Manitoba Falcon Cam Forum
Other Peregrine Projects => Canadian Peregrines => Topic started by: The Peregrine Chick on June 17, 2008, 14:46
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Apartment Block (location not disclosed)
Toronto, Ontario
can't find a website, webcam or any mention of this site anymore (as of Apr 2023)
Resident Pairs & Offspring
- 2014 - Jack & Mom - can't find chick info
- 2013 - Jack & Mom - can't find chick info
- 2012 - Jack & Mom - can't find chick info
- 2011 - Jack & Mom - can't find chick info
- 2010 - Jack & Milton & Mom - can't find chick info
- 2009 - Jack & Mom - Casper (m), Byron (m) & Marla (f)
- 2008 - Jack & Mom - Spartacus (m), Mascota (m) & Vega (m)
Jack's a bit of a two-timer ...
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2008 NESTING SEASON
Skygirlblue sent me a link to a webcam of Peregrines in Toronto, I don't know if TPC has posted it in a nother thread but I'm watching it and the 3 kids are being fed if not just finishing.
http://www.asic.ca/falconcam/
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Hi Eagle, I sent it to Tracy a few days ago and she said she' put it up once she was done housekeeping. I watched them through the vicious storm we had night before last and it reminded me of what happened here in Manitoba what with them being on the ledge and all but I'm told there is a ledge above so they were okay but none the less - I was glued to the screen just in case!
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The kids were banded yesterday...Apparently it was live...3 males: Spartacus, Mascota, and Vega...
I just had to post this pic. I don't know why I always think the ledge is so much larger than it really is. Seeing a human really puts things in perspective!!
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb123/mannereid/may%2024%202008/th_toronto12.jpg) (http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb123/mannereid/may%2024%202008/toronto12.jpg) <--------click
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Darn I forgot all about the banding, *slaps forhead with wing* like a few other things I forgot to do yesterday too that could have cost me money >:( But got it sorted it out. Thanks for posting the pic SGB >:(.
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They put some of the banding photos up today,they are all boys :D I did get to see part of the banding while I was at work but they didn't show alot owing to the fact it was a private residence but it was nice to see both mom and dad on the scene guarding once the chicks were put back. They both seem to be present alot since then.
I wonder who the parents are though, no ID's yet. Just wondering if one of them is an offspring of my pair in Etobicoke.
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Great to find there's another streaming webcam - something else to watch! ;D I'm going to need a better computer with all these cams going at once! :P
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Is there a zoom on this camera? - I need to get out my handy magnifying glass as I find the chicks are a bit too far away. :-\ - The plus side is it must be great to see the parents take off & land. ;D
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I don't honestly know I think the cam is set up in another building looking through the glass. I haven't been watching as much as I'd like been too busy doing other stuff and watching other webcams lol
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Eagle is right, it's set up in another building. You can go full screen but no zoom :( as far I can tell either. The other day I could see the reflection of some guys face - mostly his nose in the camera - it was like looking through his nostrils to see the birds..weirdest thing I've ever seen.
There is round of thunderstorms coming later today so I"ll be keeping my eyese peeled to make sure they're okay. I swear it's like we live in Tornado alley this year what will all the torrential rains, high winds and hail..never seen anything like it in my lifetime.
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Is there a zoom on this camera? - I need to get out my handy magnifying glass as I find the chicks are a bit too far away. :-\ - The plus side is it must be great to see the parents take off & land. ;D
What I do is enlarge the page...For Windows, hold down the control button and press the + key to enlarge...its better than a magnifying glass...loved the nostril description... :)
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On a Mac it's the same.... control and plus to enlarge.
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According to a link in the Article Library off of their main page, the male is from the Gulf Tower in Pittsburgh PA (one of ours!), and the female is thought to be from Ontario.
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Thanks for the tip Anti! I had looked there when they first put up the link and I didn't click on that link as I figured they'd just post it on the CPF page. Lots to catch up now! Thanks again :D
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Great viewing right now - in full screen - they have so much room to spread their wings and flap. 2 of them went dark very fast in contrast to one who is still mostly white.
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Wow what a difference in the two !!
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You should see them now eagle! They're going to be falling off that ledge anyday now. Today one of them got up on the ledge a few times and mom flew in to encourage him back down..I almost choked on my coffee! Fledge watch starts in 6 days but I'm not sure the older one can wait that long. Boys...always trouble :D
Almost forgot to add; someone keeps moving the curtain where the camera is so you can see the pattern sometimes which is annoying as it's like looking through the fog. And last night some noodle was using binoculors through the glass so all I could see was his reflection in the camera...pfft..humans ::)
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Three wet birds, sitting on the ledge all huddled together...alll ready to fledge if only the rain would stop! Thankfully they are all older now because that ledge is soaked! The older darker one was flapping alot earlier when the rain had lightened up a bit - he wants to go but then the rain intensified so now they are just huddled together trying to stay dry.
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Yeah I saw that. It's suppose to rain today, tomorrow and on into the rest of the week.
