April 30, 2015 - Mississauga - Holcim
Mark Nash Reports:
April 30th - 2015
Ok, this is a record no mater how you shake it out!! (NO pun intended)!! This is NOT a photo-shop gag!
As a result of the territorial battles that resulted in the death of the long standing resident adult male at Holcim, the new sub-adult resident male on site wasn’t wasting any time in his efforts to create his own family,,, (nor is the resident adult female it would seem given the second clutch of 4 eggs that she has now laid)!!!! NOW EIGHT EGGS in total are visible in the nest!!
The first clutch of 4 eggs (seen in the photo as being the much lighter in colour, bleached out by the sun while they were not being attended to during the territorial battles and the lack of a support male to help the resident female with her full time incubation duties) still remains,,, among the newly laid (much more vibrant rusty brown coloured eggs) that the resident adult female has just recently produced. This is a second clutch of 4 eggs!!!
We highly suspect that the first clutch of 4 egg are addled, (and if they were in fact fertile in the first place), the embryo’s have likely long since died as a result of the eggs being allowed to get too cold. The unhatched chicks simply die as a result of cold and hyperthermia. It doesn’t take much of a temp drop given the small mass / size of the peregrines egg. As for the second clutch of 4 eggs, you never know, they just maybe fertile, as the new resident sub-adult male on site just maybe old enough to impregnate the female and cause fertilization!
That being said, take a close look at the photo,, (unless the resident adult female expels or consumes some of the addled eggs, making some room), you can see the daunting task ahead of the pair trying to successfully cover and incubate any of the eggs given their total mass, (and the lack of sufficient nesting sub-straight and a much deeper nesting bowl that would help contain this many eggs) is going to be very difficult indeed!
Sadly, in this case, this particular elevation at Holcim is not one that we can easily get too from the ground, to simply just add a nest tray and additional nesting sub-straight without a very large costly telescopic or crane lift type equipment. While it is true that we have installed both nest trays and nest boxes at much higher elevations over the past year at several other OPG nest sites, the very expensive lift equipment was at the time, already on site at these other locations and at hand with operators available for us to utilize them.
While the female peregrine is much larger than the male, (and in this case, she is much more experienced),, even under the existing conditions and current situation, trying to successfully contain and incubate 8 eggs will be a daunting task for her,,, (let along for the much smaller, less experienced male)!!
A huge thank you to Armando and Stephanie for the great photos and updates!! Great work indeed folks!!!
Stay tuned……………………..
Posted on May 1, 2015 2:16 pm
April 30, 2015 - Burlington - Lift Bridge
CPF Postmaster Reports:
April 30th-2015
Congratulations are in order for sure to both Burlington, al the great folks at the lift bridge and PWGSC, as we have just received great news from the PWGSC and the guys at the Burlington Lift Bridge. The most recent photos taken on April 30th through the peephole in the backside of the nest box clearly show that two of the four eggs have hatched!
The most recent observation and photo updated, also confirmed what we had all suspected , but were unable to confirm, in that there was in fact 4 eggs!
Fingers crossed that the other two eggs are successful in hatching!
Posted on May 1, 2015 12:14 pm
May 01, 2015 - Toronto - Don Mills
Tracy Simpson Reports:
I was watching the camera at Duncan Mills this morning as Quest is due for a hatch any day now. She is so incredibly restless that her gravel picking almost ended in a somersault. At this time of the morning the cam images are at their most clear and we can now confirm that there is a third egg in the clutch. Quest entered the nest box moments ago with food and attempted to feed one of the eggs. A chick may have started to pip and is singing which would encourage that first delivery of food… …a little early but so sweet to see. I didn’t see any white fluff or anyone taking food from her and I can see only three eggs in the view. No signs of an egg shell having been moved so my guess is that a little one will emerge possibly today or overnight so get to the cam folks, its coming!!!
Posted on May 1, 2015 9:39 am
May 01, 2015 - Mississauga - Holcim
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Thank you so much to Stephanie and Armando for your observations at the Holcim facility of Caspian and her bid to reclutch with the new male on site. Bruce Massey and I have been going down and doing site checks from Avonhead Road as often as we can since Storm was recovered deceased not far from the site. Here is a few of the notable observations we have witnessed.
April 7th - a new male is spotted at the Holcim facility with Caspian. He is an Ontario banded male with yellow tape on his USFW and the most distinctive feature is that he is immature. He is still donning juvenile plumage as his molt into subadult phase has yet to begin. He is seen here until Saturday April 11th.
April 18th - there is a new male on site with Caspian and he is in adult plumage. He has a silver USFW band and a solid black recovery band. Caspian is more accepting of this male and is not aggressively chasing him away. Both birds are visiting the old nest box located on an east ledge in the heart of the plant. She is entering and scraping while he has yet to enter the box. Neither bird is incubating the eggs laid while Caspian was paired with Storm.
April 20th - Caspian and the new male were witnessed copulating and there has been no further sighting of the immature male. Both are seen at the old nest box and at the most current nest ledge on the south side of the tall silos.
