June 27, 2013 - Mississauga - Executive Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
When Katherine arrived this morning, Ashley had returned to the roof of MEC 3 once again undetected. With a happy “Drat, I missed it again“ Katherine headed up to work, but little did she know what her first break of the day was going to hold! Margaret arrived shortly after 9am and set up at MEC 3 to await the main event. ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz. Great, Ashley was asleep again! The hope was that now that she has found her wings and her courage meaning that her first witnessed flight was imminent. At around 10:30am, with a packed audience outside MEC 3 on break, it happened!! The watchers were alerted by the sound of Ashley screaming at her parents and then suddenly she was in the air. She flapped and screamed all the way across the street towards MEC 4 as her admirers on the ground held their breaths. She flapped, squawked, flapped… …and she made it!! Right onto the roof of MEC 4. Celebrations, cheers, hugs and a few tears were shared by the witnesses of the great event. Ashley has flown! And she let us watch it!!!!! From that point on the flights came regularly with her flying from MEC 4 to the nest building roof. Then she left the nest building and headed back to MEC 3. From MEC 3 she scooted over to MEC 4 again. The complex was now her playground and she was staying high. After several great flights by Ashley today with control, purpose and altitude it was decided that after 16 days of dawn to dusk watching and 4 rescues, that it was time to scale the watch back to spot checks. The team and I will be checking on her every day for the next while just to ensure that she is progressing well and I cannot thank enough the MEC team. First and foremost I must thank Garda Security and Colliers for their unwavering support throughout this Fledge Watch. It is because of their care and concern for their peregrines that Ashley`s rescues and releases were made possible. I must thank Katherine for her support without fail, Margaret who dedicated so much without question, Shannon who was always willing to drop everything to be there and Winston without whom I would have struggled to make it through. I also must thank Bruce for being my eyes when I needed him most and Adam for joining Shannon when Ashley was in greatest need. Congratulations everyone. We made it!!
Posted on July 9, 2013 12:55 pm
June 27, 2013 - Mississauga - Executive Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
The morning’s watch started with a colleague of Katherine’s, Laverne, checking up on Ashley’s whereabouts. She located her on building three on the south face under the Desjardins sign. An adult was perched over on the east corner and Ashley was in and out of the well napping and occasionally reappearing. Margaret arrived shortly after 9 AM and set out to relocate Ashley on the south face of building three. She waited patiently, scanned all the ledges but was unable to find Miss Ashley. It’s quite common for her to jump down into the wells underneath the sign and take a long nap but she usually makes at least some appearance at some point. This was not the case today. Trusting her instincts, Margaret began to look around at the other three buildings in the complex. She found both adults sitting calmly on the Jevco sign of building four and a dark large bird on the retaining wall of building two. After a few minutes of focussed concentration looking through her binoculars, Margaret was able to confirm that Ashley was now on building two! What an amazing sight to behold. What is so ironic about this first flight of Ashley’s is the fact that she took it when no one was looking. After all of our watching and waiting, our anticipation and vigilance, she decided to go at the exact moment when no one would see it. Has Ashley all of a sudden become shy?
She remained on the roof of MEC 2 for the rest of the day popping down to the roof and then reappearing on the retaining wall. Cass and Sante watched for the most part from MEC 4 as Ashley continued to explore this new world. Even though Katherine, Shannon and Margaret knew that Ashley had flown to MEC 2 (not teleported or something) they would have to wait to actually witness her flying as this little girl was quite happy to stay right where she was. It would seem that one flight was enough excitement for the day!
Posted on July 9, 2013 12:54 pm
July 08, 2013 - Toronto - King Street
Linda Woods Reports:
We have just had torrential rain in Toronto, causing flooding along the DVP, subway stoppage and power outages. Incredible amount of rain.
I took a look out my window to check if there were any peregrines in view from the King St. nest site. I just happen to see one of the young girls take off heading east. It attempted a landing on the St. James Cathedral spire and aborted it flew around and continued east and out of my view. Five minutes later it flew back into my view, a second attempt to land on the spire and missed the landing. It then continued west towards the King St nest building. Attempted to land on the roof to the King Edward Hotel and aborted that landing, perhaps too fast. It continued east and landed on the upper roof level of a building just east of the King Edward Hotel. Huge flight. I’m happy it landed before another huge rainfall approaching the downtown core.
The amount of rain is unbelievable. It just doesn’t rain It POURS and heavy, heavy rain. I hope all the fledglings are keeping safe.
Posted on July 8, 2013 8:25 pm
July 04, 2013 - International, National and Local News
Mark Nash Reports:
July 4th - 2013
Sorry for the late postings, but we are only now just starting to get caught up with the several hundred back-logged observation reports. Its been the most aggressive year we have had to deal with inn 17 years!!
Received a call from Mark Heaton from the OMNR that a young female fledgling was rescued at Toronto Person Airport by Falcon Environmental (the folks that do the wildlife control at the airport) and turned over to Mark today. The young female fledgling checked out to be in good health, (obviously just winded and out of steam as many fledglings get on their maiden flights, and ended up on the ground). Hmmm, sound familiar?
With more than 30 successful rescues of downed & grounded young fledglings so far this year from our southern Ontario urban nest sites,,, the CPF fledge watch teams have really been working overtime this season)!!
