U of Alberta - 2009 / Damon & Radisson

[maggieblue]

Glad to hear that George was there (even though I am pulling for the falcons to regain their territory).   I watched for most of the morning and was concerned that he hadn't made an appearance.  How crazy is all this?  

[Elaine L]

Carly, thanks again for the update.  I wish I could see something, but at least he is not injured, after all.  What a relief!

[bcbird]

Eli, I have a very blurry image on cam 2 also, but during one of the male's visits (he has briefly poked his head into the box twice over the past hour) the female was completely off the nest and the beautiful blue green of three distinct eggs was very easy to see.  Now all I see is the blurred dark form of the female on the nest.  Every now and then her beak or an eye seem to be in focus.  

[carly]

Yes I watched for him all morning Eli after reading your report, I was worried too.  He came in to get her this morning and they flew off briefly and then he escorted her back so that was a relief to see.   It was before lunch time - so before 12:00 EST time. 

[Elaine L]

I just saw the message from Carly.  So he is alive and well, so far.  I may be the person most anxious to see that he is o.k., and yet I am probably the only one who can't see a thing on the website today. 

Thanks for the info. 

[Elaine L]

BCbird, you must have a much better version of Internet Explorer to see the eggs - all I get today when I look is a blurred screen of the nest, and I can barely see the female.  If you have seen any sign of the male raven, let me know; I have not seen him show up at all today.

[carly]

Wow...I wonder how long she will keep laying them, they said they do 4-7 eggs.  I did see George earlier today and he looked good and was protective of Weezie as always.

[bcbird]

Back from the Easter weekend away on Vancouver Island.  I was staggered at the amount of reading to do.  Not only this site, either!

Watching this Edmonton site is really nerve wracking, and while reading through the pages I was continually biting my nails.  So now there are eggs, frazzled parents, and our fabulous falcon pair of last year.  Whew!

Great to have those reports Bev and Eli.

[bcbird]

There are three eggs in the nest. 

[bev.]

I meant to say that the snow is wet and is not staying on the ground too much and the winds were strong last night abut we just have a few flurries here in st.Albert right now. so far not as bad as predicted. I will keep fingers crossed. Still miserable though.

[bev.]

Eli, do not worry  yet about the male raven.

I guess I did not make myself clear enough. He was flying fine later yesterday. He appeared stunned after the hit but after awhile, as I said yesterday I followed him while he flew around behind the Parkade and flew into a spruce tree and flew to the top of Corbett hall. When he made his way back to the nest site, he was flying between the Extension building and heart building and clinical science building. He was keeping a watch for the falcons. I said it looked like he had injured his talon , but his wings were fine.
What you are describing is what he does.
He keeps low so the falcons cannot get him.
He would not want to be right a t the box. He would want to be low so he could be prepared for an attack.If he was where I think he was , he has a clear view of the falcons night spot. He would want to be ready for morning.   
I feel for the ravens also but I am afraid I do want the peregrines to have their site.
 But I want no harm to come to the ravens. and that is why I felt they should keep cleaning out the nest box. 
While I was there yesterday the male raven always kept low on the building roofs  and only popped up to have a look to the north where he and I saw the falcons fly to, in the afternoon.
do not worry about him in the rain. Their feathers protect them. Look at all the eagles that are on exposed nests in the snow and rain and wind.
I am sure the ravens are frazzled, but they are being very cautious

Now I cannot say if anything happened after I left yesterday. It could have. this is jsut from when I was there.

thanks for going down Eli.  My daughter came home so we could not go down again.

[Elaine L]

As for his posture when last you saw him, I don't know specifics of common ravens very well, but it might have been that he was trying to keep a low profile (literally) but not far from the nestbox - was his spot within eyesight of the nestbox?

TPC, thanks for the information you provided, which was helpful.  The male raven could not see the nestbox from where he was laying down last night, and I was concerned about this, as he always stays within sight of the nestbox. 

[ballywing]

No Way!! ....Grrrrr. That stuff had better NOT be headed to Winnipeg!

[maggieblue]

So Bev wasn't kidding about the 10 to 20cm of snow    High winds too, so I hope that the falcons and ravens all lie low for the day.

[The Peregrine Chick]

I saw no sign of the falcons when I arrived, but after about 5 minutes, I saw the male raven; he moved from one area to another at the top of the Clinical Sciences Building, and his wing looked to be injured; it was not sitting right.  He seemed able to fly, at least for a short distance; I don't know if he could manage to go farther or not.  He kept his head up, watching the skies the whole time I was there, and then eventually he laid down and rested his head on the corner of the edge of the building, and he was getting soaked in the rain.  I don't know if ravens normally stay out in the rain.  I hope he was just resting, and not dying. 

If he can fly short distances then the wing isn't broken though there might be a soft tissue injury (i.e., pulled muscle) - not inconsequential for a bird considering the demands of flying.  It may be that there isn't anything wrong either (keep in mind I of course haven't seen him) but if he is "on guard" he may be keeping his wings hitched ready to fly or its possible feathers may be bent which will prevent him from laying his wing down.  As for his posture when last you saw him, I don't know specifics of common ravens very well, but it might have been that he was trying to keep a low profile (literally) but not far from the nestbox - was his spot within eyesight of the nestbox?  The peregrines would have a hard time getting at him if he stays close to a wall or lying low to a roof.  As for dying (and I could be very wrong about this) my first reaction is that if he was that bad, he might return to the nestbox to be as close to his mate as possible - if he knew he couldn't be effective in the air, my thought is that he would park himself where he could defend her/them.  But that is just my initial thought, I don't know if this is consistent with defensive responses by ravens ... since they are frequently found in groups (call an "unkindness") they would have group defensive/offensive behaviour and individual defensive behaviour.

Not much help I'm afraid ...