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It's lightened up and holy moly, there go the wings! They might just be drying out but I have a feeling we might see a fledge today... I have to go out right now too..been waiting all morning for rain to lighten so I can go to my favorite bakery and get some croissants...make sure they stay put til I come back..lol ;D ;D
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I'm back and everything is as it should be ..Passes out chocolate croissants for everyone to share :D
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Ack..pouring rain again and mom flew in a big dinner so that should keep them on the ledge for the rest of the day. Good as T-showers are supposed to come later and I'd have hated to see one of them fledge and get stuck alone in a storm.
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Still waiting on the boys to fledge, the watch has started and surprised they haven't tried yet. Bit of excitement last night - a male intruder flew in and he and dad had a fight. Couldn't see it on the cam but was wondering why the kids all ran to the ledge and started screaming - I thought maybe they were teasing the kids with food again, turns out they were watching dad and the intruder with talons clasped in the air and cheering dad on!
There is a recap on the site this morning about it. Hopefully the intruder was unhurt as well and just ushered out of the territory. They're feisty this morning so today might be the day and finally no rain forecast for today!
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I think one fledged!!! Was flapping it's heart out and then someone came by my desk and I had to leave - just came back and only 2 on ledge now!! Grrr..I always miss the good stuff!
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Yes eagle, I saw him go! It seemed intentional as in I dont think he accidentally stepped off the ledge. He went just after 8:30 Ontario time, I think the next one will be soon as he is standing where his brother went off and there was a little wing flapping but nothing as yet
:D
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I hope this building is tall enough for a safe fledging.
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Ack..he's on the ground, he's been rescued!! See site for update!
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Pfft..for some reason I can't modify but I realized if anyone read my previous post - it sounds dire!
Dad saved Mascota and he landed safely on the ground and was rescued. Looks like the other 2 have decided that was enough excitement for the morning!
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I have to offer a 'tip of the hat' to Bruce Massey from the Canadian Perigrine Foundation...
He is our 'hero' here in the Greater Toronto Area, looking after our raptors.
He looks after the Mississauga Kids, the Etobicoke Kids, and the Toronto Brats..
So Mr. Massey.. here's to you.. and a big thank you for all you do.
Thanks for picking up our first belly flopper today.. Mascota.
:-*
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Very well said Loriann! :) :)
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Man has his hands full with these guys this year... between the torrential rains, gale force winds, and kids that pick highly inappropriate times to 'launch', he needs an extra pair of hands to catch our fallen angels.
He's been present at the Mississauga Executive Towers for the first flights, and is our raptors best friend.
I know he works as part of a team, and we should thank them too for all the tireless and for the most part unrecognised work they do .
I'm sure the work is gratifying for them, but everyone needs acknowledgement..
Watch out for feathered lumps coming from above... monkey see monkey do,, and i'd wager that Spartacus tries it too.
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Looks like Spartacus is seriously thinking about giving it a try too!
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well at least the 'catchers' are there today, and the weather is nice for 'launch'.. light winds and sunny..
still not the best place to land... pavement is very unforgiving...
Hope Bruce has his hard hat on today...
:D
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I hopped in the tub for 20 mins, and now there's no one on the ledge, altho I can see someone in the corner. Did he go, or are they both around the corner?
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No they were napping in the far corner but he's back up on the ledge and flapping now...he might go any time now! Sun is really strong though, so hpe he will be okay and not overheat!
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He sure has been flapping his wings almost expecting him to go anytime.
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No they were napping in the far corner but he's back up on the ledge and flapping now...he might go any time now! Sun is really strong though, so hpe he will be okay and not overheat!
Can almost see him panting in between his flapping sessions. Hard to believe they don't need more fluids with all this exertion in the heat.
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Awww..I like when they do the cuddle thing and peck each other. They keep looking up, I wonder what's going on - flyby's or more intruders ???
I am on my way home now..hopefully if he fledges while I'm enroute he has a safe flight :)
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I keep expecting even an accidental fledge, as he slips off the ledge in the midst of wild wing-flapping!
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I'm off to the chiropractor. Hope I don't miss anything!
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Now I only see one again. Did I miss the 2nd fledge?
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I know, I think I missed it too. Went out on the balcony and came back and only one unless it's in the corner. They should be posting report update soon as the cam will go offline any second now.
I hope he is safe!
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It goes off at night? That explains why I can't see anything! ;D
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Lol..yes they turn off around 9ish as the birds won't fledge when it gets dark, . That's why they will put the little one out on the roof tonight, he won't panic and try to fly off and hurt himself.
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The report is up now, second fledge was successful! I'll let you read the report, my only comment is there are times when the human race just astounds me with their insensitivity.
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I was thinking the same thing Carly, makes me crazy how uncaring people can be to each other much less wildlife. I call those folks ignoramous idiots lol
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Eagle, your word for them is nicer than mine :D :D ! 8:34 and Vega is on the ledge, I just witnessed him doing the bat thing - he climbed the wall for a bit and flew to the ledge edge, thought for sure he was going to go for it!!
