Other Peregrine Projects > Canadian Peregrines
ON / Burlington - Lift Bridge - 2009-13
carly:
You're right but I heard through the grapevine that he didn't look right and they were hoping he'd come to ground so they could have a look at him so I made an assumption.
In other news a young 2 year old male named Perry from Toledo that was found severely injured after the tornadoes here has had to be put down - his injuries were too severe apparently.
Our resident male Jack is also MIA since the storms, he has not been seen here nor at the residential site. He did take a vacation last year in the Fall so I am still hopeful he will turn up. Elena has taken over his perch and mom seems very tolerant of her sticking around and helping her defend the zone. Angel seems to be having a problem with one of her talons I've noticed, I'm not sure if she injured it or not but she is having a balance problem. Hasn't stopped her hunting though so hopefully it will pass.
The Peregrine Chick:
--- Quote from: carly on August 19, 2009, 16:21 ---Very touching and sad post about the Burlington Nesting season just went up - looks like all 3 juveniles were lost this year :'( :'( and a recap of the lost adults.
http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2009/08/sightings/the-burlington-lift-bridge-peregrine-nesting-2009/
--- End quote ---
I'm not sure you should assume that all three chicks were lost Carly, Truss was last seen a month after she fledged, we almost never see all our chicks after the first month so assuming she's dead may be a wee bit premature ... and there was no mention of fatalities among the resident pair in the linked update, so with luck they will be back next year with a bit more experience. Not that experience would have saved Berl if she went into the river - other than changing nestsites that is. As for Maple, Frounce isn't something you can prevent, it happens or it doesn't happen. Perhaps with a bit more experience they will be more selective about the prey they take but if I recall (and I could be wrong), some experienced parents haven't been able to avoid Frounce recently either ...
carly:
Finally! An update on Pittsburgh Pete from Kate St John. Unfortunately he will not be released to the wild again so whoever they saw here during the Spring disputes was not our Pete. See details here:
http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2009/08/14/pittsburgh-pete-learns-a-new-skill/
carly:
Very touching and sad post about the Burlington Nesting season just went up - looks like all 3 juveniles were lost this year :'( :'( and a recap of the lost adults.
http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2009/08/sightings/the-burlington-lift-bridge-peregrine-nesting-2009/
The Peregrine Chick:
Falcon watchers mourn lift bridge chicks (July 2009)
Peregrine falcon watchers are in mourning after losing two chicks from the troubled Burlington Lift Bridge nest. Two weeks ago, Maple, a female chick, died after eating a contaminated pigeon. Her death came weeks after another chick, Burl, disappeared during her first flight.
"It's heartbreaking," said Sue McCreadie, who monitored the nest from dawn to dusk. "It was really hard to watch."
Though she's pleased the one remaining chick, Truss, is doing well, McCreadie said the deaths have been difficult for volunteers who had hoped for a successful year.
For nearly a decade, the nest on the lift bridge failed to produce any chicks because it offers poor protection to the fragile eggs. There were only two hatchings in eight years, but no chicks survived. Two years ago a nest box was installed. The falcons adopted the new home last year, successfully producing four chicks.
A new breeding pair moved in this year -- the female killed her predecessor -- and volunteers hoped for similar results after seeing three white heads. But Burl disappeared and was presumed dead. Observers then noticed problems with Maple, who made no sound when trying to vocalize. A couple of days later she struggled to fly, landing on parked cars until she was caught. Though immediately rushed to an avian vet, she died shortly after.
Mark Nash, executive director of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation, said it appears Maple had a disease commonly known as frounce. The condition, which comes from contaminated food, frequently kills young raptors.
"It hits pretty hard for even some of the veterans," he said. But Nash added the deaths aren't unexpected. There are 16 urban nests and an average of 1.67 chicks will die at each site.
That the Burlington site has started to produce any chicks at all is a major success, he notes.
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