2012 - Kinderchicklets / Welcome Home, Princess & Ivy!

[The Peregrine Chick]

Smiley is related to Brooklyn the male in Brandon.  Brooklyn is Smiley's uncle because Brooklyn and Terminator (that's Smiley's mom) have the same mom - her name was Holly.

[The Peregrine Chick]

And you were asking about Smiley's name ... we'll he got his name because the nest he hatched in a nestbox on a water tower in Grand Forks, North Dakota and that water tower had a big smiley face on it, so that's how he got his name! 



The tower was built in 1932 and was taken down in 2009.  When the tower was taken down, the nestbox was moved to another water tower just a little distance away at the University of North Dakota.  Terminator and Roosevelt (Smiley's dad) moved to the new nestbox in 2010 and have beeen nesting there ever since.


Here's some more photos of the Smiley Water Tower - the tower actually had two faces, one on opposite side of the towers - one just smiling, the other winking! 
http://weburbanist.com/2011/10/23/thirst-class-10-wet-wild-wacky-water-towers/?ref=search

[The Peregrine Chick]

Hey Kinderchicklets - glad you are here!  Soon you will be able to watch Princess and Ivy in Winnipeg and Hurricane and Brooklyn in Brandon on the internet!

You were asking where Princess and Ivy go during the winter?  We don't know exactly where they spend the winters but we think it is probably in Mexico along the coast somewhere.  Peregrine falcons like Princess and Ivy spend their winters somewhere between Mexico in the north and Venezuela in the south (Mrs French can show you where those countries are).  Some of Ivy's aunts and uncles and cousins have been seen further south than Mexico and some on the islands in the Caribbean but most of our birds here in Manitoba seem to like to hang out in Mexico, so that's where we think Princess and Ivy go too.

[Kinderchick]

Hi Tracy! The 2012 "Kinderchicklets" are really looking forward to watching the Manitoba Peregrine Falcons on the webcams, hopefully, sometime near the end of May. For the past few weeks, I have begun to tell them them all about Princess & Ivy, Jules & Beau and Hurricane & Brooklyn. Needless to say, they are getting pretty excited about seeing some Winnipeg Peregrine Falcons, especially after watching Swift & Beau in Australia this past winter.

This morning, I told them that Princess & Ivy have recently arrived back in town, from their long trip "down south" for the winter. I have also told them that Jules & Smiley are in town. They think that "Smiley" is a pretty funny name for a peregrine falcon and asked me if he smiles a lot. So, I showed them a photo of Smiley that Dennis took and they said that he doesn't look very "smiley" to them. LOL! And so, the questions have begun.

Here is their 1st question... "Where do Princess & Ivy go in the winter?"

The 'chicklets will be away from school for a week now, since Spring Break is just beginning but some of their parents may help them check out the Forum this coming week. As well, some may even take a trip downtown to see if they can spot a peregrine falcon near the Radisson!