Forecase calling for rain (gee there's a surprise!) all day but just cloudy at the moment, T-storms expected tonight so hopefully they'll all be in a dry area. Mom was just in with food and she was separating it to go distribute between the other 2 no doubt.
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Mascota second flight must have been successful if both parents were on hand as the site report suggests. Wouldn't that have been a sight to see!
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That's the only think I don't like about the web cams..we can't see them when they fly! I hope his flight was good too! I can't seem to bring the cam up now but I"ll keep trying!
This pair of parents have had a rough time of it. From what I could find out they used to be at the Four Sisters (4 smoke stacks) which was an old power plant iin Etobicoke and after they left last year for the season it was demolished. So when they came back their regular home was gone forever. I guess they wanted to stay in the territory and ended up on this private residence - I'm just guessing it's in the area, the actual location is being kept private to protect the residents privacy.
Hopefully next year they can find a home that is more 'pergrine friendly'.
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Storms have started. Storm advisory just issued, severe thunderstomrs, high damaging winds and large hail..hope the kids are not out in the open.
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I guess we're lucky that CPF was at least able to get a cam on this nest, since it was in a presumably residential area. We sure are spoiled with the close up views possible in the nest box cams!
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There's Vega flapping away on the ledge. How many more days would she be expected to take than the males before fledging?
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Vega is also a male. He can go anytime, now.
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Oh..someone made it back home!! 2 juvies on the ledge now! The storm didnt' last long - 20 minutes and it was gone!
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Vega is also a male. He can go anytime, now.
Thanks, Antiologist.
I'm confusing this nest with the 2 males and 1 female of Elk river.
Vega seemed to me more likely a female name, compared to Spartacus and Mascota
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Hmm...dad is eating on the ledge. He ate a bit ( I think it's dad cause the juvies seem bigger than he is) and then he kind of looked sheepish before he went over to offer them food. One took a feeding while the other just watched and then the one eating just had a few bites and turned around and sat down and dad took his food back to the ledge lip and finished it. Hope they're not having a rough day again and hope the third one is okay. No updates all day so I hope that just means they're busy watching one fly.
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Daily report is up, looks like the humans are determined to scare the birds thinking they're pets >:(. All are ok and there are some pics of Mascota from last nites check up before rerelease - what a cutie.
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There isn't a time on the report, but I thought I saw all three back on the ledge a few hours ago. Maybe it was an adult, rather than the returned Mascota. What is a net pigeon trap? Or WHY is a net pigeon trap?
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They put pigeon traps up on some of the roofs here to trap them - some are nets and some are metal cage types. The idea is you lure them in with food and then trap them. Then a pest company comes in and takes them away to rerelease them somewhere else so they aren't pooing on peoples balconies, roofs and windows. We have had peregrines here get trapped in them, that's another reason the banding is so important, they will call CPF if they find one of ours and it won't be harmed. We have alot of pigeons in Toronto, I would say out of control but as much as they annoy me when they poo on my balcony - I'm not a fan of caging any animal but that's just me, I wouldn't like to be caged so I couldn't do it to another living creature. They do have netting you can put on your balcony which keeps them from landing which is ok, at least they don't get hurt but alot people finds that ruins the view and look.
I think that was dad on the ledge with them The parents have been staying really close to them - no doubt with all the dogs, humans trying to get up close and personal with them, they must be quiet nervous.
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8:19 am and I checked the site and there were 2 on the ledge but only one now when I bring up the cam. I'm assuming it's Vega and looks like he is getting ready to go...he's on the edge flapping his heart out!
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Vega just fledged!
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It's 1:02 here in Ontario and Vega just fledged :) He'd been flapping his wings quite a bit, was over in the corner when he just flapped one or two times and off he went.
Houston we have liftoff !
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I saw it too Eagle, finally I got to see one!! I hope he lands safely :D Now I can go out on the balcony and stay put for a while, was so afraid I'd miss this one..lol!
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Good for you Carly!!!!!!!!!!!! Glad you got to see Vega fledge. I was thinking the same as you that I hope he has a safe innaugural flight :)
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Congrats Carly!!
An adult has been perched on the left of the ledge for awhile, seems pretty calm, though frequently looking up.
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Ack..violent storm jsut blowing in...2 kids on the ledge, hopefully Vega is okay where ever he is! The wind is so strong I can feel it inside and lightinging is happening!
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The Mathew Rossi/Bruce Massey/Mark Nash Reports on the Webcam site are getting very poetic as these young ones mature. There is so much information on that site, and a lot of fabulous new pictures. I'm sorry I hadn't been checking more frequently in the past.
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New update just posted, all kids flying well so far. Two new sites being added to their Latest News section..yay more peregrines! My plan to take over the skies with peregrines is working...muhahaha ;D ..errr...I mean great to see more nesting sites, that's really encouraging news for the species :D
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Ack..dad is MIA after an intruder alert, hope he turns up today :(
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Yay..dad is back and healthy ;D
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From the website report regarding Bruce Massey of ?CPF.
