June 14, 2011 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
After checking in at Etobicoke Sun Life, I made my way up to the site to settle in for the afternoon and arrived to find all three juveniles on the nest ledge and no parents in sight. It was a good half an hour before Hurricane, the resident male, arrived and landed on the hydro tower directly east of the nest ledge. There was a great deal of vocalizations from the young at his arrival but it wasn’t until 1:27pm that Hurricane made his way over to the east facing “H” sign to prep lunch. Hurricane then called for O’Connor, almost as if to ask permission to feed, and when he got no reply he stashed the food and went back to the hydro tower to wait. O’Connor, the resident female, arrived at 2:30pm and Hurricane quickly went to get the food and proceeded with his assigned duties. The three chicks cornered him between the pillar and the wall and refused to allow him to leave until they were full. He was chased by the young so relentlessly that he lost control of the feeding twice and had to regain the food from Wind, one of the young females, to continue on.
Back at the tower with feeding all done, the two adults enjoyed a quiet moment while keeping close watch. O’Connor flew over to the ledge and retrieved some food and Storm, the male chick, sat about 4 feet away screaming but dared not touch it or rush her for a feeding. Seconds later Hurricane landed further down the nest ledge and he was once again rushed by the chicks and mobbed until they were satisfied. It is clearly evident that the chicks don’t mess with Mom at all!!
By 5:00pm, the young had once again eaten ( stolen from Dad ) and O’Connor was perched on the east “H” relaxing. Bruce and I watched as she took off without a sound and made a focussed and determined power flight due east. It took us a moment to realize what she was after. A local Red tailed hawk was approximately a kilometre away and she went right for it. This huge female hawk had no idea what hit her. O’Connor was stooping her and attempting to grab the RTH by the back. Hurricane joined the effort and over the next 10 minutes, Bruce and I sat in awe watching the ejection of this bird from the territory. O’Connor, the resident female, would grab the hawk by the back in mid air which caused it to flip over and present its talons. O’Connor would then grab the bird by the talons and spiral down with it for a good 3 to 5 seconds, all the while biting at the bird. When the two released their grip on each other, Hurricane would clobber it with a full stoop attack. This series of grab, flip, lock, release and smack continued on for at least 5 kilometres until Bruce and I could no longer see them. O’Connor easily made half a dozen lock on grabs of the bird and spiralled down with it for several seconds each time. I must admit I have never seen an attack like this in all my years doing this!!!
I can’t say what happened to the female Red tailed hawk that our resident pair took on but I can tell you that 10 minutes after it all began, both adults were back on their hydro tower perch preening and roosting as if nothing had happened. I must say that O’Connor is one of the most brave, relentless, powerful and determined female peregrine falcons I have ever met. What a Mom!!
Posted on June 14, 2011 8:43 pm
June 14, 2011 - Burlington - Lift Bridge
Sue McCreadie Reports:
Paul Reynolds reported that at 5:10 this morning; Lady Lamont was sitting on a light on the harbor side of the Burlington Tower. Thank goodness she had survived the night and had made her way to the edge of the Tower. At 5:30am she was flapping her wings. Mom definitely knew where she was and appeared to dive bomb her at one point.
When Bill and I arrived at 7:45am she was sitting on one corner of the Burlington Tower and Mom was sitting on the other corner. At 8:00am Lady Lamont started working her way along the edge of the Tower flapping and vocalizing the whole way. Mom was sitting on the Eye Bolt and Dad was flying between the cable arm and the wires. By 8:42am Lady Lamont had made her way directly over the nest box and both sisters were looking at each other and vocalizing. For the rest of the morning Lady Lamont made her way around the Tower flapping and running and sleeping.
At around 12 noon, Bill and I left for some lunch and when we returned, Mark Nash informed us that we had just missed a pretty good flight. At 12:35pm Lady Lamont left the roof of the Burlington Tower and flew to the Hamilton Tower with an unsuccessful landing. She came around and made her way back to the Burlington Tower landing on the lake side cable arm. At 12:45pm she flew again to the Hamilton Tower again an unsuccessful landing but managed to carry on to the Hamilton Hydro Tower. Mom was sitting in the Hydro Tower and appeared to pay no attention to these flights.
At 2:30pm, Lady Lamont left the Hydro Tower and flew to the Burlington Tower. It looked like she was trying to make her way back to the nest box. Again, an unsuccessful landing with a face plant on the buffer housing. She got off and landed safely on a picnic table. Over the next little while she managed to walk to cables to the Burlington Tower lake side cable arm. When we left for a break at 3:30pm, that is where she remained.