Each year, over the past few years, there is always one nest that seems to escapes us and get missed. This year is certainly no exception as in this case, although this event comes to us with a real twist!
Sooner or later, these late undiscovered nests get brought to our attention and we’re on it, BUT this one still remains a mystery! Where has this young fledgling come from??
Knowing that it was found grounded at the Airport (close to Hwy 427 / Dixon road) and the close proximity to a potential nest site that we were monitoring in the hotel airport strip earlier this spring where a pair of peregrines were attempting to set up house, we could only guess that the pair we have been watching during the early spring had finally found a suitable location in the neighbourhood and were successful in producing at least one young.
Sadly, we had to abandon our efforts trying to find the territorial pair in the airport hotel strip when the aggressive banding started, and with overlapping fledge watches, we simply didn’t have enough manpower and resources to stay on this territory to continue to follow the adult peregrines. This is a vast expanse of many hotels covering many square kilometres and requires a coordinated effort of mobile units to stay on the adults as they moved around from hotel to hotel rooftops!
In any case, the young female fledgling was banded Black Y over 95 and successfully released to one of the hotel roof tops in the immediate area where we last had the territorial adults.
Again shedding the importance of banding the young hatchlings, as when they start flying, they can end up miles away from their parents and nest sites, (blown off course with the winds or panicked in longer flights during their maiden flights), and without identifying leg bands to help us identify which nest site they have been produced at, (and get them back to their rightful parents), it would be impossible to know which nest site they are from. Releasing a fledgling back to the WRONG nest site to the WRONG parents usually ends up in the fledglings mortality as they are quickly driven off or killed by the resident adults looking to protect their own fledglings.
Fingers crossed that this little fledgling is reunited with her parents!!
We’ll be back to the area as soon as we can organize the mobile manpower and the funds to feed our gas tanks!
Photos by Mark Heaton - OMNR
Stay tuned…………..
Posted on July 8, 2013 1:49 pm
July 08, 2013 - Kitchener - CTV-Bell Media Tower
Lisa Reh Reports:
Monday, July 8,
one was sighted swooping around the 14th floor from the inside of the Sun Life building. I also have seen them the week before taking off from the building. On July 9th, I saw 3 at least - there could have been a fourth as there was a bit of mayhem at the time. That was between 12:45 and1:00. They were swooping around the building. I left that day at 5:30 and saw one take off west towards Belmont St. and flew quite low so could have been an adult hunting. There were at least 2 on the east facing parapet at this time as well - side by side.
Posted on July 8, 2013 1:47 pm
July 07, 2013 - Toronto - Don Mills
CPF Postmaster Reports:
July 7th - 2013
I dropped in at Harlequin and the Duncan Mills nest site tonight on my way to the ICICI Don Mills nest site. Found Quest hiding out in the nest box lol. Kendal was at the back of the Harlequin building before he flew back to his usual spot at 240. No sign of the girls but Mom & Dad had eyes on I am sure, (hence the hiding in the nest box).
Cathy
Posted on July 8, 2013 12:44 pm
July 07, 2013 - International, National and Local News
Mark Nash Reports:
July 7th - 2013
Hi Mark
I went over to ICICI. No one at first but then I heard that familiar squealing for food–and there was a juvie on the nest building. I was heading over for a closer look and I swear she saw me and took off to the other side lol. I am thinking this was AM-E because later a juvie did a fly by over the nest building and ended up beside his sister! Lucy & Richard joined me for abit–they had been there earlier and had seen both juvies on the letters!! I was very excited to hear that AM-E had mastered that feat!!
Just around 8:40pm, Mom brought in some food–saw some awesome flying!! Both juvies raced out to, I would like to say greet but it was more like who could grab it from her first lol!! Mom prevailed and dropped it on the roof–and took off, with Lucky in pursuit–all the way to the Forester building where Dad was hiding out! Great to see them all!!
Cathy
Posted on July 8, 2013 12:42 pm
July 07, 2013 - Toronto - King Street
Linda Woods Reports:
Around noon today, one juvie flying north on Yonge St near King. It flew east and towards the King St nest site and out of view. Later in the afternoon, Cosmina and Anastasia were seen doing a short game of tag in the nest area. Then this evening around 7:30, just as a second surge of heavy rain approaching the downtown, one juvie flew into view just south of the King Edward Hotel, while the second juvie was sitting on the south side of a building south of the hotel. When it began to pour, both juvies in my view and I check the web cam and found one adult on the nest ledge. They look like they are holding in their spots while the heavy rain continues. These two like flying in the rain.
Posted on July 7, 2013 7:42 pm
July 07, 2013 - Toronto - Mount Sinai Hospital
Linda Woods Reports:
No active nesting at this site, but today while viewing from the top floors of the Sheraton I was able to see an adult, sitting on the east facing ledges of the hospital.
Posted on July 7, 2013 7:36 pm
July 07, 2013 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Linda Woods Reports:
A quick check on the Sheraton nest site, and the only peregrine I saw was an adult on the ledge. A bird’s eye view from the Sheraton allowed me to see one of the Mt.Sinai adults sitting on the east side of Mt. Sinai hospital. Other than that it was very quiet around the Sheraton nest area. Perhaps they are all enjoying the water front today.
Posted on July 7, 2013 7:34 pm