Bruce's favourite quote "This is the ledge, and that is the edge, one inch over the edge is a fledge."
That certainly describes it well!
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One of the juvies, our beautiful Spartacus has passed on... stupid planes :'( :'(
http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/tops/gtaprivres1.html
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It is so sad to lose Spartacus - what a beautiful juvie he was. There have been far too many losses to collisions with planes. :'(
Some photos of Spartacus by Mathew Rossi:
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/spartacusmascotavegabanding.jpg)
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/spartacus.jpg) (http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/spartacus2.jpg) (http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/spartacus4.jpg)
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/jul28_spartacusblownupward.jpg) (http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/9_jul25_spartacuswithmom.jpg)
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What a shame to lose Spartacus. He was a gorgeous bird - and we can't afford to lose even one, especially when this has been such a bad year for them.
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Mathew Rossi reported yesterday that Vega has been found at the same airport after a fatal collision with a building there. :'( This is so sad. My heart goes out to all of the people there involved in the fledge watch and the other activities.
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Oh noooo! To lose two of these beautiful juvies within three days is too much.
Vega was the last to fledge, on July 27. Below are a few photos of him by Mathew Rossi. In the first and second pics, Vega is on the right.
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/mascotaleftvegaright.jpg) (http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/spartacusmascotavega2.jpg)
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/vega2.jpg) (http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/vegatellingoffMomjul28.jpg)
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:'( :'( :'( I'm just heart broken. That family went through so much to get where they are and look what has happened. Hopefully mom and dad can find a better nest site next year, I know they had to chose this place after their real home was demolished...airports are a bad place for our little ones. :'( :'(
I just wanted to add that we have lost too many male peregrines as well.
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Some good news to report. A juvenile, almost certainly Mascotta, has been photographed back on the nest building. And mom and dad have been back at the nest ledge having some quality time. :)
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I am SO sad about Spartacus and Vega. I enjoyed watching all of them, and was glued to my screen the day of the last fledge. To repeat -- an airport really is a bad place to be. I too hope they come back, and find a better place next year.
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Mathew Rossi has posted some new reports and pictures of this Toronto pair on their ledge in the snow. 8) I wonder if they are going to stay around for the winter?
http://www.asic.ca/peregrinefalcons/
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Some very sad news from the Toronto residential area cam site: :'( :'( :'(
"December 3, 2008
In the ongoing effort to keep folks updated, it's unfortunate to share the news received today.
After a cross-check of band IDs with our Ministry of Natural Resources, it was unfortunately confirmed that a Peregrine with Canadian band 92 over X, (US Fish & Wildlife band #112604701) was found deceased in Toronto on a recorded date of Oct 28, 2008. The band corresponds to Mascota.
This information may have been available sooner through other channels, but today is the first we're hearing of it.
The MNR commented that this exemplifies the plight of an at-risk species, the high mortality rate they face during the first year, and explained that this is why the recovery of a species takes so long.
Personally and echoing your thoughts, yes, this is a letdown. Again, as I've said before, I'm still appreciative for all we have and continue to learn about the falcons, that is a big upside we can all take away from this.
We have, and if required will continue to do our part to assist in the recovery process. Our role only extends so far, the most difficult part is faced by the falcons."
We have now lost all three of the beautiful juvies from this site - first Spartacus. then Vega three days later, and now Mascota. So few survive; and yet so many people just can't wait to take them off the endangered list. The challenges that face peregrines are endless.
A few photos from the short lives of these precious birds. All photos are by Mathew Rossi.
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/torontoresidchicks2a.jpg) (http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/torontoresidallthree7.jpg)
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/torontoresidbands1a.jpg)
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/mascotafront1a.jpg) (http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/torontoresid3juvies4a.jpg)
Mascota in front: Mascota on the right:
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/mascotafirstflight1a.jpg)
The last two pics were taken after Mascota's first flight, when he landed on the ground.
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/mascotafinalexam1a.jpg) (http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/mascotafinalexam2a.jpg)
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That is very sad news indeed.
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I was just coming to post this as I received an email from Frank last night with the sad news. That's all 3 of our beautiful boys gone now. :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
I agree with the comments about how fast people want them removed from the endangered list as only 1 or 2 out of 10 survive to reach adulthood - I just don't get how they can do this.
There is also news of another adult peregrine found injured and they have him in rehab now. Here is Franks words: "Sad news Pittsburgh Pete from Hamilton/Burlington Liftbridge is in rehab. He was found injured on Nov 9. We are in the process of trying to get information as we only recently found out ...no broken bones on xrays but wing is droopy. He is gaining weight so that is good. GOOD NEWS..we need some.
Our mom and dad are still both here in Etobicoke despite the below zero temperatures and snow. Both can be seen daily on the ledge; mom on her web cam and dad in the nest box or vice versa - I guess after 10 years here they are used to the weather :) and the pigeons are plentiful for them to munch on!