April 25th - Bruce Massey had the opportunity to get a partial band number off of the male. The top letter is an R and there is a double digit on the bottom. The first digit is a 4. A bird is spotted at the old nest box and it is not Caspian but an immature FEMALE. She is banded but way too distant to tell color or numbers with any certainty. The new resident adult male is stooping her and aggressively chasing her. When he broke off the attacks at the nest box and flew over to rest on the current nest ledge, the immature female attempted to join him there. Caspian (confirmed by band) came out of nowhere and actively chased her. It is the last time we have seen the immature female on site. New behavior from the male included food transfers to Caspian and defense of territory. Even though they both went into the current nest ledge on the south side of the tall silos for brief periods, neither bird was incubating or out of sight for any length of time.
April 28th - Incubation behavior has begun and a new egg was confirmed by Armando (thank you so much!). I suspected that an egg had arrived based on observations of the current nest ledge. Only one bird at a time is visible and when one adult disappears onto the ledge it is down and out of sight for extended periods. Copulation continues on this day so the clutch is in the making but not complete.
April 30th - From 11:00am to 1:30pm Caspian was down on the nest ledge incubating. The male was active but did not come close enough or long enough for a full band read. I can confirm the solid black recovery band and the R over 4 ?. The second digit remains unknown. The adult male was incredibly busy. He chased off a third peregrine that was not looking for a serious fight, brought in a pigeon for the pair to share and attacked a Turkey vulture floating through. He took over incubation for Caspian at 2pm.
It looks like there is still hope for a hatch this year at the Holcim site and we will continue to work on identifying the new male with Caspian. Again, a huge thank you to Armando and the staff at Holcim for all of their help tracking this seasons changes and progress.
Posted on May 1, 2015 9:19 am
May 01, 2015 - Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton
Bruce Massey Reports:
I was on site on Tuesday and was able to confirm that Haven and her mate are currently incubating three eggs. I clearly saw all three during a changeover but it happened so fast that confirmation of the male’s identity was impossible. I was able to see though that he has a silver USFW and a solid black recovery band on his left leg which is consistent with Malik. Congratulations to Canada Square on three eggs.
Posted on May 1, 2015 8:52 am
April 30, 2015 - Mississauga - Executive Centre
Marion Nash Reports:
Danny snapped this shot today!
Enjoy
Posted on April 30, 2015 12:49 pm
April 30, 2015 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Marion Nash Reports:
All went well on Wednesday. Voltaire flew well and returned to the nest. She’s squawking at Victor and sitting in her nest now. Very relieved!
A Big heart felt thank you to Erie Wildlife Rescue (EWR) and to the U of W student who rescued her your efforts and quick response has saved Windsor’s Falcon Ambassador!
Posted on April 30, 2015 11:58 am
April 29, 2015 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Marion Nash Reports:
Erie Wildlife Rescue(EWR) received a call about an injured Peregrine Falcon at the Ambassador Bridge on the evening of April 24th. The student who found the bird brought it to an EWR volunteer,who in turn took it to a veterinarian the following day. X-rays and blood-work showed that the bird was dehydrated and had suffered some trauma, but fortunately had no fractures. Banding information has revealed that the bird is Voltaire. She has been receiving care from EWR, and is showing signs that her strength is returning. She was moved into a large indoor flight cage today, and if all goes well we are hoping to release her tomorrow(Wednesday) at the bridge.
Posted on April 30, 2015 11:42 am
April 29, 2015 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Marilyn Weller Reports:
Windsor Peregrine Watch Team received news from our friends at Erie Wildlife Rescue that a student from the University of Windsor with experience with raptors, had found Voltaire on the ground and injured on Thursday evening. Voltaire was dangerously close to the road at Riverside Drive and Huron Church Road, not far from her nest. The student was able to capture her and delivered her to the team at Erie Wildlife Rescue who responded quickly to Voltaire’s need for care. EWR contacted Dr. Leanne Horsman, a local veterinarian with a passion for raptors, and she began evaluating and treating Voltaire. Fortunately after some X-rays and lab work, it was determined that although Voltaire was very dehydrated, there were no fractures.
Ellen, Bonnie, and Stephanie from EWR kept Voltaire well cared for, got her rehydrated and fed, and gave her a few days in rehab until she was flying well again in her enclosure. They brought Voltaire back to the bridge this evening, and I am delighted to report that Voltaire took a nice flight back around the bridge, soaring and lifting well, and returned to her nest and the eggs that have been so well cared for by her until this incident.
Given the recent sightings of a 3rd adult Peregrine vying for territory here recently, we suspect that Voltaire got in trouble defending her nest last week. We are all so deeply grateful to this unknown student and the great folks at Erie Wildlife Rescue as well as Dr. Horsman, for providing the assessment and care of Voltaire. Our team will be keeping a close eye on Voltaire and Victor to be sure they continue to thrive.
Posted on April 29, 2015 7:59 pm
April 28, 2015 - Brampton - Courthouse
Marion Nash Reports:
CPF volunteers have been watching the Peregrines on the courthouse closely and determined that they were on eggs for sure and in full time incubation for a least a week. Well they were correct good observations folks. I asked Melanie from CBRE to have a look for me a take a photo if possible and here are the pictures she sent me thanks Melanie!
Posted on April 29, 2015 1:58 pm
