Logan - 2013 / Cowboy & Jolicoeur

[The Peregrine Chick]

Had hoped to wait until I had a photo I could attach with this, but the news was posted elsewhere before it should have been, so here is this year's update on Cowboy and Joli ... hopefully a photo or two will follow along shortly!

Cowboy and Joli did manage to nest successfully this year but it was not without perils.  We had a few fights between Joli and Ivy at/near the Radisson. Cowboy and Princess likewise pitched in but they were further away from the cameras and by the time Joli was looking to lay eggs, Princess was getting closer to hatching so she had other responsibilities.  Joli had three mates ostensibly this year - first Ivy at the Radisson until Princess returned, then hot and heavy with Smiley until Cowboy returned. 

Ivy was the staunch defender of his territory and his nestsites (box and ledge) this year which is why he wasn't bringing home quite as much food or quite as often as he has done in the last couple of years.  He was a real chip off the old block - this year he looked much more like Trey than he has in the past.  His fights with Joli were not for the faint of heart and Princess certainly made her disapproval known as well.  Not surprisingly, we had to come up with a plan quickly and managed to identify a few possible emergency nestsites in hopes that Joli and Cowboy would retire from the field of battle and take up housekeeping elsewhere.  Since they had been using the area around HSC as their base of operations, we concentrated our efforts in the same approximate area.  In the end, they took us up on the offer of a tuppernest on a private building not far from HSC.  The use of this nestsite came with the agreement that we would not talk about the site until the nesting season was over - actually the end of September. 

In the end, Cowboy and Joli did stop fighting with Princess and Ivy and eventually settled down to lay three eggs. Cowboy and Joli did a great job with their first nest together (and perhaps first ever nest) and their three chicks, all males were banded and fledged without incident.  We named them Butch, Sundance and Carver in the spirit of their father's name & "western" origins.  And to-date we have had not reports of incidents or problems so hopefully they have continued to do as well as have our other three families this year.  We would prefer that if Cowboy and Joli return next year that they choose another area further away from the Radisson territory, the risk of damage to one or both of these pairs is just so high given how aggressive and tenacious these four birds have proved to be.  To that end we have installed another nestbox here in town and have hopes for get approval for two more.  Perhaps now that Joli is of breeding age, they will have more incentive to find a "safe" location to raise their young in future.

We do have some photos of the chicks but they have to be approved for release first (working on that now).  We will be speaking with the building managers about nesting there in the future and hopefully the experience hasn't been too traumatic for them (Cowboy is a wee bit hyper-aggressive and Joli is no shy flower) so that if the birds return and insist on nesting here again a) we can support them as we did this year and b) we can at least share a bit more about the pair and their family.  If they decide to relocate to the site where we have a new nestbox now, we won't have any problems providing regular updates - the same would be likely in our other two potential nest sites.  Now if we could only explain that to Cowboy and Joli ....

[birdnut]

Still seeing both birds daily.  This morning Cowboy is sitting up on the rooftop corner of the Buhler building.  Joli is on her favorite perch - the HSC antenna.
Cowboy and Joli must have had breakfast already.  A flock of 40 crows were chasing the pigeons around in circles - Cowboy and Joli just sat and watched the morning entertainment show.

[birdcamfan]

One was on the ledge under the east facing letters on Tuesday at 0600. Wednesday AM I didn't see them but there was a mega squawk-fest going on up there..certainly PF's. They have spent a lot of time up there this year, the poop art down the side of the Buhler building is splendid.

[birdnut]

U of Manitoba is fixing the broken "j" on the Buhler building, so I was not expecting to see the birds this week.  But some birdie is sitting up on the rooftop this morning and the other is up on the antenna.

[Kinderchick]

Thanks for this detailed explanation, TPC. And yes, Birdnut, I too, enjoyed your report.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Are you sure this was an adult peregrine falcon, birdnut? It almost sounds like the actions of a juvenile just learning to fly. Could it be that Cowboy & Joli might have offspring? Do the adults actually wingersize? I thought they just up and take off.  

Definitely not a juvenile - the Radisson chicks are our oldest chicks and they haven't fledged yet.  And juveniles from outside the province would not be independent enough or strong enough to get up to Winnipeg to hang out on the Buhler Building - not that they could, Cowboy is very territorial and the fact that he is hanging out in the area means that he has not intention of relinquishing his spot to anyone.