Added: Here is more info on Pete, looks like he has lost his territory but thankfully not his life. http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2008/12/04/pittsburgh-petes-in-rehab/
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I was just coming to post this as I received an email from Frank last night with the sad news. That's all 3 of our beautiful boys gone now. :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
It is very sad news Carly, but if it is any consolation, it appears to have been a less than ideal year this year pretty much everywhere. I know everyone was concerned about being so close to the airport, but I would hazard this opinion, that the airport is not as bad a location as others in an urban environment. I will preface this by saying that I don't know this particular territory, but while there are planes and buildings, the buildings are not as high or as numerous as in most urban environments and peregrines are rarely hit by planes, even when they hang out at airports. The location has a good (if exposed) ledge (based on all the photos here) and there is obviously water nearby which will ensure the food supply is pretty constant and probably quite varied. Collisions with buildings are unfortunately, not uncommon in urban environments and since fledgling peregrines are basically gliders for the first couple of weeks, and take at least another month to become halfway proficient enough to start hunting, the first 2 weeks are nerve-wracking but the first 6-8 weeks are when they are most vulnerable to flight injuries. If they make it to migration their odds of surviving increase, if they can make it back to anywhere the following spring, their mortality rate goes way down. Here's an example, Grand Forks is an urban area, but not nearly as built-up as Etobicoke, not even near the airport. This year, one of our chicks laid two eggs on a water tower but only one hatched. This lone chick did well despite the same kind of nasty weather Winnipeg experienced and he successfully fledged right on time. Unfortunately, on day two or three post-fledging, he collided with an object (a wire I think, will check) and died. Since this year has been bad in lots of places, if the Etobicoke adults do decide to nest there again, next year may very well be an entirely different situation.
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I agree with the comments about how fast people want them removed from the endangered list as only 1 or 2 out of 10 survive to reach adulthood - I just don't get how they can do this.
In the US, peregrines were de-listed a few years ago - that is they went from endangered to not endangered in one fell swoop. Canada protested saying that yes the numbers were up but that we needed to make sure the population could maintain its number without the intense support they had been receiving. The USA disagreed and de-listed the birds. Canada downlisted them one degree, from endangered to threatened so that we could be sure. Wildlife is a provincial responsibility and the national recovery plan breaks down the country into different regions of similar habitat and populations. Ontario has alot of wild, cliff-nesting birds in the west and north-west (Thunder Bay area) so that could well be pushing up the numbers for the province. Provincially, each wildlife agency decides how a species is classified. In Manitoba, the peregrine is endangered but we only have two breeding pairs and because we are part of the prairie region and this year is the first year Saskatchewan has had a breeding pair (a female of ours there too) in many years. And while Alberta is also part of the prairie region and they do have more peregrines than we have ever had, they are pretty concentrated geographically. In Ontario, peregrines are classified as threatened, which isn't off the list yet. I do notice that on the Ontario SAR site (http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/risk.php?doc_type=fact&id=108&lang=en) it has them classified as "special concern" nationally which isn't exactly correct or incorrect. The anatum subspecies, the one that lives in southern Canada and the continental USA is threatened nationally. Tundrius and pealei subspecies are of "special concern" in large part because they traditionally live outside the agricultural zone of North America (tundrius north of the tree line & very migratory, pealei on the BC/Washington State coastline & only locally migratory) they weren't as impacted by the use of DDT & DDE family of pesticides. There is a classification on the SARA registry for anatum/tundrius based on the idea that its difficult to distinguish between these two birds without dna testing and that these subspecies interbreed. However, a peregrine living along the Canada/US border is unlikely to be paired with a tundrius nesting above the treeline. Its a case of opportunity in my opinion. Birds nesting in Northern BC, Alberta or Quebec, it could certainly happen as the geography is accommodating, other provinces, I'm still not convinced. Could it happen anywhere, sure. Does it happen? Not to any great extent as far as I know from the literature. What isn't discussed is that many of the birds from the US are a mix of subspecies, whatever was available for the breeding program 30 years ago was used. We here in Manitoba have alot of mixing as most of our females are from the States. Not sure what that says about our birds, but I do know that they look, behave and migrate like anatums, so anatums is how they are viewed by our Project. As you can see, lots of things to consider when classifying their status but be assured that no one wants to jump too quickly to take them off the list without proof that they can go it alone. (Not that they will ever be alone given how many of us love them!)
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There is also news of another adult peregrine found injured and they have him in rehab now. Here is Franks words: "Sad news Pittsburgh Pete from Hamilton/Burlington Liftbridge is in rehab. He was found injured on Nov 9. We are in the process of trying to get information as we only recently found out ...no broken bones on xrays but wing is droopy. He is gaining weight so that is good. GOOD NEWS..we need some.
