July 24, 2013 - Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton
Marion Nash Reports:
Last night I found four of the five peregrines.
I was not so successful today.
This morning I was out at 8 and spent just over an hour looking for them. I found three.
Juvie on the black building, someone on the Canada Square building and Stormin on the Rio-Can south face.
Stormin took off and went into a stoop south of Eglinton east and I lost him. The young one on the black building had been feeding on something but was squawking madly.
I was on my way into the mall when the peregrine from the west side of Canada Square flew to the Rio-Can building and I think this was Haven.
This evening I went out again and found two peregrines in the air, one chasing the other and squawking madly.
I saw one peregrine on the black building tucking into a pigeon for dinner and Stormin on the west side of the black building after he had buzzed her. I believe the juvie to be Imagine. I have one very bad picture with the band - dark. When I left, Stormin and Imagine were on the Rio-Can building for the night and a third peregrine, juvie, flew around the east side of the Heart and Stroke building.
Lyn
Posted on July 25, 2013 10:27 am
July 25, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
CPF Volunteer Reports:
Every evening for the past week, Lucie and her husband Richard have been checking in on the Etobicoke Sun Life family and watching the progress that the four young juveniles are making. She has been able to witness some incredible flights throughout the evening as the juveniles come home to roost for the night. Talon touches, tag and chases through the territory are on the docket for the late day play sessions. Thank you so much to Lucie and Richard for checking in and sharing these wonderful observations.
Posted on July 25, 2013 10:01 am
July 25, 2013 - Mississauga - Executive Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Yesterday after visiting Holcim, I stopped in at MEC on my way back to the raptor center to check in on Ashley and Sante. When I arrived, I found a dark bird hanging out in the lower loop of the E in Desjardins on the south side. I snapped a couple of pictures and was able to confirm that this was Ashley. I scanned around for the resident male, Sante, and found him in the lower loop of the S of Desjardins on the west side of MEC 3. I found it odd that on a cool day that both birds were inside the letters and not roosting anywhere in the open. I am so used to finding them on the corners and the top of the letters that this struck me as strange. They were both focussed on Square One and watching the skies above the plaza. Since the loss of Cass, Sante has been much more vigilant as he is now the sole provider and defender of the territory. He is no stranger to this as he accomplished the same great task last year with his daughter Janet. He’s a great male and is doing a wonderful job.
I must thank Katherine and Shannon for continuing to spot check and keep an eye on the family, especially now after the tragic loss of Cass. This is the fourth female that Sante has lost as this site over the years, given that it is such prime peregrine real estate. It is so highly sought after by breeding adult females. Sante has continued to carry on and show what an incredible resident male and father he really is. He has our full support and we will continue to monitor the site closely as we progress towards the fall migration.
Posted on July 25, 2013 9:58 am
July 25, 2013 - Mississauga - Holcim
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a summer camp in Mississauga for a presentation with our educational birds that was fairly close to the Holcim nest site of Storm and Caspian. I decided to head down and see if any of the young boys were visible and when I first arrived, no one was home. I circled around to the west side of the plant and I could clearly hear a peregrine calling but was unable to locate it. Back I went over to Avonhead Road and set up to watch for a bit and was not disappointed! I first found Hope (blue tape) on the east side of the nest building on the edge of the ledge looking east and howling. There must have been an adult or sibling out that way as it had Hope’s full attention. He made a few acrobatic flights back and forth along the east face before settling in one spot briefly. There he continued to call and it wasn’t long before a second falcon appeared. This bird was also a male and was flying like a fighter jet. He came in and stooped Hope which encouraged him into the air and the two were now chasing each other through the plant. This was Liam (white tape) and he was clearly making a nuisance of himself. Hope was not going to put up with this and the chase was on. Moments later both males were soaring above Avonhead Rd and a third falcon was in the mix. This bird was the same size as the boys, was definitely an adult and therefore must have been Storm. Liam and Hope chased him relentlessly and he finally zipped back into the heart of the plant and expertly disappeared before either of the boys could catch up and see where he went. The two boys continued to chase one another and I finally lost sight of them in the heart of Holcim.
