December 11, 2011 - International, National and Local News
Frank Butson Reports:
Back in Novemeber Bart Van Bockstaele saw a juvenile Peregrine Falcon perched briefly on the red bridge towards the end of “the Spit” It was on November 23rd. While band numbers/letters couldnt be recognized,a black over red band can be seen,making this a US bird. The Peregrine is from this past seasons young. With Bart’s gracious permission we have a few of his photos of the sighting here. Thanks Bart!
Posted on December 11, 2011 7:57 am
December 08, 2011 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
Haha..I swear this pair reads our CPF blogs. The sun is coming up and shining brightly and sure enough both Angel and Jack just showed up on the nest ledge!
Jack is by the nest box and Angel is on her perch sunning herself. They both have full crops and there are feathers all over the ground so likely they were on the roof having breakfast! Great to see them both again, it just makes my day when I see for myself that they are safe and healthy :)
Posted on December 8, 2011 9:23 am
December 08, 2011 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
It’s been a ghost town here the past 2 weeks. Angel was around and visible quite a bit early last week during the warmer than usual weather. She could be seen sunning herself on her favorite perch most mornings.
Since the colder weather has arrived this week there has been no sightings of her . I havent’ spotted Jack for almost 2 weeks now either. Even the pigeons are in hiding!
This is not unusual at this type of year. No doubt they have taken shelter out of the wind and cold and likely also have to travel further out to find a meal. Sun is finally in the forecast for later today so I’ll keep my eyes peeled and hope she makes an appearence on her favorite perch.
Posted on December 8, 2011 8:43 am
December 04, 2011 - International, National and Local News
Frank Butson Reports:
This past fall,the raptor watch I started several years ago had a record count. My buddy Walter carried it on in my abscence this season and did a wonderful job. From mid-August until end November 6626 birds of prey were counted flying in,over and around Rosetta McClain Gardens in Toronto,atop the western end of the Scarborough Bluffs.
The final tally included:
Turkey Vulture - 1866
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 212
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1781
Cooper’s Hawk - 96
Northern Goshawk - 20
Red-shouldered Hawk - 29
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 858
Rough-legged Hawk - 9
Golden Eagle - 5
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 130
Peregrine Falcon - 47
Total - 6626
The number of Peregrine Falcons was down considerably from last seasons high of 85(the count has run since 2004). This could be owing to many factors,but is definetly something to be aware of in the ongoing monitoring of the Peregrine Falcon’s recovery. This past season,failed nests and unhatched eggs were a widespread issue,not only in southern Ontario,but in other areas of North America. Back in October one of the watches dedicated followers,friend and CPF volunteer Ann Brokelman took some fantastic photos of a young Peregrine Falcon which passed our site. So good that we could read its band numbers. It was a juvenile bird from 2011. The first 2 years of a falcon’s life it lives up to its name,which means wanderer. Peregrine Falcons fly all over until they are sexually mature and then will search for a mate and territory. The young Peregrine which Ann photographed was from Ohio. Its band numbers were black over red 79 over H and a purple US Fish and Wildlife band. With that information CPF was able to obtain her ID. Cententiel as she was named by plant staff,was hatched in East Cleveland Ohio USA,at the Lakeshore Power Plant nest. This sighting and photos have been passed on to Ohio DNR and to the folks at the power plant. We are assured they will be very pleased to hear of Centeniel being reported alive and well.
Both of these reports highlight 2 of the important functions of The Canadian Peregrine Foundation,banding and monitoring. At a time when there are so many environmental threats,additional ones from habitat changes and new chemical threats,these are critical.
Thanks to Ann for the continued use of her photos.
Posted on December 4, 2011 11:55 am
December 01, 2011 - Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Today we have both an update and some news regarding the resident pair at the Canada Square Building. First off, a check in with the pair as reported by Lyn:
Two peregrines were spotted on top window uprights of the Rio-Can building, south face. All fluffed up against the wind they were in the full sun and looked cold. No activity from them but I did not stay out in the cold for very long!
Lyn
Thank you Lyn for keeping an eye on Stormin and his female!!
In the news department, the unbanded female that has been resident here for the last 3 years has been given a name by Neil Armstrong and his amazing staff at Northam Realty Advisors Ltd. Their team has decided to call her Haven, a most incredible name for this bird!
Thanks go out to the buidling management for their efforts to name their adult female and Lyn for her continued vigilance of this pair.
Posted on December 2, 2011 1:00 pm
November 24, 2011 - CPF Events
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Last night Frank and I had a fantastic evening visiting the Wild Birds Unlimited store on Yonge St. in Richmond Hill. This is the third year that we have attended Debbie and Andy Neale’s store and its always a great evening. Two of our educational birds, Seamus the North American Barn Owl and Max the Harris Hawk, were in attendance and spent two hours with a crowd of 50 or more people. It was amazing how many familiar faces were there; folks that have been a part of the presentations each year. We also met many new people that we were able to introduce to the beauty of birds of prey and the struggles they face in the wild. There were followers of Rhea Mae and Tiago in the audience along with young budding ornithologists and photography enthusiasts. It really was a great night!! Thank you so much Debbie and Andy for a wonderful evening and all of the folks that continue to support the CPF’s efforts with Peregrine falcons!!
