Radisson - 2015 / Smiley & Princess

[The Peregrine Chick]

I can't for the life of me understand why she'd prefer that bad, bad nestledge.

I think her hardwiring is showing    It really is just like a wild nest site.  One of the nice things about this site (perhaps the only nice thing) is that it is warm in the morning and shaded in the afternoon which if we have a hot spring is nice for the chicks when they are young.

[susha]

Good news today - nesting season has begun.  Princess laid her first egg.
Unfortunately, she did it on the east-side nestledge.

I can't for the life of me understand why she'd prefer that bad, bad nestledge.
Happy about the egg though. 

[GCG]

This is wonderful news, TPC. Unfortunately, the wrong nest. All I can pray for is a summer without severe rains like the one in August. Two hours of horrendous downpours that comprised our sewers and underpasses. So bad, that our basement had sewer backup which resulted in major, major restorations. $$$$ But that was yesterday and yesterday"s gone. I look forward to following Princess and Smiley no matter where they may be.  Now I look forward to the cams going live.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Good news today - nesting season has begun.  Princess laid her first egg.
Unfortunately, she did it on the east-side nestledge.

[moka]

Here's hoping Princess chooses the west nest box!

talons crossed 

[Kinderchick]

Here's hoping Princess chooses the west nest box!

[The Peregrine Chick]

1247h CDT

Found our other bird up on the southeast corner of the top roof of the Hydro Building.  I think by the size it is Smiley which would put Princess on the sign.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Seems the wind is annoying someone, we have either Smiley or Princess tucked up on the H of the Manitoba Hydro sign - way way out of the wind there.  Not sure I've ever seen one of our birds sitting there ... have any of our downtown fledgewatchers seen any there?  Like to know if perhaps this is a new spot for Smiley or just a "get way of the wind" location for either of the birds.  Watching small behavioural changes can help to understand the dynamic of a new pair and Smiley and Princess still qualify as a new pair this year.

[The Peregrine Chick]

1143h CDT

No egg on the nestledge - Princess is sitting on the ledge now.  Not sure where Smiley's gone off to, but a male American Kestrel was parked on the bottom of the R loop on the east side sign.  Kestrels often take dive bombs at the peregrines when they are in residence - most often when they are on antennae but they have been seen doing it to them on the ledges as well ...

[The Peregrine Chick]

There is a 70% chance of precipitation starting in a couple of hours, if she is considering using the nestledge, maybe that will encourage her elsewhere.  She's napping so can't tell if she has an egg laid already and this camera we can't record from, we can only watch in real time.

[The Peregrine Chick]

This morning Princess has been hanging out on the nest ledge right where she has nested in the past.  Smiley is on the sign above.  Two hours ago Smiley has been working on the scrape in the nestbox though - hard to know where they are going to nest.  Yesterday they both defended the roof/box when we had to drop by to clean the in-box camera.  Hopefully they are just hanging out out of the wind, at the moment the closest weather station is showing winds gusting from the NNW downtown - that makes the nestbox much windier than the east side sign and the nestledge.  I've noticed that Princess has done a bit more comfort seeking the last couple of years, she's actually spent time in the nestbox getting out of the wind - that is something she never did before, she used to only tolerate the nestbox when she had eggs/chicks to tend.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Princess has been back for 3 weeks now and she and Smiley are familiar with one another so there wasn't as long a "getting to know you" period as last year so I'm keeping an eye on both sides of the Radisson for the first egg.  Not sure when it will happen but at least Princess isn't avoiding the nestbox which is often a positive sign that she has ruled out the nestbox for this year.

Also, watched them canoodling on the nestbox edge last night .... surely if it is good for canoodling it is good for raising chicks?

[GCG]

With this post all bunnies should be afraid, be very afraid. Turn tail and run!

[sami]

Had a little brown bunny in my back yard - but no Easter treats. Maybe he was running for his life!

[soaring west]

Glad to see another season is on the way. But, Easter bunny never came to my house to.