Canadian Peregrine Foundation

All 3 Young Flying Well

- Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton

Frank Butson Reports:

Lyn Reports: I braved the hot and humid weather and went out at 5:30pm looking for the Peregrines.I looked skywards and found two youngsters on the Southwest corner of the RioCan building.

!!! While the kids maybe out of the house, the parents still have the hardest job ahead of them!

July 03, 2010 - Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton

Mark Nash Reports:

While the “kids” maybe away from the house (or off the nest ledge) at the moment, its only for a short time. The resident adults still have the hardest part of their job still to come.

Ongoing protection, feeding and training the “teenagers” to fend for themselves is a huge task for the two resident adults.

So far, the three remaining fledglings seem to be doing quite well, staying aloft and away from the windows. The very good news: Is that each of the juveniles have all brushed up into the windows, and unlike many other birds, the young peregrines actually learn the dangers of the windows, and if they hit them softly and don’t injure themselves on these initial collisions, they do learn to stay away from glass.

This is an important lesson learned, as they will soon be picking up incredible speeds as they get older and more experienced, and if they have not learned the “window lesson “ early in their flight development, collisions with the windows at advanced ages usually results in serious injury or most often mortality due to the speeds that the juveniles are now travelling. We actually hope that they experience the “window lesson” early in their maiden flights, as they are slow and sloppy in their flights, and usually hit them softly at this stage.

For the next 30 to 60 days, the juveniles will be utilizing the nest ledge and still sleeping there most nights. Far from independent and able to feed them selves at this point, the youngsters have much to learn now that they can fly.

The adults will have to teach them many of the life skills that the juveniles will have to learn to survive to adulthood, or should I say, just survive another day)!!

Remember that by mid September, thousands of years of hard wired instincts will have the young juveniles head south on a migration and with upwards of an 80% mortality and many perils and risks, the juveniles will need all of the help that they can just to survive their first year.

The adult parents have their job cut out for them while teaching the juveniles how, what and where to hunt food, and how to recognize and escape from all of the “bad guys” out there. At this point, even their landings are terrible, as it takes allot of practice just to brake and coordinate a good landing!

Even after the juveniles have learned what to hunt (where and how to hunt it), there will be many trials and errors (misses and failures) before they are actually able to catch anything them selves, and this will take some time to hone their hunting skills. During this entire period, they will still be dependant on their adults parents for all of their food.

Stay tuned, and look to the skies, as the best viewing is yet to come!!

Fledge Watch Video

- Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton

Frank Butson Reports:

Please enjoy this overview of the Yonge and Eglinton Fledgling Watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmp0liSv9II

!!! A visitor drops in!

July 02, 2010 - Toronto - King Street

Mark Nash Reports:

A huge thank you to David and Thomas Charnock for sending in this photo of one of the young juvenile peregrines from the Toronto downtown King Street nest site that dropped in for a visit on thier window ledge. Now flighted and holding their altitude and investigating their new world in 3-D, the young fledglings should be visible and making regular appearances throughout the summer as they learn the ways of urban living.
Keep your camera’s and binoculars handy, as the best peregrine watching is yet to come!

3 Flying High..Fledge Watch Ends

- Toronto - Canada Square Building - Yonge and Eglinton

Frank Butson Reports:

Cyclone,Typhoon and Tara black band 22/X are all flying well and high now. On June 30th we found all 5 Peregrine Falcons on the RIO building,Mom,Dad and 3 kids. Many strong high flights were made by all 3 juveniles.  We saw Typhoon brought food,which he snatched away and took to the roof to eat.  The adults put on amazing flying displays,kiting and going into dives while hunting.

  July 1,all 3 juveniles again were flying high and well. The young Peregrines were making many long strong flights and making good landings. Their range is increasing with their flying abilities. Mark,Lyn and I spent a great deal of time trying to get the band number of the adult male. Both Mark and I could clearly see the Black over Green band with a number 8 over N,M,H or the number 4. Our best possibly view was hampered by glare from the sun. This bird has a black iodized US Fish and Wildlife band. We are hoping that in combination with the information that this male has an old healed injury to his right wing allows for an ID. 

With all 3 young Peregrines flying so well,the official dawn to dusk fledge watch has come to an end. We will spot check the site over the next several weeks to see all is well and possibly get the other band number. We thank all of the volunteer watchers,especially Lyn for all her help,all the security and maintanence staff involved in rescues and releases,property managers for access and in general making it all possible and the many neighbors and members of the public who took interest and stopped for information and helped in rescues. Thanks to Toronto EMS and 53 Division Police as well. When all these parties work together in co-operation,Fledge Watches go amazingly well and aid their threatened Peregrine Falcons. We hope to be back same time next year!