Posted on November 25, 2011 10:14 am
November 24, 2011 - Nanticoke OPG
Tracy Simpson Reports:
This week I have been delivering Project School Visit to students throughout the Haldimand area and have been having a fabulous time. Yesterday, I was joined at Walpole North Elementary by Jacob Clements from OPG Nanticoke, the sponsor for the school, where we enjoyed the morning sharing the story of the Peregrine falcon with almost 100 students. Afterwards, Jacob took me down to the plant for a check in with the territorial female residing there. It was just this past June that the CPF and OMNR were at the site banding the three young hatchlings; the first hatch in the plant’s history. At the time, there was no territoial male to speak of and according to our on-site eyes, Ulrich Waterman, there had been a fierce battle between two males that most likely left Marla with no male at all. My goal was to check in and see if anything had changed for the resident female as available males migrating through may have stopped and stayed.
After checking in with security, Jacob and I toured the grounds of the plant looking for signs of peregrines. As we were coming around to the lake side, I caught sight of a male and female peregrine moving west towards the stacks and then, out of nowhere, another female peregrine came at them in hot pursuit. The male circled one of the stacks and landed on the light while the two females were having it out. One female landed on the lower elevation of the plant after launching a stoop attack on the other female. The female on the roof turned out to be Marla, the red tape over her UPFW band apparent in the pictures I was able to take. The other female took off from our view leaving the resident female to sit, very agitated and alarm calling, on the plant roof. Moments later, Marla took off again in pursuit of what we now knew was a challenging adult female in her territory. The pursuit took them around the plant and out of our view for a few moments until Marla returned and made her way up to the light on the stack opposite her new male. As we came around the west side of the plant, the interloper took off from a low position and flew a very low and very powered flight around the plant and off towards the lake. As Jacob drove me back to my vehicle, both Marla and her male were kiting above the stacks together and then headed off to the north.
While I was unable to identify either the new male or the rogue today, it is exciting to see that Marla now has a mate. As the OPG Nanticoke plant is not a facility that is open to visitors, the CPF, Ulrich Waterman from BC International and Jacob Clements from OPG are going to continue to be your eyes and ears on your local pair of peregrines. We will post all of the news and pictures on our website so that you can stay in touch with Ms. Marla and her new mate. A huge thank you to Ontario Power Generation Nanticoke for sponsoring the Haldimand area schools this week and a special thank you to Jacob Clements for attending the presentation and taking time with me at the plant for a check in. Your support of the peregrines at the plant and our education program is so greatly appreciated!!
Posted on November 24, 2011 9:45 am
November 23, 2011 - Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton
Frank Butson Reports:
Reporting for Lyn
A short report today, 20111123
I crossed over Eglinton from the bank and saw the female peregrine making a bee-line for something low along Eglinton and then she swerved behind the Bell Canada building. I waited for a few minutes and saw her return to her perch on the south face of the Rio-Can building. She sat for a minute or two and again swept off the perch, over the corner of the Canada Square building, over Yonge Street and then she reappeared from behind the CIBC building on the corner. Again she returned to her perch and at this point I went inside - I was freezing!
Posted on November 24, 2011 7:13 am
November 19, 2011 - Mississauga - Executive Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Frank and I stopped in today at the MEC site to check in on Infinity and her mate Eternity. We found Eternity on MEC 2 in his favourite spot facing the nest building but we couldn’t initially spot Infinity. As we were changing sightlines, she glided in from the northeast and swooped up beautifully to land on MEC 3. She wasn’t there long before she was off again and flew lazy recon circles around all of her buildings. She made a pass in front of Eternity and he then decided to join her in the sky for a tandem flight up to the nest box. This was followed by a great deal of vocalizations with her on top of the box and Eternity on the northern most corner of MEC 1. The male then took off on a hunt while she remained on the nest building. We were then joined by Winston who we were pleased to introduce to this site and pair. We then watched as Infinity made a very determined flight to the north but she was gone only a few minutes before returning to the nest building. It was there she stayed and relaxed through the rest of the evening.
Posted on November 19, 2011 10:03 pm
November 17, 2011 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
Dennis Patrick Reports:
Dennis and I were down town this morning and stopped by the Bridge. We saw Freddie and Voltaire sitting on the East side of the Abudment, she appeared to have a full crop. It was so good to see them both sitting on the same ledge together. Now we have to wait until Spring to see how many babies they have.
Gwen & Dennis Site Co-ordinators CPF
Posted on November 17, 2011 1:48 pm