While I didn’t see Hurricane Hazel (red tape) or Caspian, it would seem that the family are exploring more out to the east which is where I am sure the two were. In my brief visit it was great to see Liam, Hope and Storm and I look forward to visiting again soon.
Posted on July 25, 2013 9:44 am
July 23, 2013 - Mississauga - Holcim
Tracy Simpson Reports:
I received word from Margaret, one of our amazing watchers from the MEC site, that she was down at Holcim on Tuesday and managed to catch sight of one of the juveniles. She snapped off a quick picture and by the white tape that is visible, it was Liam. Margaret is regularly in the area and has been checking up on the family from Avonhead Rd whenever she is down there. Thanks so much to Margaret for the update and good to see Liam out and about.
Posted on July 25, 2013 9:43 am
July 25, 2013 - Toronto - Hearn Power Station
Bruce Massey Reports:
On Sunday I was down to visit the Hearn Generating Station in an effort to re-sight Peter and Angela in the territory. When I arrived, I scanned all of the usual ledges that they roost on and found Peter on the stack. He made several forays from this location and each time returned to the territory. I carefully checked the ledge that they were last seen incubating on and there was no sign of Angela or any young. I made my way back around to an area that affords me a view of the north side of the plant but was unable to locate Angela or any other peregrine in that view. I can say for certain though that Peter was the male on site today holding the territory as evidenced by a scope view of his band. Later this week, one of our watchers in the area reported that both Peter and Angela are visible again on the south side of the main building but that they believe the pair has again failed in their efforts to produce young this year. It was good to hear that the pair is still on territory and maintaining the site and we look forward to them finding the perfect ledge next year for successfully hatching offspring. We will continue to check in on them throughout the year so watch for updates to come.
Posted on July 25, 2013 8:53 am
July 25, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
This past weekend we were all out and about checking in on each of the nest sites to see how each faired through the blasting heat followed by the storm on Friday. On Sunday, I came down here to Etobicoke Sun Life to check in on O’Connor, Jack and the kids and was treated to an exceptional show of flight. I started at Eagle Road and initially didn’t see anyone. I went back around to the Lomond GO parking lot and found one juvenile on the retaining wall of the nest tower. I couldn’t see tape colour but made efforts to find out. A second juvenile was now in my sight on the upper ledge of the center tower sleeping. I was keeping an eye on her too. Both of them were females but which two I had I was unsure of. The juvenile on the nest tower began to vocalize and from the west I could see O’Connor flying in with food. I watched her transfer the food from foot to beak and fly right towards the nest building. The juvenile on the retaining wall met O’Connor in the air, flipped and in her enthusiasm attempted to grab the food from O’Connor’s face. That went over well. O’Connor banked up and out of the way, dropped the food and the catch was made by the juvenile. Great job. The young one then flew with the food to a ledge on the nest building tower to eat. I did manage to grab my camera but was woefully unprepared for photographing this exchange. I still did manage to get some ok shots that upon review revealed the tape colour of the juvenile in question. It was Lizzy!!! She was now doing aerial food transfers with Mom!! I was all a-buzz about this and set on discovering who the sleepy girl was now. It took time for this cropped up juvenile to reveal her tape but eventually she did a stretch that gave me a positive on green, Layton. Layton flew off of the center tower and was now pursuing pigeons over the GO parking lot. Lizzy finished her tidbit and flew over from the nest building to the west tower where she was joined by another bird. I couldn’t tell if this was Little Big Frank or Shania as it was sitting back from the edge and partially concealed but I believe it was another female. Layton then flew in and landed on Lizzy’s head with much complaining. All that work and no pigeon. Layton was unamused. I now believe I had all three girls on the west tower, O’Connor roosting on the camera housing and Jack hiding in the Moneris sign symbol hoping to go unnoticed. He was soon discovered there by Layton and chased right out of the territory with her screaming behind him. She returned shortly, empty taloned, to the west tower and rousted the other two girls off of their perches. All three were now in the air, screaming and playing the day away. By this time I had moved over to Bloor Street and was joined by two local watchers Lucie and her husband Richard. Richard began recently to regularly watch the Duncan Mill Road nest site this year after following the story there for the past three years and only recently learned of the Etobicoke Sun Life site. This is now on their list of places to visit!! They remained with me until dark watching as the kids were now chasing and playing tag while the sun set. Little Big Frank did not make an appearance during my time here but Angie was able to catch him on camera on Saturday after the storm with his white tape clearly visible. It would seem that all of the kids and adults here are fine and well but I will be back to confirm that the third bird in the playful scrum was Shania. Although I am certain she was here, we would like to see that red tape just to be sure. Lucie, Kathy and Rob will also be spot checking for the elusive red taped lady.