Droopy wings is a very good sign, usually a soft tissue injury that with care and sufficient rehab the bird will do well. Trey had such an injury, probably less serious than Pete's but none the less. So too have a number of our birds and many of them have gone on to be very reproductively successful. Keep your fingers crossed and be patient. If he were here in Manitoba, because all our birds migrate these days (we have only had one bird that didn't migrate) he would be staying in rehab until the spring which would be plenty of time for him to recoup his strength and hone his flying/hunting skills chasing prey items in a flight cage. So yes, very good news!
Added: Here is more info on Pete, looks like he has lost his territory but thankfully not his life. http://www.wqed.org/birdblog/2008/12/04/pittsburgh-petes-in-rehab/
If Pete is re-released, I would suggest keeping an eye on him. Not because he will necessarily be in danger, but because you really can't tell what peregrines will do. If he is re-released in the spring, he will be in better shape than this year's resident male returning from migration. Life is not necessarily easier down south in the winter and migration is tough on a bird. Pete hasn't had to do any of that. It could mean the difference between winning back is mate and his territory if he wants it. In Brandon in 2006, the resident pair were Holly and Zeus. They had been paired together for a few years and Zeus is an old toughie. In 2007, Zeus was missing and Holly was paired with Screech, another old bird from our project but not one we had had any news of since his hatching ten years earlier. No sign of Zeus, dead or alive. In 2008, Screech was out (without bloodshed) and Zeus and Holly were back together and successfully raised three chicks. Trey from the Radisson also took a sabatical year a few years ago with his previous female, then he returned and paired up with Princess. So losing or leaving one's territory for a year isn't a sure sign that he has lost his territory. Depends on how bad he is driven to reclaim it. Maybe yes, maybe no. May be even that he and the female will abandon the site to the new male. All in all, if Pete is re-released, you all may have some great viewing next year!
Keep us updated on Pete's progress !!
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Thank you Tracy for all your insightful posts and for sharing your knowledge. It certainly has been a tough year for our peregrines and for all species of birds - I remember this Spring when we were having a flury of violent storms in Southern Ontario that several other species that were threatened were affected by the adverse weather. The destruction of nests in the Algonquin area was particularly harsh this year.
I know the Etobicoke pair from the Residential Area are still there on the ledge as the residents have been posting pictures and keeping their site updated so hopefully next year things will be better and the residents really seem to have embraced the family so that is a good sign for the future. I'm going to try and see if I can out there on fledge watch next year depending of course on when my pair have their young...I'll be running back and forth no doubt!
Thank you for the encouragement about Pete - I guess his mate thinks he is gone for good because she actually fought off the intruder herself after Pete was injured the first time. Hopefully when he does recover they may be reunited without any further blood being shed. I will keep you posted.
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Oh, such sad news to read. :'(
What fun it was for me to follow the chicks with the "Pittsburgh Connection" this summer. I guess the parents still consider it to be a successful nest, so we should be seeing renewed activity in the spring.
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2009 NESTING SEASON
Update on Pete's condition:
NEWS UPDATE ON PITTSBURGH PETE from Judy Bailey, 22 Jan 2009:
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. I had Pete back to the vet on the 13th and was waiting on the results of the blood work before I emailed you.
When I had Pete to the vet before Xmas, we discovered that he was a little anaemic. As he’s been getting vitamin powder on his quail every day, this recent blood work shows that his anaemia is most improved. The vet is no longer considering giving Pete B12 shots. I had a more complete work up done this time around and besides the anaemia, his protein and potassium are a little low. It’s possible that these 3 issues may be lingering results of his injury back in June. His faecal still show negative for parasites.
I also had his noggin x-rayed and found absolutely no indication of skull fracture, clotting or swelling. His wings were included in the x-ray and both still look symmetrical. Occasionally, he will droop his left wing; I think the local Red tail is buzzing Pete and causing him to fly around the aviary too much. Thus, creating some fatigue. He is still using the ramps to get up to the perches.
I recently had him confined in the house for a few days to let my boys exercise in the aviary. The rest seemed to be good for Pete. Once back in the aviary, his flight from one corner perch to the other was a bit stronger and quicker and he rarely drooped his wing. He continues to eat well; I warm the quail before giving it to him. Strangely enough, Pete seems to be enjoying his “vacation” at Motel Bailey!!
Take care & I’ll up date you again in a while.
Judy
Ps: I’ll try and get a couple new pics off to you soon!
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The site is doing a camera test today if you want a Canadian Peregrine fix.
http://www.asic.ca/peregrinefalcons/
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The cam test is over, sigh. Some nice photos of the beautiful pair though.
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I read somewhere, can't recall exactly where, that the male was from the Gulf Tower in Pittsburgh, 2002, I think.
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I read somewhere, can't recall exactly where, that the male was from the Gulf Tower in Pittsburgh, 2002, I think.
Its entirely possible. I'm double-checking the band number (can't be sure from the photo in their gallery) and then I'll track down the information and post it here.
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The cam test is over, sigh. Some nice photos of the beautiful pair though.
Hey maggie! I'm jumping in, in the middle here -- are you saying there are PF there?
