June 26, 2012 - Toronto - Hearn Power Station
CPF Postmaster Reports:
June 26th - 2012
A quick spot check of the Hearn nest site today yeilded good news! All three fledglings were in view and holding their altitude. Peter, (the resident adult male) is still holding his own with the food supply to feed his three offspring and so far so good!
We are further encouraged after having finally met Alex Smith, our OMNR area conservation officer, that he too is able to keep a watchful eye out on the site as he makes his daily rounds in the area.
We are delighted to report that despite the challenges at this nest site, that the Dufferin cement trucks that were parked directly out front and below the nest are now parking further to the west of the property and are no longer below and in front of the nest ledge.
In addition, there is other good news as updated news has come with regards to the injured resident adult female. She is now able to do some flying (and while although still experiencing some discomfort due to some minor swelling still evident on her wing wrist), she will soon be able to be released back to her family. We are hoping that by this time next week, it might be possible to return her back to her territory.
Also, we are slowly getting caught up on the huge backlog of photos and observation reports from most all of the nest sites, including that of the Hearn site, so stay tuned to see some of Anns best photos taken several months ago from the Hearn site.
Stay tuned as there is much more to come ……….
Posted on June 27, 2012 2:20 am
June 24, 2012 - Toronto - Hearn Power Station
Tracy Simpson Reports:
For the past week, Bruce Massey has been holding the fort and running the watch at the Hearn Generating Station and I can’t say enough what a dedicated Fledge Watch volunteer he is. Today I was able to spell him off for an early night home and was treated to an exceptional evening of juvenile shenanigans. When we did the hand off, Bruce had reported that all three juveniles that he has affectionately named Tiny, Dolly and Dark Male, were flying high and well at the site and that Peter, the resident male, was providing for them very well. Upon his leaving, we had not seen the young for a few hours and I was anticipating some action!
Bruce spotted a young one, Tiny, on the eastern ledge of the plant roof and the other two were well hidden… …somewhere. As always happens, as soon as Bruce left and I was alone, the fun began. Tiny flew in from the eastern side of the plant with food and landed on the roof of the room on top of the short silos. This let me know immediately where the other two were as they lit up and rocked the neighborhood with their vocalizations!! How dare he be up there with food and not share!! I now could clearly see Dolly on the piping at the back of the short silos and Dark Male hiding in the maze of rails just below her. After eating his treat, Tiny flew off and landed on the highest “terrace” of the south face of the plant just as the rain moved in. All three juveniles enjoyed a serious rain bath today and not one of them moved to shelter. They really enjoyed the cool down. As soon as the rain stopped, Peter ( Dad ) flew in to check on the kids and got all three of them wound up. He flew up to the flashing light half way up the stack and several times Tiny attempted to fly up to join him to no avail and slid down the stack for several feet like it was a slide. Dad flew off at around 7:30 on what looked to be a serious hunt and Tiny continued to tease and taunt his siblings who had yet to move.
At 8pm, Peter returned with food and delivered it over to the top terrace on the plant to Tiny who immediately mugged him for it. It was quite the little tug of war with Tiny dug in and pulling for all he was worth. Feeling rather triumphant, he settled in to eat but no sooner had he gotten started when Dark Male flew over and showed little Tiny how it felt to have your dinner yanked out from under your beak!! Dark Male successfully removed the food from Tiny’s grasp. He mantled over the food and chowed down while Tiny stood a few feet away screaming to Dad that his sibling had taken his stuff!! By 8:15, Peter had returned again with another small package that he delivered directly to Tiny. Problem solved, you both have your own now. Not to be left out, Dolly flew over to the terrace to join them but was too late to cash in on the yum yums. She decided it was best to just sit there and scream until someone fed her and so for the next 20 minutes she did just that. With dusk approaching quickly, all three juveniles began flights around the south area of the plant and made multiple landings and take offs from various areas. While only Tiny had returned to the nest ledge itself, home is still home and two of the three young got as close as they possible could as darkness set in by landing on the roof just above the nest itself.
With all three of the young ones flying so well and Peter keeping up with the feeding, we feel very confident that the first stage of danger for the young ones learning to fly has ended. They are good strong fliers and so clumsy flutter flights are now things of the past. Over the next week, we will continue to watch as the young ones gain confidence and pick up more speed. This is a dangerous phase two of flight school as the young learn how to break, steer and judge distances accordingly. We will continue to watch and report as their training continues.