First Successful Catch???????

July 01, 2010 - Burlington - Lift Bridge

Sue McCreadie Reports:

This evening out of nowhere, we spotted Brant trying to land on the cable wires.  To our surprise, he was carrying a bird in his talons.  Was this the first successful catch?  I think so, because there was absolutely no sign of Mom and Dad nor the typical screaming when Mom or Dad deliver dinner.  As a matter of fact, Mom and Dad had not been seen for most of the day.  Sister Diana rushed out to meet Brant screaming but she soon realized that he was not sharing.

!!! While we have received no updates on the nesting activities of the London peregrines, there is still lots of peregrine activity!!

July 25, 2010 - London - TD Tower

CPF Postmaster Reports:

Hi…
I live on St. Bees Close in north London about a km north of University of Western Ontario.
This past Friday June 25, 2010 about 6 pm, a peregrine falcon (not sure of sex) was in the middle of the street, with a young starling in its talons and about 10 adult starlings standing and swooping down on it to try and get it to let the youngster go.
Quite a sight and very unexpected.
Jim Durham

!!! A new family!

June 30, 2010 - Etobicoke - William Osler

Mark Nash Reports:

Hi Mark & Matt
I was able to get a couple of pics through the peep hole of the chicks today. Still one egg left to hatch, fingers crossed.
Photos to follow.
Joe

!!! Cotton Ball Confirmation!!

June 29, 2010 - Etobicoke - William Osler

Tracy Simpson Reports:

As they have been affectionately referred to, there are now two lovely little “cotton ball” chicks at the William Osler site!!  At 8:00pm this evening, thanks to the amazing folks in security, I was able to get an accurate count of the chicks that have hatched, totalling two so far.  The adult female, who’s identification still eludes us, was revealing little to nothing of what she protected underneath her on such a chilly night in June.  She was amazing at concealing the 2 to 3 day old chicks from the elements and my view until the resident adult male, Hurricane, made an appearance with food.  Although the chicks are too young for feeding right now, the male is on top of it anyways, just in case.  I will be checking back in over the weekend to see if the third egg has hatched and how our new parents are doing with their family.

Congratulations everyone at William Osler!!

!!! Well this is the year of the glass balconies!! Yet another fledgling entrapped behind a glass balcony! It’s Zera!

June 30, 2010 - Toronto - King Street

Mark Nash Reports:

Yet another call from Toronto Wildlife after they received a call from Rob, an employee with Image Design who calls from his cell phone while working at job site at George and Adalide in downtown Toronto, as he watches a young banded peregrine falcon struggle to get free from yet another glass balcony enclosure.

Identified as Zera by her 18 over X black band, she was produced at the Toronto 18 King Street nest site this year, and has hopefully learned a valuable lesson today about urban living. Uninjured and very peeved off, Zera was rescued safe and sound and will be released back to her parents and the nest site at 18 King Street nest site were she was produced.

With all of the rescues so far this year, we are very thankful that all of these fledglings are banded, as it makes it very easy to both identify them, and to know exactly what nest site they are to be re-released!! Without the band identifications, terrible mistakes could be made releasing a young fledgling back to the wrong nest territory, as the residents adults would not tolerate anything other than “their young” being in their territory. The fledglings have clearly demonstrated that they don’t always come down in their own territory, (remembering that they are birds and do fly some distances away from their nest sites), and in some cases have been grounded by the other resident adults in a territory other than theirs. While these errors in judgement on behalf of the young fledgling usually results in the fledgling’s mortality as they are dispatched very quickly by the other resident territorial adults, we sometimes do get lucky when the fledgling strays from it’s home turf, and are able to retrieve them if they are unharmed. With some of our urban nest sites being so close to one another, (and the juveniles having yet learned what the invisible lines are that each parent has defined as “their protected territory”), venturing or wandering into unknown territory can be very dangerous indeed!
Peregrines, (as many other birds of prey), especially during the family rearing and fledgling time, are very territorial and overly protective of both their territory and their young, Rarely do the adults tolerate outsiders of any kind, as any outsiders are either killed or driven out of the area in very short order!
Just ask some of the building engineering staff and the window washers trying to wash the windows on other buildings in the area at this time of year!

A huge thank you you to the Aspen Ridge Homes rescue team and all of the guys that made a effort to find us, Fab, John, Rob, Greg, Joe and all of the other guys that showed that everyone can make a difference!
Photos will follow