affordwatches

Nothing Yet

April 25, 2012 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre

Kathy Reports:

Well Jack was around again most of today.  First thing this morning he was having a lenghty preen on the web cam.  Later on I caught him having lunch then he gave himself a pedicure, flew around a bit and then had a nap. 

Something they didn’t like flew into the territory and both he and Angel took off to escort it out, making a rukus as they did so.  That was all I saw of Angel today, save for her wing tips and her head poking out of the nestbox a few times.  Nothing to indicate we have new life yet that I could see from the ground.

!!! Computer challenges again and no camera image, but the hatchlings are just fine and growing quickly!

April 25, 2012 - Mississauga - Executive Centre

CPF Postmaster Reports:

April 25th - 2012
Sadly, we are still experiencing challenges with the MEC computer and the ongoing software problems. While the camera continues to work flawlessly and is still producing a decent real-time live image on the internal monitor, the software conflicts continue that is preventing us from getting the live updates to the MEC nest site web page.

We will have to wait until the fall to install the new IP Colour camera. We can’t wait to finally get rid of the weakest link in the web cameras. We are hoping to eventually replace all of the old existing analog cameras with the new IP digital cameras this fall and finally be done with the older problem computers and software challenges.

Stay tuned…

!!! Shift change - looks like at least 3 if not 4 eggs!

April 25, 2012 - Niagara Falls

CPF Postmaster Reports:

April 25th - 2012
A huge thank you to Sage who submitted this great photo taken from across the gorge on the US side of a shift change in an rare opportunity when the adults were caught on camera during a shift change. Despite the distances involved, the photo clearly shows the adults both in the same frame, with the tiny brown coloured eggs exposed for only just a moment during the event.

Great shot!!
Thank you much!!


!!! The cold weather has taken it’s toll

April 24, 2012 - Port Colborne - ADM Mill

Doug Garbutt Reports:

As I said in my last post, it has been hard to get a look at what’s underneath the adults here as they are rarely off the eggs. Yesterday I witnessed the female consuming an egg shell. She was over the scrape & I couldn’t see underneath her so I was hoping an egg had hatched & she was eating the shell for calcium as they normally do. Unfortunately, today I got a good look at the scrape when Mom took a short break from incubation & I could clearly see that there was no young one. In fact there are only 2 of the 4 eggs remaining. It is hard to believe that after 4 weeks of hard incubation that they could loose these eggs. I think that perhaps the frigid weather has played a part in the failure. I’m not too optimistic about the chance that the other 2 eggs are viable but we have our fingers crossed. Hopefully the other nest sites don’t have simalar problems this year.

!!! Eggs in view

April 24, 2012 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre

Linda Woods Reports:

Three of the four eggs in view as Rhea Mae and Tiago have a shift change at around 09:30 this morning.


!!! The Sign is Given

April 24, 2012 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre

Kathy Reports:

The earliest hatch date that I had calculated or guesstimated based on behaviours was today.  And indeed this morning as I arrive in - I find Jack here at first light on his favorite letter on his sign. 

In the past few years, since he’s been running two nest sites, the only time I see him there this early is when a hatch is immenent or when there are eyases in the nest and today is the first day I’ve spotted him there.  It’s cold and wet today so not even a feather protruding from Angel in the nestbox.  She’ll be hunkered down tight on those eggs this morning. 

I will be keeping a close eye on activities when I can the next few days .  Temperatures are expected to rise tomorrow again so that will afford better viewing opportunities.

!!! London Pair Very Active at the Nest Tray!

April 20, 2012 - London - TD Tower

Tracy Simpson Reports:

To wrap up our Earth Week activities, Frank and I were out in London to visit with TD branch representatives and customers throughout the afternoon.  After a brief  interview on Rogers TV show Daytime, we made our way down to Dundas and Wellington to look for the London peregrines.  We were greeted immediately by the calls of the pair as they both flew into the ledge just beneath the TD sign on the west side of 380 Wellington.  The pair went immediately into the nest tray and began a conversation about the nesting season that lasted a good minute.  The male then flew out and around to the back side of the building while the female remained in the tray.  The male then returned and took up a position on the southernmost corner of the nest ledge and settled in for a nap.  Before we left to attend our branch visit, I was able to take several pictures that show the male is wearing a solid black recovery band indicating that he is a Canadian male. 

We had such an amazing time in London speaking with the local community about our School Visit program and their local peregrines that we lost track of time!  By late afternoon, we decided that we would head back once again to 380 Wellington for another look at the pair before we left for Toronto.  When we returned, the pair was not immediately in sight but after a few minutes, the female popped up out of the nest tray where she was lying down and sat on the edge of the tray to preen.  The winds had picked up at this point and photographs were harder to take but we did manage to get a shot showing that this female is wearing a black over red recovery band indicating that she is an American girl.   The pair were in and out of the ledge and more specifically the tray a great deal and were also sharing some tandem flight time above the tower.  This is very exciting news and we wish the pair well this nesting season!

I will be back in London in the coming weeks delivering our Project School Visit program and will have more news for you on the local peregrines progress in the nest tray.  We will also be making a serious effort to identify the pair for you.  Check back soon, the excitement has just begun!


Holcim Pair Still on Incubation Duty

April 20, 2012 - Mississauga - Holcim

Tracy Simpson Reports:

Bruce Massey stopped in at the Holcim site while out on a west end nest site tour and found the adult male, Storm, roosting just above the nest site.  The resident female, Caspian, was nowhere to be seen as she was tucked away out of sight incubating her eggs.  We will be watching more closely in the coming weeks for the adults to start bringing in food indicating that a hatch has occurred.  Thank you Bruce for the update!!

Mississauga North Pair Still Active; Only Seeing One at a Time!

April 20, 2012 - International, National and Local News

Tracy Simpson Reports:

Frank, Toivo, Winston and I have all been tracking this new pair of peregrines that have settled themselves at Hurontario and Brittania Rd. directly between the Brampton Courthouse pair to the north and the MEC pair to the south.  They have been very cautious and elusive in their activites related to the setting down of eggs and so we have been watching closely to see if the pair have decided whether they will be nesting and where.  Frank, Toivo and I were on site monitoring today and found the female on the camera arm at the Purolator building getting ready for take off.  She flew over to a building to the south where she stayed for about ten minutes; the male was nowhere to be seen.  The female then took off and headed over towards the Wells Fargo building where she disappeared from our sightlines.  A few minutes later, the male appeared on the same building the female had just left.  

We believe that we witnessed a possible adult changeover commonly associated with incubation.  We will be out this weekend to determine which site their interest is focussed on and whether incubation is underway.  Check back soon!!

Milton and The New Female Still Active at the Courthouse

April 20, 2012 - Brampton - Courthouse

Tracy Simpson Reports:

Many of our volunteers have been checking in regularly on Milton and his new unbanded subadult female at the courthouse and it is clear that the pair are focussed on the ledge used the previous year as a potential nest site.  During the last site inspection, Mark Nash was able to note that the although the pair did not have eggs as of yet, they are certainly working on scraping out the corner ledge on the southwest side of the courthouse.  Both Winston and Toivo have been seeing the pair staying closer to the site in recent days and one of the adults is usually down in the ledge.  Bruce Massey also visited the area today and noted that only one adult was visible at a time suggesting that they are focussing much more of their time and attention in the ledge.  We will be back on site soon to check on the progress of the pair as they endeavor to set down a clutch of eggs this season.  Many thanks to Winston, Toivo, Frank, Mark and Bruce for all of their efforts to monitor the progress at the courthouse.  A great team of watchers!