Lady Nelson continues to flap her wings and run around the nest box. Her first flight should be soon.
Stay tuned…….
Posted on June 14, 2011 5:10 pm
June 14, 2011 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Harry Crawford Reports:
When I arrived this morning at 7:30am, Sunshine was not where she
was when Linda shut the watch down last night. The adults didn’t
seem concerned and were doing their usual hunting as well as
watching the nest ledge. Around 10am, Teri from 85 Richmond West
had joined Zoe and I briefly and then she saw Sunshine come off the
roof area just above the nest. It was a very controlled and strong
flight, disappearing above 120 Adelaide West. Zoe and I went up to
the 43rd floor of the Sheraton and there she was, playing in a
puddle on the centre top of the 120 Adelaide penthouse.
The three remaining chicks were not particularly active and there
were a couple of food drops. I left just after 11:30am. Zoe and
Annie continued the watch.
Posted on June 14, 2011 3:12 pm
June 10, 2011 - Brampton - Courthouse
CPF Postmaster Reports:
June 10th - 2011
A couple of shots from today. Food was being delivered to the nest site today around 1pm. Due to the nest being out of sight, and my inability to tell the male apart from the female, all I can say for certain is that one Peregrine delivered the food to the nest site and about two minutes later, a bird left with the food in its talons. There was some vocalization coming from the nest while the food was there but with the traffic I’m sure I missed a lot.
Winston
Posted on June 14, 2011 2:25 am
June 09, 2011 - Brampton - Courthouse
CPF Postmaster Reports:
June 6th - 2011
Nothing exciting to report today. The male was perched atop a corner of the courthouse just above the nest site and basically just sat there for the time I was watching. He was bombed, again, by a make AK. I am guessing he has a nest near by. However nothing really happened while I was there today but will look again tomorrow. Here’s a nice shot of him stretching.
Winston
Posted on June 14, 2011 2:23 am
June 13, 2011 - Burlington - Lift Bridge
Sue McCreadie Reports:
Bill and I arrived at the bridge around 7:45am. One bird was visible in the box and I thought Oh Oh, we’re missing a bird. At 8:30am, Dad made a food delivery and then I knew for sure we were missing a bird. Somewhere between sun up and 7:45am, Lady Lamont had taken her first flight. By 8:43am, the search was on. Bill crossed the bridge, did a search of the Burlington side, the road and the surrounding area with no luck. I searched the Hamilton side with no luck. At 9:30am Reiner arrived and he did a thorough search of the rough ground on the South Side of the Burlington Tower again with no luck. At 10:20am, Mom made another food drop to the nest box. At 10:50am a young man named Wade, approached me riding his bike. He asked if I was watching the falcons. I replied “yes” and he told me there was one down on the North pier on the Burlington side. Mark, Bill and Dennis grabbed the rescue box and at 11:00am, Lady Lamont was rescued. Mark examined her and she appeared to be okay. She was kept inside in a dark quiet area until night fall. At 9:00pm, Mark did another examination and Lady Lamont was in fine feisty shape. She was released on the roof of the Burlington Tower under the cover of darkness. Mom and Dad were not happy to have someone on the roof. When we left at 10:00pm, everything had quieted down and hopefully Lady Lamont will stay quiet until morning when the watch will start all over again.
Thanks to Wade for his quick thinking, Reiner for his searching, Dennis for his photography and Mark for the fine art of Peregrine rescuing and releasing.
Rescue photos compliments of Dennis Williams-Yeagers.
Posted on June 13, 2011 11:27 pm
- All Reports
Sue McCreadie Reports:
Bill and I arrived at the bridge around 7:45am. I bird was visible in the box and I thought Oh Oh, we’re missing a bird. At 8:30am, Dad made a food delivery and I knew then for sure we were missing a bird. Somewhere between sun up and 7:45am, Lady Lamont had taken her first flight. By 8:43am, the search was on. Bill crossed the bridge, did a search of the Burlington side, the road and the surrounding area with no luck. I searched the Hamilton side with no luck. At 9:30am Reiner arrived and he did a thorough search of the rough ground on the South Side of the Burlington Tower again with no luck. At 10:20am, Mom made another food drop to the nest box. At 10:50am a young man named Wade, approached me riding his bike. He asked if I was watching the falcons. I replied “yes” and he told me there was one down on the North pier on the Burlington side. Mark, Bill and Dennis grabbed the rescue box and at 11:00am, Lady Lamont was rescued. Mark examined her and she appeared to be okay. She was kept inside in a dark quiet area until night fall. At 9:00pm, Mark did another examination and Lady Lamont was in fine feisty shape. She was released on the roof of the Burlington Tower under the cover of darkness. Mom and Dad were not happy to have someone on the roof. When we left at 10:00pm, everything had quieted down and hopefully Lady Lamont will stay quiet until morning when the watch will start all over again.