Posted on July 25, 2013 8:51 am
July 25, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
There is a great big story to tell that has been long awaited to catch you up on the news at the Etobicoke Sun Life nest site. I apologize for the delay but it could not be helped with all of the activity going on, the blast furnace heat waves and then the following storm that has devastated so many. This is a grand story worth telling though so let’s get to it!
Back in late June, we left off on the 21st with Lizzy striking the center tower and being rescued by Rob and Bruce. She was taken that night to Mark and Marion Nash for a hold over for an appointment that was made with our avian vet and raptor specialist Dr. Markus Luckwaldt of the Greenwood Park Animal Hospital on Gerrard. The next morning on the 22nd, Mark and Marion met Dr. Luckwaldt at the clinic where he examined Lizzy and took several x-rays. They went over the images and could clearly see that she had fractured her keel in three distinct places. All other major and important bones were intact and she was surely sore as all get out. A fractured keel can heal completely in as little as 14 days and so this was incredibly good news. Of concern was that when she arrived for her exam, both of her feet were balled up and one she refused to or couldn’t open at all. It was believed that either she injured her leg during the impact or when she came down onto the mezzanine level. On the damaged leg, two toes were working perfectly normal, one toe was at half measure and the fourth toe was unresponsive to stimuli. Mark and Marion were then given medication to help her heal and Lizzy was to be reassessed in three days as to whether the injury to her foot was permanent or temporary due to swelling. The great news is that after a few days of lying down and resting most of the time, Lizzy stood up in her cage and refused to lie down again. Her attitude had improved dramatically and she was now hissing at Mark each time he fed her. Both feet were working as they should and she had a huge appetite! All of this was great news as three days earlier she was unwilling to open her one foot at all. At her reassessment, it was discussed whether this injury required further long term confinement and if not, how soon she could be returned to her parents care. As the keel was already knitting together and the foot was now working, it was determined that she could go back to her family in another 5 to 6 days. What made this such a wonderful success story was the collaborative discussion between Dr. Luckwaldt and Mark Nash regarding her home environment, her parents and the progress of her injuries towards healing. The roof of Etobicoke Sun Life has a retaining wall that extends 4 feet high and therefore once released Lizzy would be completely confined to the rooftop until she was physically capable of flying up to the retaining wall herself. No step ups or cheater hops on this roof. Dr. Luckwaldt and Mark agreed that this would be a good containment area for her and given that she was to be released when she was almost completely healed, it would give her another few days of rest and exercise. A great collaborative decision was then made on behalf of Lizzy. Good to go on Day 9 of healing.
Now through all of this we stepped down the watch to spot checks and holding the fort was Rob, Angie, Kathy and Baylie. Thank goodness for these awesome watchers that continued to keep an eye on Layton, Shania and Little Big Frank! We rallied the troops including the watchers, Bruce, Mark, Marion and myself on July 1st and we released Lizzy to the rooftop and her parents care at 5pm. The watch was officially dawn to dusk again until Lizzy could show that she could fly with control and land with precision. It wasn’t long on the night of her release before her family located her on the rooftop. Jack was the first to find her. He at first made a few shallow half hearted stoops and alarm calls before realizing who she was, breaking off and circling the rooftop doing recon flights. After 4 revolutions, he flew back to the nest ledge and took a nap. Layton was next, landing on the retaining wall right above her sister. She sat there for a while looking at Lizzy and wondering where she’d been these past 9 days. No matter. Sis was home. Shania joined Layton and the family was now celebrating.
