Walter Fisher sent this great close-up video of the Peregrine Falcon he and I saw on Nov 21 at Humber Bay Park East in westend Toronto. http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2mo9sav&s=6
On Nov 21, Walter and I were down at Humber Bay Park East in Torontos westend. It is right at the lakeshore. The adult Peregrine flew past me as I was searching for other birds. It flew out of my lines of sight,so I thought that was pretty cool and continued my search. As I continued on some time later,I spotted the silhouette of a raptor perched in a tree. Looking into the sun,I was fairly certain it was the Peregrine,but wasnt sure. I ventured abit closer and confirmed it was a Peregrine. Walter and I began a slow approach,not wanting to spook the bird. After 2 ladies walked right under the tree oblivious to the birds presence,I moved as close as I dared. I could not see a band on the birds left leg at all,and it was well seen on at least 2 or 3 occassions. The Peregrine was likely digesting a meal,as it had a full crop. It sat for at least 10-15minutes while we watched. It watched various small ducks intently,despite appearing full.It was a great find and really made my day. Please enjoy the video I put together.
We had a great turnout for the Steel City Safari, at Mohawk College in Hamilton, this past Sunday. Our 4th year attending, the CPF one of many attendees who brought interesting animals for children and adults alike to see up close. The event was an amazing success!
Nova
Joining Marion, Tracy and Bruce at the booth were a few of our educators - Alex, a female western Great Horned Owl, Falon, a female Peregrine Falcon, and our newest and youngest educator, Nova, a male Peregrine Falcon less than a year old.
Alex
It was great to meet everyone who dropped by the booth. If you missed us at the Steel City Safari, we will be attending the Toronto Motorcycle Show, December 11 to 13. Come by the booth and meet the educators.
Falon
CPF is visiting schools all around southern Ontario with educators like Alex, Falon and Nova. Contact us if you want Project School Visit to stop at your school.
Join many who support the CPF through donations and membership.
Bill and I dropped by the Lift Bridge this afternoon around 3:00. After a quick look around, we spotted Sir on the cable arm of the Hamilton Tower and Cirrus on a picnic table. It wasn’t long before Sir flew to the picnic table and we realized that Cirrus was plucking a recent catch. A few chirps from Sir would indicate that he was begging for a meal. Bill was able to catch a few photos of the pair.
Bill and I visited Mountsberg Raptor Centre today to photograph Pittsburgh Pete. We are happy to report that as he cannot be released into the wild we felt he is in a good place. He is being well cared for and was sunning himself on a perch in the enclosed ring. Amy from Mountsberg reports that he is settling in quite nicely, but still has a little way to go to be totally comfortable around people. As far as she can tell, he has not had a seizure since September. Below are a couple of photos from our visit. Amy told us today that he has a distinct scar from his injury and that his crop fills to the side not to the front as normal.
Canadian Peregrine Foundation will be at the Steel City Safari on Sunday, November 15th at Hohawk College of Applied Art and Technology in Hamilton. I believe the doors open at 10am, and it wraps up around 5pm.
All ticket income is donated directly to the CHML Children’s Fund, so come out and support a great cause.
If you plan on attending, drop by the CPF booth to say hi. We’ll have some of our education birds out for everyone to meet.
See you Sunday!
Update on Kate’s Blog on Pete and it’s good news! Here is the link to the article complete with a recent photo!
http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2009/11/01/pittsburgh-pete-has-a-home/
And here is the link to his new home where there is a nice write up introducing Pete.
http://mountsbergraptorcentre.blogspot.com/2009/10/pittsburgh-pete.html
A big thank you to Kate, Judy and the Mountsberg Raptor Centre for keeping us updated on Pete and ensuring that he has a home and will be cared for!
Bill and I stopped by the Lift Bridge this afternoon to see what we could see. After searching the Hamilton Hydro Tower and under the Skyway, with no luck, we decided to check out the other favourite spot, the face of the Hamilton Tower. Low and behold, there sat Mom and Dad just a few feet apart. (We are assuming it’s Mom and Dad as we didn’t get a look at any bands.) Mom appeared to be standing guard and Dad was enjoying himself preening. The pigeons were everywhere, so I guess neither were hungry as there was no hunting taking place. Looks like the adults are going to stay for the winter.
The Canadian Peregrine Foundation sometimes recieves reports of various birds of prey,which are mistaken for Peregrine Falcons. We dont mind this,and encourage people to report possible Peregrine sightings to us,particularily if its believed the bird is in trouble/injured. We are also often sent photos to ID. It is in this context that I submit this report,to possibly aid folks in recognizing a Merlin. As it is a falcon,the confusion is understandable.
This Merlin perched in a tree at Rosetta McClain Gardens in Toronto Canada. It preened and watched as possible prey flew by it,eventually taking flight to try to catch first an American Goldfinch and then later a Northern Flicker(woodpecker family member),before disappearing. We were fortunate to watch 2 Merlins in a “dogfight” another day. They whizzed around the park at breakneck speed and came up so close to 2 observers they made them duck out of the way.
This video isnt the greatest but does show relative size and a few behaviors http://tinypic.com/r/6rhq55/3
Three falcons here this morning, Angel, Jack and Elena!! Last Thursday and Friday, Jack spent most of the days here with Angel in close proximity and no sign of any juveniles at all. Although I didn’t see any bowing and scraping myself, there was alot of time spent together on the nest ledge between them.
This morning when I arrived Elena was on the ledge beneath the ADP sign and Jack was on the sign, with Angel on the opposite side on the nest ledge. A few minutes later Jack departed to chase breakfast and Elena immediately flew to his perch on the ADP sign as if to say ‘about time you gave me back my spot!’.
Elena is now on the sign and mom is in front of the nestbox preening and no doubt Jack is off somewhere enjoying breakfast!
If anyone is out in the Port Hope area, keep your eyes peeled for a female falcon named Quest. She won’t be hard to spot as she has a transmitter on her for tracking purposes. She is daughter to Mariah and Kaver of Rochester and her location shows she has spent the past few months up in that area and even ventured into Etobicoke in the past few weeks. It would be great if someone spotted her and took some photos for all her followers!