A lovely peregrine falcon just finished his/her dinner on the fence between the Alliance Francaise and The National Ballet of Canada at Spadina and Lakeshore before taking off south between the buildings. Very cool. I had no idea they wintered here. Thought it might be of interest.
Joanna
While on my way home from the Scarborough Town Centre, I decided to drive past the Consilium Towers to see if there was any raptor activity.
Driving east along Progress Ave. brought me to 200 Consilium Place, the building situated on the North West corner of Consilium Place and Progress Ave. I quickly scanned the top of the building and found a lone peregrine on the 3rd tier of the southeast corner. After waiting for about 2 minutes, a second peregrine – of larger stature, my guess would be the female – came and landed on the same ledge as the other bird.
While no breeding was present, the birds were cheeyupping with each other and, given their close proximity to one another – no more than 30ft apart – I can safely say that this is a pair of birds who know each other and obviously tolerate each other very well.
My guess is that the 2 birds were Rueben and Lawrie, and that they will be using this location as their nesting site for 2011. I’ll swing by a couple more times this week to see if any more activity is happening.
Attila Papp
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One of the 15 peregrine falcons released in Downtown Evansville in 1994 amid public fanfare was found injured by a gunshot on Dec. 22 and died on New Year’s Eve, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
The agency is seeking information on the bird’s injuries. Phoenix, a female, was found injured in Floyd County near the Interstate 64 bridge in New Albany. Phoenix was taken to the Hardy Lake Raptor Rehabilitation Center that night, but she died on Dec. 31. It was the Indiana’s Department of Natural Resource’s first contact with the bird since 1995, though Phoenix and her mate, Screech, had last been seen in Evansville in 1997. The birds were released off the roof of the six-story Centrum Building in the summer of 1994. Urban areas with tall buildings mimic the birds’ natural habitats — open river bluffs and canyons. According to a news release from the agency, Phoenix may have been nesting in the New Albany/Louisville area, where pairs breed on tall buildings and under bridges. “Most peregrine falcons are banded as nestlings and later identification can be made if individuals can be approached,” the release stated. John Castrale, a nongame bird biologist for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, said Phoenix was relatively old for her species. None of the 15 released remain in the Evansville area, but Castrale said that is normal. “They travel widely and they usually don’t stick to the site where they were released,” he said. Male peregrine falcons have been known to travel up to 100 miles from their release sites and females as much as 200 miles, according to Castrale. “Some have been known to go as far as 1,000 miles away,” he said. In 2010, at least 38 adult falcons were observed nesting in Indiana, he said, including 11 sites where eggs were laid. The location of only one other of the 15 peregrine falcons released in Evansville is currently known. Castrale said Freedom, a female, has been nesting in downtown Fort Wayne for several years. “I’m hopeful one of these days we will see them in Downtown Evansville again,” he said. A nesting box for peregrine falcons remains ready for them there. Another, a male named River Ace, was confirmed to be nesting at a power plant in southwest Ohio in 2002. The crow-sized peregrine falcons are easily confused with their smaller cousin, the American kestrel or sparrow hawk, which s also often found perched or nesting in the crevices of church steeples or tree cavities. A distinguishing characteristic of a peregrine falcon is their long pointed wings. Adult birds are slate gray with a dark helmet and sideburns, a white throat, and finely barred breast and belly. Peregrine falcons were removed from the federal endangered species list in 1999 but remain a state endangered species in Indiana. “They never were really common,” Castrale said. Up to 200 nesting pairs are known in the Midwest, he said. Anyone with information about the shooting should call (800) 847-4367 CourierPress |
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I visited the CPF Head Office last week and Cheyenne was there for a visit too. Cheyenne is our newest feathered educator. She is about 4months old now. It was a real thrill for me to hold her for the first time.
Volunteer Frank with feathered, educator Peregrine Falcon,Cheyenne.
Cheyenne supervises some work at the CPF Head Office.
Cheyenne Posing
Flapping
Close-Up
Bill and I stopped by the Lift Bridge to see what we could see. When driving in the driveway we immediately saw an Adult Peregrine chasing a flock of the local pigeons. It was quite a display, but unfortunately not a successful hunt. She returned to the cable arm on the Bay side of the Burlington Tower for a rest. A short time later she took off out over the Skyway, but was unsuccessful once again. While watching, we noticed the adult male tucked into the corner of the buffer housing. I guess he was looking for shelter from the cold wind. The white capped waves were rolling onto the shore from the lake and it was -6 degrees on the car thermometer. We didn’t hang around too long, but were happy to see that both adults appear to be hanging onto the territory. We of course were not able to identify either bird so we are assuming at this point that it is Cirrus and Sir Adam Beck.
With a big thank you to Jack Textor from Iowa, for sending us some of his shots of a white Red-tail hawk that he photographed earlier in December on one of his outings. Spotted and photographed in Des Moines, Iowa on December 18, 2010. Initially believed to be a Gyrfalcon, a closer inspection of the photos told a much different story. While not a true albino, (as his the eyes are not pink), this adult male Red-tail is never-the-less mostly all white in colour with the exceptions of a few black and brown feathers that are only visible when the bird is in flight.
What makes this bird more rarer than not, is the fact that he has survived to adulthood and so far continues to prosper. As you might imagine, being all white, living and hunting in the usual Red-tail habitats, being all white is not to your benefit, as both concealment from other larger avian and mammalian predators, and stealthy hunting would not be an easy task.
To survive to adulthood (and on wards), is quite an accomplishment. We will be interested if Jack will continue to follow this guy and send us future updates on his progress over the next months.
