I was able to edit the pictures I took today at Canada Square of the napping resident female and the two visible young. Enjoy!!
I received a phone call today from Neil Armstrong at Northern Realty Advisors Ltd. informing me that over the weekend the resident pair at Canada Square were successful in hatching 2 of their 3 eggs!! This is certainly very exciting news as this pair had a late start to the nesting season as they explored several other ledges before deciding on the one they now occupy. Congratulations Canada Square!! I will be attending the site over the next few days to confirm whether all three eggs have hatched and to hopefully provide some pictures of the latest falcon family.
I was on-site today to check in on the progress of the resident pair at the Canada Square Building and while we haven’t had a hatch there as of yet, I was treated to a nice look at the resident female and her three eggs. An enormous thanks goes out to Neil Armstrong and his staff at Northern Realty Advisors Ltd. for being so supportive of the nesting pair. I will be back in with this pair next week to check for a much anticipated hatch!!
I was at the Canada Square Building site last week and was able to take a few photos of the resident adults on the ledge. They needed some work before posting but here they are. Enjoy!!
Yesterday I was at the 2200 Yonge St. nest for an inspection and as I walked up to the viewing window, there was a change over happening right in front of us. We were able to see that clearly the pair here is incubating three eggs and at last posting on April 19th, I was only able to see two. Given that the resident pair had three other scrapes on three separate ledges, each containing one egg that is no longer being attended, this final clutch of three is several weeks behind our other GTA nests. I was unable, once again, to secure a band number on the resident male as he was too quick for my eyes and camera when the unbanded female arrived to relieve him. This is the second time he’s skunked me!! I will persist though and also keep an eye out for a hatch at this site mid to late May. An enormous thank you to Neil Armstrong at Northern Realty Advisors Ltd. for being such wonderful supporters of this nesting pair. I will post some of the pictures I was able to take once they have been resized so check back soon!!
On friday April 15th, Tracy and our co-op student went uptown to Yonge and Eglinton where 2 eggs were observed on a ledge at 2200 Yonge street. The pair have chosen an excellent ledge with a view of the evenings sunset. The pair look very healthy and keep their eating area on a lower floor.
The male has been busy with many scrapes located between two different floors. There was one egg laid each in two separate scrapes and a third laying just outside of yet another scape on a lower level. These eggs, however, were abandoned and the yet to be identified pair is focusing their attention on incubating the most recently laid clutch.
Hi Frank,
Peregrine report 20110412 at abouyt 4:20pm
I went looking for the peregrines today and found just one sitting on one of the window ledges at the top of the Rio-Can building. I watched for five minutes and then left. From the colour I could see on the chest it was the female I was watching. She had her back facing west and was enjoying the sun on it.
I could not see onto the nest ledge and did check the other buildings around to see if I could see the male but I came up empty. Not sure where he was.
In recent days the male has been seen though.
Cheers
Lyn
Lyn Reports:
Update Yonge and Eglinton Peregrines 20110224
Returning from shopping on Yonge street, I glanced skyward looking for our pair of Peregrine falcons.
I was in luck. Two of them flew up to the nest building and one landed on that same railing, as before, on the NE corner of the building. No binoculars again. I hastened to the corner assured myself that it was really a peregrine and dashed home for the binoculars.
On returning to the YE corner I found the peregrine still perched in the same spot. I had a bit of bother getting colour but did finally see the buffy chest (and full crop) and so determined this to be the female. I watched her for a while and also looked around for the male. I did not see him for a few minutes.
As I was walking along Eglinton towards Duplex Av I saw him come from somewhere around the black building over the TTC bus garage. He flew straight onto the nest ledge! I continued walking and stopping to watch for his exit and was rewarded after roughly three minutes. He flew off the nest ledge, straight over Eglinton and my head and landed on the Rio-Can building. I had to move then.
I walked all the way over to the Ambulance ramp near the bus garage and stood there. After roughly fifteen minutes the female flew over to the Rio-Can building and landed one floor above him.