To answer your question about whether an adult wingercizes, the answer is yes but it usually is something else that is making them do that, for example, when they come in with prey if it is too large or they don't have a good grip on it or they are landing against a cross-wind, they can look like they are wingercizing.  After preening, particularly after it rains, you will see adults "dance" like the chicks, particularly if its hot and humid. And although it doesn't apply here, when peregrines play in ponds/puddles you can see them do it then as well.  If it was Cowboy, and given how territorial he can be, particularly in the face of crows/ravens in his territory, he could have been blowing off steam or ensuring they know he's around.  Because he and Joli are so close to the Radisson, they are a particularly quiet pair, so sometimes we have seen him be more physical because he can't be as vocal as perhaps he would like.

Considering that he kept going back to the same places, I think it is safe to rule out a hot roof scenario (though I do like the image of a peregrine on a hot tin roof  ).  From what I have observed of Cowboy over the last three years, I would suspect (because of course I didn't see it) that he was being  territorial in response to something on the roof/building.  Not people because at 5pm, staff aren't working on roof.  However, the crows across the street should have chicks fledging and I would guess that Cowboy was reacting to a fledgling on the roof or on one of the front balconies.  He stashes food on the signs so it could have been raiding his caches or perhaps he was trying to prevent someone from even thinking of raiding his cache.  And he's been terrorizing crows whenever he sees/finds them since he turned up in 2011 ...

Good report Birdnut 

[Kinderchick]

... But last night at 5:00, some birdie(Cowboy??) was wingercizing on the ledge that runs across the south end of the Buhler.  He would hang on the the very edge, wingercizing for awhile, lose control, take off, fly in a circle, land again on the same spot and then start all over again.  I watched him do it three times...

Are you sure this was an adult peregrine falcon, birdnut? It almost sounds like the actions of a juvenile just learning to fly. Could it be that Cowboy & Joli might have offspring? Do the adults actually wingersize? I thought they just up and take off.

[birdcamfan]

Have seen one bird just about daily for the last 2 weeks.
Either on the Brodie rooftop, the letters, or on the antenna on the hospital buildings.
But last night at 5:00, some birdie(Cowboy??) was wingercizing on the ledge that runs across the south end of the Buhler.  He would hang on the the very edge, wingercizing for awhile, lose control, take off, fly in a circle, land again on the same spot and then start all over again.  I watched him do it three times. 
Maybe the metal rail was too hot for his feet.  It was quite funny to watch.

I was trying to visualize this, it sounds quite funny.

[sami]

I thought maybe it was pages stuck together, but not. I have the picture of Princess with July as the month. All the rest are in order.

[Kinderchick]

This month is Joli is the calendar girl

Hmmm - it's Princess on my calendar. But then, my calendar is missing June, so maybe that's where Joli went - with the missing page.

I thought my calendar was missing a page too, sami (June/July?). But then I discovered that 2 pages were kind of stuck together. June was "Princess", July is "Joli".

[birdnut]

Have seen one bird just about daily for the last 2 weeks.
Either on the Brodie rooftop, the letters, or on the antenna on the hospital buildings.
But last night at 5:00, some birdie(Cowboy??) was wingercizing on the ledge that runs across the south end of the Buhler.  He would hang on the the very edge, wingercizing for awhile, lose control, take off, fly in a circle, land again on the same spot and then start all over again.  I watched him do it three times. 
Maybe the metal rail was too hot for his feet.  It was quite funny to watch.

[sami]

This month is Joli is the calendar girl

Hmmm - it's Princess on my calendar. But then, my calendar is missing June, so maybe that's where Joli went - with the missing page.

[soaring west]

This month is Joli is the calendar girl

[birdcamfan]

I just walked under the Buhler letters, no PF's but lots of birdie parts on the ground.

[The Peregrine Chick]

So, anyone know what's happening in this neighborhood?

We are still hoping these two will be successful this year.  We at least know that Cowboy knows the mechanics, that Joli is old enough and that she seemed to be determined to nest given her torrid affairs with Ivy and Smiley this spring.  Nothing yet though.