For the balance of the week, I took the dawn shift and Mark relieved me at noon to close. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday there was no sign of Lizzy leaving the rooftop and the other juveniles continued to visit. Lizzy was checked on by Mark a few times through the week with a stealthy peek through the hatch on the roof without alerting her to his presence. His Thursday check of the rooftop was more extensive as he could not see her from the hatch. This incurred the wrath of O’Connor and cost Mark a few head hairs but yielded no sign of Lizzy. It would appear that on Thursday she had flown. On Friday everything changed with the behaviour of the siblings. They were no longer on the nest building retaining wall looking down. The morning was very quiet and then as the rains moved in, Shania and Layton both flew onto the ledge to the right of the nest ledge and they were on the far left. They were looking with interest down to the far right. I pulled out my camera and waited. On the far right of the ledge, a juvenile stepped forward and was enjoying the rain. I took several pictures and to my surprise it was Lizzy showing off her yellow tape. She had flown from the rooftop and at some point on Thursday made it to this ledge without losing altitude!! Great job Lizzy!! A few moments later, a second juvenile stepped forward and joined her and it was indeed Little Big Frank. All four were now back together on the same ledge. This was excellent news and with that, we scaled back the watch to site checks again with folks popping in each day to monitor Lizzy’s continued progress.
This exceptional story could not have been possible without the care and efforts of many in the community and with the CPF. First off let me thank the security at Etobicoke Sun Life for their call to action to make sure Lizzy got the help she needed. There are many thanks to go out to Rob and Bruce for dropping everything and running to her aid. We also must thank Mark and Marion for their tremendous efforts in helping Lizzy to get to care, support her healing and monitor her progress once released. Of course we cannot forget the watchers at Etobicoke Sun Life including Kathy, Angie, Rob and Baylie for their continued monitoring of the family. Last but never least, the support and efforts put in by the Greenwood Park Animal Hospital and specifically Dr Markus Luckwaldt and his team. It was their caring, compassion and expertise that helped Lizzy to get back to the wild as a fully functional flying machine!! Congratulations one and all for the awesome teamwork and resounding success!!
Watch for more updates on Lizzy and her family’s progress and pictures to follow soon!!
Posted on July 25, 2013 8:44 am
July 24, 2013 - North York - Nest
Bruce Massey Reports:
Given that the storm front that moved through on Friday affected adults and juveniles alike, I made a point of checking up on the territorial adults in North York with the hopes of a re-sighting. I was fortunate to find the female, an unnamed banded girl from Buffalo, up on a tower near Mel Lastman square and her mate, the territorial un-banded male, moving through and using the RBC building signs, the Trans America roof and the bell tower as stopovers. Both birds have been sighted and are doing well. It is unfortunate that they were not successful in producing young this year but we will continue to keep an eye on them and keep you up to date on their activities.
Posted on July 25, 2013 8:25 am
July 24, 2013 - Scarborough - Yellow Pages
Bruce Massey Reports:
I was out at the Yellow Pages nest site to check in on Linn, Rueben and the kids over the past few days. On Saturday after the storm, I did have both adults confirmed but there was no sign of any juveniles. Tuesday when I arrived, I checked in with security and learned that the juveniles hadn’t been positively identified since last Thursday. I set out for a recon walk of the area and was able to spot one juvenile on a building in the territory. I set up my scope and waited for a view of the tape colour that each of our banded young ones has over the USFW band and my patience paid off. I was able to positively identify Neira by her red tape healthy and screaming for food. During my visit I was unable to sight Loki but it may have just been my timing. Yesterday I was back on site and again had Linn, Rueben and Neira who was actively chasing around the local resident birds. As hard as she tried, and there was one good stoop, Neira still came up empty taloned each time. Loki did not make an appearance yet but he is such a great flyer that he is most likely exploring further afield and it may take a few visits to catch him at home. We will be back to check in again and look to spot little Loki and will keep you updated on how the family is progressing.
Posted on July 25, 2013 8:22 am