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Hey Liz, yup, both birds are still there, and have been all winter. They did a camera test a few days ago, so folks could watch in real time for awhile ....
35 days and counting ...
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Linn (Mariah's daughter from 2007) also stayed the winter in Toronto with her new beau at the old Bell hack site and apparently...we may have another new pair in Toronto this year. Frank won't tell me where yet, he says they have to have a CPF member confirm it as it's been reported into them by area residents so fingers crossed...! It's going to be a great Spring with peregrines from coast to coast to watch and our US cousins and our European cousins...!
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Linn (Mariah's daughter from 2007) also stayed the winter in Toronto with her new beau at the old Bell hack site and apparently...we may have another new pair in Toronto this year. Frank won't tell me where yet, he says they have to have a CPF member confirm it as it's been reported into them by area residents so fingers crossed...! It's going to be a great Spring with peregrines from coast to coast to watch and our US cousins and our European cousins...!
Thanks for the info Carly. Let's hope that there will be some live cams so we can watch them as well as our wonderful Princess and Trey!
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Mathew is reporting the first mating has occured at this site!! I'm off work for a few days so I am wondering if my pair has also mated while I'm off...hehe probably taking advantage of my prying eyes not being there!!
It's plus 10 already today so I expect all the peregrines here today will be hit with 'spring fever' and that can only mean eggs are on the way soon...woohoo!!
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Mathew is reporting the first mating has occured at this site!! It's plus 10 already today so I expect all the peregrines here today will be hit with 'spring fever' and that can only mean eggs are on the way soon...woohoo!!
Woohoo too! So when do you think there might be some eggs?
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I'm not sure how this whole mating/egg thingie works as last year by the time I discovered the peregrines the eggs had just hatched. TPC could probably give us a clue but from what I've read, this is how I understand it: every time they mate they make an egg, so mate, lay egg, mate again, lay another egg, repeat! This only applies in the Spring of course, if they mate outside the seaon then there are no eggs. From previous logs I've read, the Toronto area peregrines usually start laying eggs next week to the end of March.
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Yikes! I'm glad I'm not a falcon. No privacy there!!
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I'm not sure how this whole mating/egg thingie works as last year by the time I discovered the peregrines the eggs had just hatched. TPC could probably give us a clue but from what I've read, this is how I understand it: every time they mate they make an egg, so mate, lay egg, mate again, lay another egg, repeat! This only applies in the Spring of course, if they mate outside the seaon then there are no eggs. From previous logs I've read, the Toronto area peregrines usually start laying eggs next week to the end of March.
Oh wouldn't that make it easy for researchers but no, I'm afraid the birds come home, do some courting - longer for some than others, can be quite short for some of the solid pairs. Princess and Trey were at "it" (PG-13 board and all that) within 48 hours of his return (I believe) last spring, but they have been rather quick getting started all along. So they court, display nest behaviour, partake in some romance etc etc etc. Copulations come in two varieties, the complete and incomplete, with the former beginning at least 2 weeks prior to egg-laying and normally lasting until the third egg is laid. The "act" lasts for between 5 and 10 seconds and they are quite frequent.
So, last year, Princess arrived home a 7-10 days before Trey, they were copulating within a couple of days of his return on the 31st of March. They use the JR sign on the Richardson Building frequently, particularly in the beginning, it lets them both have a separate spot to sit and preen in between loving (see photo gallery - grainy photos, but you can use your imaginations). Last year our first egg laid on April 19, second on the 21st, third on the 23rd, fourth on the 25th or later - usually they lay them much closer together, particularly three and four and it might explain when four was removed by the adults not long into incubation. Eggs didn't start to hatch until May 28th - a week later than usual for these two, actually for most of our pairs at the Radisson. Cold, wet spring.
Does that help with understanding what the TO birds are up to?
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Yes it does, thank you Tracy! I was worried that mating so soon and laying eggs in this weather would be too soon! Last week it was plus 15 one day and in the same day down to minus 10. And today it's minus 18 with the wind chill and we had a bit of a mini blizzard here also so good to hear this is a longer process and takes a few weeks.
This pair here apparently had a failed first clutch last year and they are out on an open ledgeand we had a horrible, rainy, stormy spring. During the second clutch, at one point the CPF actually was on standby to rescue the eggs due to possible flooding because of the heavy rains. The ledge did get wet but fortunately mom had the eggs tucked in an area that stayed dry.
I can see already it's going to be an exciting Spring!
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Sounds very familiar ... so far Winnipeg's early spring is being very gentle, hopefully that is a good sign ....
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Ugh - sounds WAY too familiar!! - we do not want any more 'Water on Ledge' scenarios!! :(- This year will be a Success!!... ;D
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Finally..we have our first egg here!
http://www.asic.ca/peregrinefalcons/
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Excellant, Carly, thank-you for posting the info!
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Yikes! I'm glad I'm not a falcon. No privacy there!!
never mind the privacy ....they have the quickest quickies ever
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Nice pics!
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....they have the quickest quickies ever
LMAO!
