Ljames over at BCAW managed to snag a great screen capture of our elusive little one this morning.
March 8th - March 22nd - 2014
A big thank you to Bryton for his permission to post his photos sending in his Bald Eagle photos and observation report and to Rudy for hooking us up with Bryton.. We can only hope that the Wind farm industry isn’t looking, and that this Bald eagle nest doesn’t end up suffering the same fate as another bald eagle nest did in south western Ontario last year when the province of Ontario approved the destruction of an active bald eagle nest site in south western Ontario, and permitted the cutting down of a large tree that held a bald eagle nest to make way for yet another windfarm project. Shame to all those that were involved in that action, and their total disregard for our species at risk and our environment.
The attached photos have been cropped as they were way to large to post, so you are seeing a blow-up and small portion of the existing photos that Bryton sent us. Thanks Bryton!
Bryton reports:
The first time I saw the eagles they were sitting in a Silver Maple tree beside the river. That was around March 8th.
The second time I saw them was with the camera. There were some other people with cameras as well. The adult bald eagles were working on their nest, bringing large sticks to nest around March 22nd.
I have only seen them one more time since then. They were circling around the top of the Grand River. I have not seen them in the nest site since, so I am not sure if they are still there or not. They are building homes close by and there is a lot of traffic.
The bald eagles are close to the round-about on Fountain St and Blair Road in Cambridge.
I was sent a link back in early April by Chad Steele to a series of photos he had taken from Terrapin Point of activity around the OPG Powerhouse at Table Rock in Niagara Falls. It looks like Diamond and Onyx have once again chosen to nest in an old window well behind the pink board which would provide them with a bit more protection from the spray from the Falls. Both adults were still visible at the same time around April 7th and the picture of Diamond looks as though she might have been carrying a little extra weight!
Thank you so much Chad for sharing this with us. We are so pleased to see that the pair continue to do well!! All photos are by Chad Steele from his visits on April 7th and 8th to Terrapin Point.
Just now getting caught up on lots of past news that I have not had a chance to get posted yet. I heard from Ross at the William Osler Hospital that Hurricane and Chessie are now on 4 beautiful eggs. This will undoubtedly have Hurricane go into hyper hunt mode in the coming weeks and if its anything like last year, the nursery ledge will soon be decorated with dozens and dozens of food parcels just waiting for four hungry hatchlings. Congratulations William Osler, another great year ahead!!
The single hatchling at the Mississauga Executive Centre nest site is getting big and developing so fast that its changing every day. Just a week ago, the little big one was attempting to be brooded by Rogue but clearly did not fit so had to be satisfied with just its wee head under Mom and the rest sort of hanging out there. While oh so adorable to watch, our minds are now on the task ahead of keeping this wee one safe during first flights and so we are gathering our resources for the upcoming fledge watch.
This is a callout to any and all who have time to share watching over this young one during its first few weeks of flight. The fledge watch will tentatively begin on Saturday May 10th and will run until the young one achieves the important milestones of flying and landing with control and returning to the nest box after its first flights out into the windy world. This usually can take from 10 to 14 days and it is during this critical time that we really need your help.
The Canadian Peregrine Foundation Fledge Watch program attempts to cover as much of the day as possible with on the ground watchers that are there to observe and intervene with a rescue should a fledgling end up in danger; an example such danger would be landing at street level. Whether you can volunteer an hour, several hours or a day we would love to have you join our fledge watch team! Each and every person can make a difference and it doesn’t require any special experience. We will provide all the necessary guidance, support and training that you will need.
If you have the time and the desire to be a part of something so amazing as this, please contact us at raptor4@peregrine-foundation.ca.
The first picture is from a week ago, baby trying to be brooded, and the second one is from today. You can just see the face mask now coming in as well as the body feathering. In the third picture, taken moments ago, the chick is now sitting on the landing platform and has technically left the confines of the box and you can just see the chick’s tail (OMG, get back in there you!!) The change is impressively rapid!!
Friday May 16th - 2014
I was finally able to check back with the Yellow Pages nest site today and there is still no hatch. It must be real close given when we observed 4 eggs having been laid.
Upon my arrival, I found Rueben (the long standing resident adult male) on the nest ledge and could only see three un-hatched eggs. The small over hang in the corner blocks a portion of the view so the forth egg may have been there, but I just couldn’t see it. Seconds later, we were dive bombed very aggressively (and very silently) by Linn (the long standing resident adult female) that seemed to come out of know where!!
