May 07, 2010 - Toronto - King Street
Mark Nash Reports:
They say patients is a virtue and it eventually pays off. Well,, that is indeed the case for all of us today. (Thank goodness we didn’t have sit all of this time incubating waiting for the big moment)!!
Because of the rain and vehicle problems, I was unable to attend to my scheduled field work, and was stuck at the car dealer waiting for the much needed repairs to be completed.
A big thank you of the car dealer and their free customer hi-speed internet connection, I was able to catch up on some of the long overdue e-mail and the web cameras. I was very lucky to whitness (well sort of) the first egg hatch at the Toronto King Street nest site. After attempting to snap dozens of photos (I was not successful to capturing the actual hatch), we did capture several good shots of the resident adult female standing and turning, hovering and looking down onto her “newest family member”! We did catch her finally removing and discarding the empty egg shell from her first hatchling.
Sadly, because of the darkened skies, heavy overcast, the cold breezes and rain, and the light being very poor in most of the shots, (in addition to and mom staying pretty tight on the new hatchling to protect it from the cold breezes and driving rain), we did get a few shots. After much photo-fixing to one of the photos, I was able to get something worth posting that you can recognize.
Congratulations on the first to hatch!
Posted on May 7, 2010 5:18 pm
May 02, 2010 - Scarborough - Bell
CPF Postmaster Reports:
With allot of excitement and anticipation of a nest in the making over the past five months, we are saddened to report the unidentified resident (off again - off again) peregrines have flown the coop! After months of daily and weekly sightings of an adult pair of peregrines hanging around the Bell building and were observed going in and out of the old hack box, it appears that they flown the coop. The last three weeks have been a bust as they say, in that we have not seen either of the adults on site for the past three weeks. The usual roosts around the territory (including that of the huge water tower at Warden and Eglinton) has also been void of any peregrine sightings during this same time frame.
Today, and for the last week, we have seen crows, pigeons, Sharpies, and now Kestrels on the building roof top, but no signs of any peregrine activity at all.
We can only speculate that the peregrines were either sub adults not biologically ready to produce, moved to another more attractive nest location, or that they simply failed at bonding & courtship with one another. Remember that the female does not accept every male suitor that comes a calling!
We will continue to keep a very close eye on the old hack box that drew their attention in the first place.
Stay tuned……….
Posted on May 7, 2010 4:08 pm
May 05, 2010 - Scarborough - Yellow Pages
CPF Postmaster Reports:
Its been a while since we have been able to provide an update on the birds progress. With thanks to the building engineering staff , Margaret and Kathy, it appears that the first clutch of eggs that the pair had laid have failed. Engineering staff report that they observed several fresh half egg shells and other egg fragments on one of the north side upper ledges, (in the same place where the peregrines attempted to nest last year.
Margaret and Kathy report that the peregrines are being observed on a regular basis on the north of the nest building on atop of a pillar where they nested last year. Given what we already know about the birds first nesting attempt and the first clutch of eggs earlier in the season, it appears that they are on the second nesting attempt. With both resident adults birds being seen at the same time, there is still indication of any full time incubation happening. The birds and the chosen nest ledge can easily be viewed from the street level at Burrows Hall Park.
Stay tuned…
Posted on May 7, 2010 3:48 pm
May 07, 2010 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
11:40 am and observed female flying around and male was in the nestbox quite visible. Female came in with food a minute later and they switched places and could see her head bobbing up and down, she did not lay down but looking more like she was giving food to someone. It was a quick feed and she then went to drop off leftovers to one of their cache locations which I clearly saw. She went straight back to the nest box and was fussing about and then alarm calling started from the nestbox. Female immediately went to roof ledge and touched beaks with male as he took off southward. She then went back into the nestbox but I could seeing her watching Jack, he headed towards some vultures and they took changed course. He returned to the ledge and to his perch. All is quiet for now.
Posted on May 7, 2010 12:34 pm
May 06, 2010 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
CPF Postmaster Reports:
I’m feeling like a broken record today…same scene as last night! 10 minutes after Rhea Mae finished feeding supper to the triplets Tiago showed up with more food! Better picture tonight…the whole family is in the frame!
Eileen
Posted on May 7, 2010 9:32 am
May 06, 2010 - Mississauga - Executive Centre
CPF Postmaster Reports:
A quick check in at MEC caught the adult female talking a stretch and she exsposed her four unhatched eggs.
Posted on May 6, 2010 9:10 pm
May 06, 2010 - Port Colborne - ADM Mill
Doug Garbutt Reports:
Believe it or not, another egg appeared today. For a brief moment, the female was off the scrape & I clearly saw 4 eggs. The 4th egg could have been there before Monday (when full incubation started) but out of camera view. The camera covers most of the scrape but not the whole thing. Another good thing is that dad (who we call Buffalo Bill) is now pitching in with the incubation process. Hopefully he wasn’t shooting blanks & the eggs are fertilised, as they are taking very good care of them to date.
Posted on May 6, 2010 7:44 pm
May 06, 2010 - North York - Nest
Bruce Massey Reports:
Over the Winter and Spring I have been monitoring the North York Birds. During the Winter they were seen individually but not together until around the first of April. Since the beginning of May the Birds have been concentrating in the Yonge & Finch area, predominately on the North American Center. As I work in the area I usually see one or the other first thing in the Morning and again in the early PM (1230-1300 Hrs).
Since a pair of peregrines nested 2 years ago I have been keeping watch on them, and last year they spent the summer checking out various buildings from Sheppard to Finch but to my knowledge did not have a successful Nest since 2008. I also touched base with the Building’s Maintenance Supervisor, last year and again this year, and got some very Interesting reports, and if confirmed, Important Information. The Male is Banded, (This alone makes it a New Male, if you remember the two birds that nested in 2008 were not Banded) but the most Important News was that the Band was “Reddish” in colour. This colour would suggest the Bird is a ” Canadian Hack Released Bird”. It also represents the first time one of these birds have been reported nesting here from Canada or the US. In the following days and Weeks I will attempt to confirm the Above and also try to see and if possible the Female is also Banded. Of course I will also determine if there will be a nest this year or not.
Posted on May 6, 2010 4:58 pm
May 05, 2010 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
CPF Postmaster Reports:
Rhea Mae fed the 3 eyases supper at 6:15, then tucks them in for a nap.
20 minutes later, Tiago arrives with another snack. Although it’s a bit dark in the corner of the nest box, it’s still nice to see them together!
Eileen
Posted on May 5, 2010 8:34 pm
May 05, 2010 - Toronto - King Street
Linda Woods Reports:
I caught this image off the web cam late this afternoon. All four eggs are still intact and accounted for. Since we don’t know eggsactly when they were laid, I guess perhaps by May 15th we should see a hatch.
Posted on May 5, 2010 7:11 pm
