Radisson - 2012 / Ivy & Princess

[birdcamfan]

I still can't get used to Smiley's name. My BIL has a cat named Smiley and that is who I see when I hear the name

[The Peregrine Chick]

Smiley is napping on the edge of the nestbox at the moment ...

[The Peregrine Chick]

Smiley and Joli were courting in the nestbox on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, nothing so far today but they often turn up in the afternoon.  Will be interesting to see what happens next year - if both Smiley and Cowboy come back, she could choose either of them since she hasn't successfully nested with anyone yet.

When these two stop visiting the nestbox that should be it I think for Winnipeg.  And if RCF hasn't had any visitations in the Brandon area then will begin the long wait for next spring ... 

[allikat]

Bird on the nest ledge right now. I believe it's Princess.

Good spottin' B!  Way to keep on lookin' up!

[The Peregrine Chick]

McDermot's transmitter is still spitting out some data and he's still in the province and between Oct 2 and 6th, he was still within 50km of Winnipeg though he was south of the City which is at least some progress 

[bev.]

I am surprised you still have falcons around. although ours do not typically leave till around Oct8th but left earlier this year.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Bird on the nest ledge right now. I believe it's Princess.

If you have any photos bccs, even ones from a distance, please send them along!!!  I heard through the grapevine that someone may have spotted Princess south of Omaha and I'm trying to track it down now so a photo would be very useful.  Given what we have been watching on the cameras (east and west side cams) I'm inclined to think that you perhaps saw either Smiley or Joli though - he's got the same leg band colour combination as Princess but  Joli looks more like Princess than he does.  Joli & Smiley have been at the nestbox and around the Radisson all week and we haven't had a confirmed sighting of Princess in close to a month and nothing of Ivy in a couple of weeks I believe.  Given how protective she is of this site she wouldn't tolerate Joli and Smiley playing house in "her" house so I think you may have had the closest (physically close) sighting of these two since the spring when we initially got their band numbers - well done!

[Kinderchick]

Wow! Amazing to hear that Princess is still around!

[bccs]

Bird on the nest ledge right now. I believe it's Princess.

[The Peregrine Chick]

1315h

Both Smiley and Joli have been "playing house" in the nestbox this morning.  Lots of head-bowing and kakking at one another.  Smiley is the leader, gets to the box, followed a few seconds up to a minute later by Joli and then they are both in the box displaying to/for each other.  Smiley takes off first, Joli hangs around for a bit longer - 2 to 20 minutes - then she too takes off into the wild blue (or snowy overcast grey).

It's snowing downtown at the moment ... will try to get some screen grabs from just before lunch - it looked like an late spring snowstorm!  Especially with a peregrine sitting on the edge of the nestbox  

[The Peregrine Chick]

Yesterday (the 7th) just Smiley in the nestbox a couple of times.  Joli might have come in on the ledge once and then turned around and took off again, but that is just based on size and it was so fast that it's just a "might have", more likely it was Smiley, he does like the ledgecam corner when it's sunny - it catches the sun better at certain times of the day.

This morning (the 8th) both birds were back at the box - could just see the bi-coloured bands in the gloom, no numbers, heck no colours it was so dark at the time, just that the top was darker than the bottom and more noticeable on the smaller bird (black over green) than on the larger (black over red).

Smiley is a very pretty bird - Dennis and I both commented on it before we knew who he was in the spring.  And his name is a great choice in honour of the first nesting location of peregrines in Grand Forks however, it will take me time to get used to calling him by his name if he's back next year and finds a lady-friend to nest with!  It will be a wee bit easier because he is just such a pretty bird - he reminds me of Trey and Ty - must be something about T-named birds and some of the children of T-named birds - Smiley's mom is Terminator.

[The Peregrine Chick]

We have had lots of in/out at the nestbox today - Smiley and Joli are practicing or hedging their bets!  Cowboy is quite a bit older than Joli so like Sandy the last few falls, she is making new "friends" just in case for next year.  Having said that, because Cowboy and Joli haven't actually nested, they can't really be considered an established pair, she might take off with Smiley next year even if Cowboy is around.

We are working on some new condos so if we do have an "extra" pair (or two) in town next year, they will be able to find a place to park their eggs!

[Kinderchick]

Keep in mind that its not that they can't stay here year-round, just that they don't, or rather the anatum subspecies migrates.  Madame was here for 15 years winter and summer so it can be done, just that they don't ... or at least none have since Madame ...

Ah, yes, I remember you telling us about Madame spending the whole winter in Winnipeg, TPC. I just thought that she was the exception and that it was very unusual for a peregrine falcon to be spending the winter here in Manitoba, with such a cold climate. I was thinking that Madame must have had an exceptional constitution.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Okay, had bird(s) popping onto the nestbox edge a couple of times today but didn't stay long enough to so much as zoom in on it/them.

However, about 1600h, Joli turned up in the nestbox with a meal, shorebird I think.  A bit later in jumped a bird to pick at the remains and I thought it was Joli until I realized that our black/green bird had turned up again (remember yesterday morning?) and I got a look at the bird's band and guess who, Smiley from Grand Forks is back!  So today we definitely have at least two birds downtown - Joli and Smiley.  Yesterday we had three - a black banded male that never came near the camera so I'm pretty sure it wasn't Ivy, a black/green bird who I assume is Smiley and the black/red bird who we identified as Joli. 

Actually, what I have noticed is that the non-resident birds are more than a little wary about the cameras - makes it easy to spot them in fact.  Ivy, Princess and the chicks have no problems standing right in front of the camera - the "tourists" tend to say right on the edge of the outside-box-cam range, one of the reasons it takes along time to get their band numbers.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Two birds in the nestbox today just after 0700h.  Light was way to dim and gloomy to even guess at who it might be I'm afraid.  Nothing since, well, except that the snow in the nestbox and the ice on the ledge have melted.  Winter, ugh