ON / Scarborough - 2009

[birdcamfan]

He looks like a bit of a "Rockstar"-beautiful plumage, resounding pipes, and sexy walk.

[allikat]

That he is TPC...he is a hottie (for a peregrine) 

That's why I wrote, if we could clone male peregrines, I pick Trey!

[The Peregrine Chick]

Have no idea - not because he's famous but rather because he's a star at what he does ... all that he does .... and he's hot (for a peregrine) 

[allikat]

I'm really not sure Moonstar...you would have to ask TPC that one!  Trey is very special to TPC.

[msdolittle]

how did Trey get the nickname Rockstar? 

[allikat]

Must be something in the 'pigeons' here because this happens alot here.  I was hoping Linn had her own mate - let's hope it doesn't end badly.  Windwhistler tried this and 1 nest suffered badly from his lack of attention, babies died and he was eventually thrown out by that mate and she ended up losing her nest site to none other than Mariah's other daughter Rhea Mae.

What a soap opera...we need more males!!

It's too bad that we couldn't clone peregrine falcons...My pick would be to clone Trey (aka "Rockstar")...can't get enough of Trey 

[carly]

Thanks TPC.  I'm just concerned because what happened when the last guy that tried that bit off more than he could chew...he did well for awhile but eventually 2 of the chicks succumbed because he wasn't there for her.  Mind you in the end he lost both sites and both females so I guess nature has it's own way of evening the score.

In any event I did email them today with my concerns and just checked email and frank says they will help them out if necessary with food supplements so I feel better now. 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Tracy, would she eventually give up the incubation of eggs or will she risk her life now to see them through? 

Unkempt - we have some birds that look better one year, less so others - usually its a case of where in their moult cycle they are.  That may be what has happened to Lawrie but again, without knowing her better (not just seeing) that's just a supposition.

Cheating Male - males have supported two mates in the past in urban situations, so don't write him off.  He may turn out to be bigamist-but-good-provider male.

Incubation - Lawrie is hardwired to protect her eggs/chicks but not at the cost of her own life except when physically defending them.  When she will do it is something else.  If she needs to do it is something else again.  She may be genetically driven to pass along her genes, but its as many genes for as long as possible so she will save herself in order to try again another year.  Remember Trey & Princess last year?  Princess gave up only when we retrieved the chicks, but even though both their hormones were in brooding mode, they did not take us up on our offer of foster chicks.  Considering how good they are as parents, I have to assume that they knew they were done for the year and needed to maximize their ability to return and try again this year.

[carly]

This situation has been buggin me all day.  Lawrie and cheating mate (as I've now renamed him) just reclutched after their eggs were mysteriously destroyed.  Now he's making whoopie with Linn who will start laying eggs...I wonder if he's abandoned Lawrie and that's why she looks so unkept.

Tracy, would she eventually give up the incubation of eggs or will she risk her life now to see them through? 

[carly]

And Mark just posted an update on the wandering male's other site, not good..the female is obviously being neglected while he cavorts elsewhere ;(

Mark Nash Reports:
We had a chance this afternoon to do another site visit to check on Lawrie’s progress.  With a quick check from the upper elevations, we were able to reconfirm that Lawrie still has only two eggs in this clutch and is currently in full time incubation.  She was viewed settled down in hard incubation and was not bothered at all by our presence,   somewhat unusual behavior - especially for Lawrie the “killer peregrine” that we have come to know and love.  What was even more unusual, was that the lack of a territorial male’s presence on site during the entire time of our visit. Over the course of more than two hours on site, at no time did we see the presence of a male which is very odd indeed.  We spent the several hours at ground level visiting all of the usual roosting places where Ruben could have been typically found, but he was no where to found.  While he may have been out hunting, we would not have expected him (or any territorial male that has a female on eggs) to leave both her and the territory alone for this long.  This is very strange indeed…

I have included a photo of Lawrie incubating and a photo of the old nest ledge  on the south west corner with the broken egg shells visible.  Notice the spider webs now covering the egg fragments. It is also worth noting that Lawrie is looking very ragged and un-kept.  Once again, very strange.

Stay tuned, more to come

[carly]

Must be something in the 'pigeons' here because this happens alot here.  I was hoping Linn had her own mate - let's hope it doesn't end badly.  Windwhistler tried this and 1 nest suffered badly from his lack of attention, babies died and he was eventually thrown out by that mate and she ended up losing her nest site to none other than Mariah's other daughter Rhea Mae.

What a soap opera...we need more males!!

[carly]

2009 NESTING SEASON

One male,two females,  2 seperate sites both in Scarborough, one female is Mariah's daughter Linn.

Mark Nash Reports:
After leaving the Yellow Pages nest site, we headed off to the Bell site to check in on Linn to get an update on her status.  After more than an hour at street level scanning both the communications tower and every nook and cranny of the building, (and with absolutely no birds in sight), we decided to check in at the hack box to utilize the peep holes to see if she was home.  Not only was no one at home, there was no evidence of any activity in the hack box.  No scrape, no eggs, and no peregrines. Seconds later as we were exiting the roof, we heard vocalizing coming from the direction of the communications tower to the east of the building and before we had a chance to react, we were aggressively stooped and pursued from above as Linn seems to come from no where.  Very aggressive & protective behavior indeed! Very territorial!  No male was observed during this visit.  After arriving back at street level, we both concluded that Linn may have produced / laid eggs somewhere else on the facility, (and suspected that her mate was currently incubating).  This would explain both her protective behavior and the lack of her mate’s presence. We stayed and watched from the street level for the next hour and never saw the presence of a male, nor did Linn return to any part of the building, preferring to roost on the communication tower to the east of the building.  After returning to the CPF office, we received news about the band number of the male that Marion and Bruce had watched and recorded several days earlier when they observed this male involved in a three hour plus long courtship and 8 copulations with Linn during this time frame.  The males band number was observed and recorded by both Marin and Bruce as being a Black 43 over Green M belongs and belongs to non-other than Rueben!!  Rueben was Lawrie’s mate here at the Scarborough Bell site in 2005 & 2006.  Now the more interesting part: Rueben is currently the territorial male at the Scarborough Yellow Pages nest site with Lawrie!!   So it  appears that Rueben has two homes and is servicing two different female mates!!
Stay tuned…….