I developed a short summary of my involvement with the Downtown and Midtown Toronto peregrines from a volunteer’s perspective. Brief information on some of the other sites is included. The purpose for doing this was to accompany Christmas cards. Since it covers several sites, I have placed it here in the Sheraton site postings as this is where my year began.
Harry and the Peregrines – 2010 Summary
The phenomenal success of last year has repeated itself again this year. Of the available nine chicks, eight survived to the end of the watches. We also had an additional site to monitor. I worked the two downtown sites as well as Yonge and Eglinton. Because of the G20 Summit, we were issued photo id cards in case the watches overlapped the G20. Fortunately this was not the case.
The first watch was at the Sheraton Centre. Rhea Mae and Tiago had three chicks – two males, Star and Lorenzo and a female, Legacy. Star apparently likes opera. He flew into the underground parking garage, perched on a pipe and eventually flew out again. A rescue was not needed. I attended the banding at this site. Our MPP, Glen Murray, also attended and made a nice speech. It was good to get his support. Next year, the watch here is going to be more difficult now that Jan has retired and moved to France. It was great to have her high up in her perch in First Canadian Place and in almost constant radio contact. Hurricane, born here in 2004, is the resident male at the William Osler Health Centre in Etobicoke.
The next watch was at 18 King East. Erin and her mate had two chicks – Malik a male and Zera a female. We still have not identified the adult male. Zera was trapped on a glass balcony and had to be rescued. Both chicks did well and kept their height. We have word about previous chicks. Jasmine from 2001 was severely injured and had to be put down. Ely from 2008 is raising a family in central New York State. Majesty from 2002 [one of the Toronto Five] is raising another family in Flint Michigan. She is also the last survivor from this hatch. Her parents were Ponce-Kingsley and Victoria.
Just when we thought the watches were over, Mark got a call from Toronto Animal Services that a baby peregrine had to be rescued from a glass balcony near Yonge and Eglinton. Ranger and Hunter used to be the resident falcons in this area. Clearly these were different adults. The nest is located at 2200 Yonge. An emergency watch had to be set up quickly. Frank, from the Etobicoke site, took charge. Most of the downtown team participated along with Bruce and Lyn, who lives in a nearby condo. All four chicks had to be rescued with one not making it. The survivors are two females – Cyclone and Tara, and a male – Typhoon. We took the opportunity to have the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources folks band the birds when we had them in hand. Also, Lyn kept them in her condo when necessary.
At Mt. Sinai, Wind and her partner had two clutches of four eggs. Nothing hatched. There is some suspicion that the male may Hunter from Yonge and Eglinton which was another failed nest for several years. Up there, they were on the Canadian Tire building.
In Etobicoke at the Sun Life complex, Angel and Jack had three male chicks – Blackberry, Dot-com and Mercedes. Three rescues were necessary, including Blackberry from a balcony. OMNR folks later let us know that a male peregrine chick was found dead in Guelph. It was Blackberry. Mackenzie from 2009 has a mate in Burlington.
In Ottawa, Diana and Conner laid two clutches. Unfortunately nothing hatched. Nihei from 2009 was injured and died in Quebec. Zanar from 2004 has a successful nest on the Ogdensburg bridge with four chicks.
At Yonge and Bloor, the pair from last year remain. They did disappear for a couple of months during the summer but that was probably due to the number of building cranes in the area. No nesting attempts were observed. They tend to hang out at the CIBC building at Yonge and Bloor, the apartment tower in the Manulife Centre and the TD Waterhouse building at 77 Bloor West. There was no evidence that they were around the Four Seasons Hotel this year.
In Rochester, they have a new pair of adults – Archer and Beauty. From what I gather, they successfully raised three chicks this year. The nest box was moved to the top of the Times Square building downtown. The Kodak cameras were moved there as well.
The red-tailed hawks at Queen’s Park are still around and have raised a family again this year. They can now be found on the tallest of three pine trees just east of the east flag pole on the south side of the Legislature.
The turkey vultures in the Bloor and Sherborne area are still around. They are often seen in the Yonge and Bloor area being chased by peregrines. Large flocks of these birds often pass overhead. Welcome to once a week garbage pickup.
Thanks to Iain Fleming for his great photos of Peter from the Hamilton Sheraton Hotel. See The Dec 7 report for the history of Peter and his parents. It turns out Iain had lived in Hamilton and was very familiar with the Sheraton nest and Madame X.
Reports and photos like Iain’s are very important to the ongoing monitoring of Peregrine Falcons. Please report all of your sightings and be generous with your photos.
Thanks for the use of your photos Meghan and sending us your exciting sighting!
Meghan Wetmore Reports:
I wanted to send along some photos of a Peregrine Falcon I saw the other day taking a run at a Canada Goose.
I was at the Leslie St. Spit, also know as Tommy Thompson Park on Saturday December 11,2010. At 9:45am we spotted this Falcon sitting on a small outcrop near one of the small “islands” /”mudflats ? In the west side just a bit past the marina, directly opposite the boat storage area that is across the water(I have only been to the Spit once before so I am unfamiliar with the terminology of the area I was in.)
All of a sudden the Peregrine flew up and out over the water. The area was filled with ducks of all sorts. Long Tailed, Bufflehead, Mergansers, but this Falcon went straight after a Canada Goose!! It was quite a sight to see. I don’t think the Canada Goose knew what was going on, but he/she dove straight under the water to avoid the attack. I have never seen a Canada Goose dive down and completely submerge for that amount of time before After a few moments the Canada Goose emerged from under the water, looking quite upset about the whole situation. He was quite vocal and started swimming off towards a larger group of Ducks and Geese, safety in numbers,I assume. The Falcon hovered momentarily over the area and then flew off to the west and was lost to sight.I have included a few photos I took of the incident.