Wow, silent and quick would be an understatement, as the pair had Paul, Marion and myself all heading for the door to seek shelter, and very quickly indeed!! Linn had stooped us more than a half-a-dozen as we made our way to the access door to exit the roof to escape her view!
I did manage to get a few shots of the pair and was able to blow the photos up to confirm both of their identities via their leg band numbers and can confirm that it is fact both Linn and Rueben. In Linn’s usual style, she didn’t make a sound throughout, (nor did Rueben) as they both stooped us simultaneously coming only inches from our face and heads!
Stay tuned for additional updates very soon ……..
It has been another suspenseful and mysterious few weeks at the Kitchener nest site. On April 11, one of the peregrines was sighted by Wendy with a kill so heavy it struggled to bring it to the top of the building. Wendy also observed a lot of peregrine activity the week of April 13, flying to and fro to the top of the building several times a day.
The turkey vultures have been back in peregrine territory around the Sun Life tower. On April 16, Wendy witnessed one falcon repeatedly diving at a vulture until it was well past the Grand River Hospital. At 7:00 that night, Rudy was on a watch with spotting scope in hand and spotted one falcon, perched and preening on the signage facing Park Street. After 10 minutes, it flew around the building and landed on a parapet on the hospital side but didn’t go near the nest box. After another 10 minutes it headed north at a high speed, likely after some dinner. Rudy has not seen any hunting activity in downtown Kitchener for quite some time.
It became very quiet at the nest site. For weeks, many of the watchers have had no sightings at the nest box or on the building at all. On April 24 at noon, Karen sighted one on the left side of the nest box. She captured the 2 photos of one of the ‘grines’ posted here but wasn’t able to make an identification. On Saturday April 25, I spotted a lone falcon hunting behind Kings Towers on King Street, it swooped around the back of the building and then flew south east towards down town Kitchener.
On Sunday morning, April 26, Kelly reported seeing one flying around the rooftop and landing on the nest box at 9 a.m. It took flight again and landed on the parapet to the right of the nest box. Later on that day, a ruckus was heard. There were definitely 2 peregrines giving chase to a possible 3rd peregrine. One of the ‘grines’ did some acrobatics below one of the others and it looked like a food pass. The acrobat then returned to the rooftop. The intruder then circled high above the rooftop, while one of the ‘grines’ swooped at a lower altitude around the rooftop. While it’s hard to say whether the third bird was another peregrine or another bird of prey, these birds are definitely defending their territory!
Many of the watchers have noticed light coming through the back of the nest box in the last few weeks. Around 2:45 p.m. today, Wendy heard loud screeching coming from the area of the nest box. She quickly messaged the inside watchers to see if anyone was at the top of the building. We heard shortly thereafter, that after an inquiry from Rudy regarding sightings, Tony went up to the roof and noticed that the back door was open and a ‘grine’ was in the nest box so he left quickly. Tony reported this to Mark who instructed Tony to “get the back door shut” since it could be dangerous for both birds and eggs. Other prey could get into the rear of the nest box and wind could affect the birds and cool the eggs down. He returned with some backup and that’s when all the screeching started. In less than a minute, they latched the door shut, put a screw in the door in the bottom to ensure that it couldn’t open again and discovered that there are 4 eggs in the nest box!!! So all the speculating of whether the peregrines are nesting, or where they are nesting is done, however we still need to need to confirm which female is nesting. The last confirmed sighting of the unbanded female was by Tony on April 12. Rudy suspects that this female is a passage bird that is not yet old enough to breed which would explain her lack of interest in some of Caster’s advances. Time will only tell whether this is Statler, or the mystery female that is incubating these eggs. The mystery continues!!!
Photos courtesy of Tony Bergauer and Karen von Knobloch
I have very bad news to report. Over the weekend one of the 2 remaining eggs here was eaten & today the last egg in the nest box was eaten by one of the adults.
It’s been a wet, cold week for our incubating falcons. Yesterday I wanted to rush out and throw a blanket on O’Connor. Even though there is a roof covering the ledge, the wind was blowing the rain sideways and she was drenched most of the day.
We are in the last week of incubation, which started around April 1st so earliest estimated hatch date could be Saturday, May 3rd. Assuming all goes well of course.
Looks like Madame X and Surge are incubating egg(s) again but at the opposite end of the ledge. It’s close to the cam but any eggs are hidden from view by the surrounding wall. They have been incubating for a few days now after she spent several nights there. No way to know really how many eggs she may have but we can guess at least one given the shift changes we’ve observed. Hopefully the wet, cold weather won’t impede their renewed efforts!