth from one end of the building to the other most of the day and appears to be plagued with bad luck, as each time he found himself at one of the building, his parents flew in with food to other end and fed his two sisters! Poor Blaze, (even I couldn’t help feel sorry for him)! The poor bird spent most of the day screaming for food - ALL DAY LONG pretty much up to 9PM. At one point his screaming was so loud and constant, it had two pedestrians six floors down on the side walk so distracted - (and looking up as they walked) that they actually walked into one another!
Despite Blaze’s bad luck being at the wrong end of the building, both Quest and Kendal were in over time with food delivery and brought in food to the nest ledge SIX times from 2pm to 9pm. On one of the last feedings, Blaze did eventually hook up with Quest and I watched her feed him beak to beak.
The local wildlife abounds, and raccoons are plentiful! I was totally amazed at one point seeing a mother racoon followed by four tiny baby raccoons actually cross the street only feet from my location at the pedestrian cross walk as if they knew that the automobile traffic would stop,,, AND IT DID!!
Several cars stopped at the cross walk as the drivers looked on in amazement themselves and waited as the raccoon family safely crossed the street.
By 9pm, the screaming had finally stopped, and all of the hatchlings had settled down for the evening. Sadly, I was unable to get any photos today.
Stay tuned………..
Posted on June 15, 2012 11:58 pm
June 12, 2012 - Toronto - Don Mills
Ann Brokelman Reports:
Arrived at harlequin 1:05
All three on ledge
Quest and Kendall on harlequin building
Mira doing a lot of flapping
Blaze joined in and actually was in air
Kendall came on ledge and got knocked off by Blaze
Quest came in twice and got knocked off
Many people stopped and talked to me
Worried about peregrine
One lady from nest building came over worried as they saw a bird ftom the 7,th floor
It waz a dead pigeon
They are cutting the ends off ledges so pro ably a bird was left there for food.
All 5 were seen and were active.
Please note the construction did not bother birds.
Posted on June 13, 2012 10:13 pm
June 08, 2012 - Toronto - Don Mills
CPF Postmaster Reports:
June 8th - 2012
Quest and family, photos by Cathy Kerr taken this afternoon.
Posted on June 9, 2012 2:20 am