For a long time neither of them did anything. Then the female preened a bit and then just sat. The male just sat the whole time I was out there. He also had a full crop. I also saw the remains of a recent meal where I was standing. A small white feather, spinal column with two ribs attached! Nothing else. I think it may have been blown off the roof of the black building.
The female took flight and flew towards me then curved behind (south side of) the nest building, up Yonge street, across Eglinton ave and landed back on the Rio-Can building about five floors up from the male, who just sat!!!!
After an hour and twenty minutes of observation I left.
Half an hour later I had to go to the bank and when I checked on the peregrines they were in their same spots. The male was just sitting and the female was busy preening.
Reporting for Lyn:
20110215 Yonge-Eglinton Peregrines
I had an exciting day today! I came out of the bank and whilst waiting for the light to change I saw a Peregrine struggle with the reflections in the windows of the Rio-Can building on the east side. The Peregrine had actually flown across the front of the Heart and Stroke building and *softly* into a window, fluttered up and down the window and then flew off over Eglinton Ave. It came back to the same side of the Rio-Can building and did the same thing again before flying across Eglinton Ave and onto the railing on the level below the nest ledge, but on the northeast side of the building. This appeared to be a large Peregrine but not having another one with which to compare it I reserved judgement. The Peregrine sat on the railing for a good ten minutes.
Just as I was about leave for indoors, she took off over the CIBC building on the SW corner of Y&E and along Eglinton east. At a spot one street west of Redpath I saw three pigeons flying above Eglinton Ave and the Peregrine had her sights set on one of them and I saw her grab it!!
I exclaimed aloud *oh wow* which caused two pedestrians to turn around and look along Eglinton but they did not see her. She struggled to fly and gain height to land on top of the CIBC building. She was flying against the wind. As she landed I saw another peregrine fly from the west to land right at the top of the nest building on the NW corner.
I thought I could safely dash home for binoculars as I thought she would eat the peregrine where she was. When I came back she had gone and so had the second peregrine. I searched the two buildings to no avail. However I did find feathers floating on the breeze coming from the west. I searched along Eglinton to the corner of Duplex - no luck! When I looked south from there I found both peregrines on top of the black building over the bus garage. This time I could definitely see the size difference and it was the female who had caught the pigeon. I stood out there in the cold wind for 45 minutes as she plucked feathers and ate, then plucked some more. The male was sitting about 2 metres away from her and periodically he called then settled down again. Eventually, minutes before I left he could bear the strain no longer. He ran along the edge of the building towards the female and grabbed what looked like the pigeon’s head and then flew to another perch on the same building. The female never paused. She continued eating. By this time I was frozen and decided to leave. Both peregrines were pecking away at their spoils. It was a great sighting.
Never go to the bank without binoculars!!!
Lyn
Lyn Reports:
I had to go downtown today and on crossing Eglinton Ave to get to the subway I glanced at the Rio-Can building. Right at the top, sitting on one of the window *uprights*, was a Peregrine.
This was around 1:30pm today.
I returned at around 3pm,with the express purpose of doing other things I exited onto Eglinton Ave, glanced up at the Rio-Can building and found two birds, on separate window *uprights*, at the top of the building. Errands forgotten,I walked along the south side of Eglinton to try to get a better look at the second bird as it appeared very pale on the chest. I was unable to get a decent look at it, even when standing outside the Police Station. However, I stood there for ages. I watched the bird, which I knew to be a Peregrine, preen, shuffle it’s feathers, stretch one of the wings and then sit still again.
I was still undecided about the second bird so picked up my ’scope and trudged back to the Police Station. By this time the Peregrine had flown to the mast atop the *nest building*. Once I had the pale chested bird in the ’scope sights I could see that it was indeed a Peregrine. I spent about another 15-20 minutes watching.At 4:30pm I happened to be in the Y&E Mall and had a peek out of the doors to see the one Peregrine still on top of the mast on the *nest building*.
Both Peregrines were hunched down and their feathers puffed out against the cold.
Cheers
Lyn