Posted on June 26, 2012 10:48 pm
June 21, 2012 - Toronto - Hearn Power Station
Mark Nash Reports:
June 21st - 2012
We have some encouraging news to report in that we have received an update on the status of the resident adult female from the Hearn nest site. While the swelling in her wrist is still causing her some discomfort (and the need for ongoing treatment of both muscle relaxants and pain killers) she is doing well. The much better news is that x-rays showed that there are no evidence of any breaks or fractures in her wing wrist where the swelling is located.
All of our fingers are crossed that she makes a speedy recovery and can soon be released back to both her hatchlings her mate and who continues to struggle to provide food for their three hatchings.
Stay tuned………….
Posted on June 22, 2012 5:05 am
June 20, 2012 - Toronto - Hearn Power Station
CPF Postmaster Reports:
June 20th - 2012
As the dawn to dusk watch continues, one of the three hatchlings - (a male) has taken it first flight and was able to hold enough altitude to stay off the ground!
While the first young fledgling lost a great deal of altitude and has not been able to get back to the nest ledge itself as yet, it has managed to stay off the ground and is slowly working its way back to the nest ledge area utilizing the various beams and parts of the superstructure.
Given the amount of land bases predators and other carnivores that we’ve observed hunting on the property from raccoons, skunks, coyotes, possums and the other avian predators including Red-tail hawks and Great Horned owls, it good that it hasn’t ended up on the ground.
The resident adult male did eventually find the fledgling and has been feeding it as best he can.
Sadly, it appears the resident adult male is only bringing in very small birds and is definitely challenged to supply enough food for the three young hatchlings. The oppressive heat and humidity that we’re been experiencing has also hampered his efforts to successfully hunt.
Foot note:
Now that one of the hatchlings has fledged and the other two remaining hatchlings are still at the nest ledge, it has been much easier to identify the sex of the three birds.
I can now say with all confidence that the first to fledge is a small male and the other two left in the nest are one male and one female.
The first to fledge has been named “Tiny” given his much smaller size in comparison to his other two siblings. Now that I can see the remaining two side by side, it has become quite obvious that there is one female hatchling and two males this year at the Hearn nest site.
Stay tuned….
Stay tuned ……………………
Posted on June 22, 2012 5:02 am
June 18, 2012 - Toronto - Hearn Power Station
CPF Postmaster Reports:
June 18th - 2012
Despite the ongoing challenges and problems at this site, up until now at least, everything has been going well for the proud pair and their new family as close monitoring continues for the second season. The 2012 fledge watch continues for its second day and the three young hatchlings have been growing quickly and are getting ready to start taking their first flights.
Sadly, yesterdays news was not so good in that the resident adult female was rescued from the ground close to the bike trail with a wing injury down the road from the nest site. Bruce Massey, the CPF’s Hearn fledge watch coordinator transported the injured resident adult female to medical attention and we are still waiting for ward back as to her condition.
The resident adult male (identified last year by his leg bands as being Peter), - ( peregrine produced at the Hamilton Sheraton nest site in 2010) is struggling this season to keep up with the food demands of his three hatchlings given his mates absence. So far, the three young hatchlings have yet to take their first flights and remain in the nest.
Last year, the pair were successful in raising and fledging two hatchlings and had a very good go-round. Sadly, the two fledglings were not banded, as they had both fledged by the nest site was brought t our attention.
June 17th - 2012 Fledge watch - Day 1
Bruce Massey Reports”
On the first official day of the watch, it was pretty uneventful. Arrived around 0845 Hrs. and found all 3 Eyesis present. They quieted down around 0900.
For the next 5-6 Hrs it was quiet with the few times one or several of the chicks stood up, flapped their wing or even a little “Falcon Tai Chi” 
The resident adult male was never too far away but didn’t see resident adult female all day. Something is not right given her absence all day with three very hungry chicks in the nest.
Left around 1930 Hrs. with the start of the heavy rain.
B.E. Massey
Foot Note:
Now that we have a Hearn nest page finally up on the CPF web site, we will over the next few days fill in all of the historical oberservations, photos from 2011 and 2012, in addition to providing the details as to what hs been going on down at this nest site.
Stay tuned for more updated news on the situation as the fledge watch continues….
Posted on June 19, 2012 10:44 am