Thanks to Wade for his quick thinking, Reiner for his searching, Dennis for his photography and Mark for the fine art of Peregrine rescuing and releasing.
Rescue photos compliments of Dennis Williams-Yeagers.
Posted on June 13, 2011 11:19 pm
June 13, 2011 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Frank and I were on-site for the fledge watch at the Sun Life Centre and were treated to a bouncy bunch of juveniles with Angel keeping watch from her favorite position on the retaining wall above. By 3:25pm, Jack had arrived and was making some nice flights around the buildings which of course encourage a chorus of screams from Jupiter, Hera and Skye. We were joined shortly thereafter by Kathy and Baylie at our Eagle Rd. and Bloor post just in time to enjoy the entire family at the nest ledge. By 6:20pm, Jack brought in a small package of food and abandoned it on the ledge for the chicks to consume. While one chick was eager and took its fill, Angel decided that her young still required a mother’s touch and flew in to feed the other two “by hand”. After feeding time, fledge watchers Rob and Angie arrived and we were all treated to the entire family present on the nest together for a calm and quiet 20 minutes!! Angel positioned herself on the camera, Jack was on the slanted window just below and the three juveniles were spread down the ledge. Each young in turn tried to emulate their father by turning, one by one, to face into the ledge and roost on the edge, just like Dad!! It was a wonderful family moment that ended with the juveniles acting like a bunch of jack rabbits all over the ledge! At one stage Skye, our biggest instigator, was attempting to nibble on Hera’s toes and got his head pounced on as a result!!! An evening of fun until at last Angel decided to put the kids to bed at 8:27pm with a snack and a bit of herding into the back of the ledge. Frank and I will be back tomorrow to continue the watch as I am sure that we will have ”lift off” any moment now!!
Posted on June 13, 2011 11:10 pm
June 13, 2011 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Frank and I were down at the William Osler Hospital today to kick off the watch and check on Storm, Wind and Rain, the three juveniles that were under the close watch of the resident pair Hurricane and O’Connor. All three of the chicks are now out of the nest tray and exploring the ledge thatspans the circumference of the building. Most of the juveniles time was spent on the east ledge close to the nest tray but by later in the day, uncharted territory on the southeast side was the new thing to explore. To make that corner even more intriguing, both Hurricane and O’Connor were enjoying a private moment away from the kids on the south facing “H” and the juveniles were eager to follow. A feeding took place at 1:00pm and the ledge running began shortly thereafter. Shortly after we left the site to attend Etobicoke Sun Life, Bruce Massey arrived and was treated to the same level of activity as we were; lots of flapping and ledge running. There was another feeding at 7:00pm and the resident female doled out the food to each chick before settling down on her favorite corner on the southeast of the building. Although the chicks still have some down present, we expect that the male, given his rambunctious behaviour, will be ready to take his first flight any day now. Hurricane, the resident male, is encouraging the young to join him and regularly does close fly bys ( which of course fires them all up! ). We will be back tomorrow to see if our young male takes that first important flight.
Posted on June 13, 2011 10:46 pm
June 13, 2011 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Linda Woods Reports:
This afternoon a viewer sent images from the web cam. It appears Sunshine was testing her wings, saying a few prayers, and at 5:00p.m. she took off and over to the roof top of the Hilton. Her flight was steady and her landing was pretty good for the first time. No vocalizing during the flight. She seemed to be comfortable on the Hilton, no screaming when she saw the adults checking in on her.
She remained there until 8:10p.m. when she attempted a second flight back to the nest ledge. She lost a little height, and didn’t quite make it. She is now holding tight and will spend the night on a undisclosed area of the Sheraton.
Please see the pics. First one “Testing, testing” and the second image is
Preflight Prayers”
Posted on June 13, 2011 10:29 pm