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Not sure what is going on here, Mathew had initially said 2 eggs and I can see 2 eggs in the photo but he's saying it may be one egg looking like 2?! It's been four days since Egg 1 so I'd like to think by now she's got 2 but these 2 have not had an easy life so we'll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.
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I'm glad they have at least one egg, and hope there will be more. I am hoping for a much more successful ending to the year for this pair.
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Ha..it was 2 eggs and now there are 3!!! ;D ;D
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Four eggs confirmed, lol..few days before hatch what the heck!
http://www.asic.ca/falconcam/
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Oh..I love falcons!
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There is live video now and today is the expected hatch date, so happy watching. ;D
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I tried earlier but our firewall at work blocks it..hopefully chicks can wait until I get home to hatch..hehe :P
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have it up and running Carly, will keep you posted.
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Oh cam is working today, poor mum, thunder, lightening and pouring rain to sit in...I better get working on those falconbrella's!
She's house cleaning... I think Mark told me they have a partial cover up top because she doesn't look soaked ... oh there she goes off the eggs to chase dustbunnies...is that a chick??
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Thanks for the update Carly
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Dad just came in to give mum a break..she didn't want to get up but finally did..think it's still eggs..the lighting is so bright hard to tell.
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getting very windy now, temperatures supposed to drop to 6 degrees in the next few hours...what a day for poor mum :o
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They might have a hatch here, the lighting sucks but the way the parents are sitting is a bit and fussy for just eggs....they either have a chick or a really white fuzzy egg...
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I just saw the incubating falcon leave and still 4 eggs.
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Not sure what is going on here anymore, mom was looking up and annoyed and just took off and left and oh ... i thought i saw a white...but it's all eggs then allikat :(. Hmm..she was due before King street by a day or two. I can usually tell if there is a hatch or it's coming by the way they sit...guess she's toying with me then :-X
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Incubation has a range of about 28 to 38 days, those tend to be the minimums. Trey & Princess are usually 30 days but last year they were a full week late. A little more patience before the panic :D
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I know the hatch date isn't an exact science but if you go to CPF site there is a new post about Scarborough today. They didn't even know they were incubating eggs and turns out the eggs are toast and the pair is in mid reclutch...they are on an open ledge as well. I guess for them it resembles a cliff side but for it's sure hard on the whole process.
No panic yet TPC...just concern...ahem :-\
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Pretty fast re-nest, good for them. We will definitely need to keep an eye on this site ...
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WHAT?
I had no idea that this pair is on their second clutch??? Really? Well now I'm crossing everything for this pair!
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No, no it's the Scarborough site pair that is on second clutch. There is no thread for them as yet because first, we didn't know there was a pair there for sure - there was an old hack box there converted to nestbox but they chose another location instead...kind of like P&T did - you build then a nice house, they move into the garage :P. Then they only saw 1 falcon around, well turns out that was because the other was incubating eggs.
Story here:
http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2009/05/sightings/a-new-clutch-of-eggs-observed-on-the-north-west-corner-ledge/
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Phew! I thought I was going crazy!
Too bad though... :(
I wish this pair luck...hopefully their second clutch will be successful.
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We have a hatch confirmed by Mathew at 8:15 am:
815AM - first hatch observed on live video! Mom then observed eating parts of the egg with the wet new arrival in front of her. It's a chilly 6C this morning.
Photos of the new arrival are challenging to take, but you can see a pink featherless little peregrine with closed eyes, less than 5 minutes old.
A quick greeting to the webcam viewers, it's amazing to have people watching from Canada, the USA (Florida), Wales, Switzerland and South Africa!
I am so relieved..go mum ;D ;D
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Good news CArly on both nests.
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Second Hatch (yesterday)!
At approximately 10AM a second hatch took place. One egg remains in amongst the newly hatched, the one removed from the group yesterday has not been brought back, presumably the adults know something about it that we don't.
A feeding of the two young was observed around noon. The female fed while the male stood by.
A hello to viewers from Belgium, Palo Alto California, The Netherlands and London in the UK!
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Great news!! ;D
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Let's hope the three stay away from the airport this year...!
This morning at ~930AM the third hatch was observed! Photos of the wet pink little ball taken moments later. This concludes the hatching for this clutch as the 4th egg has not been seen in days.
It's 15C, very windy and raining on & off so far today.
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Too bad the airport couldn't put a NO PEREGRINE FLY ZONE sign and the peregrines could read it ::)
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The photos on the cam site of the very newly hatched chick are magical. The set from the first hatch show a dramatic contrast between tender parent with hatchling, and fierce protector sounding an intruder alarm. The sight of a less than 5 minute old hatchling is absolutely wondrous.
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Man, keep forgetting how much that site looks like ours ....
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From Mathew Rossi:
From - MRossi
Toronto Residential Falcon Nest -Alert-
Canada
Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 10:13 am
Hi all.
Just a heads-up, we have concerns that our male is MIA.
If you happen to notice two adults on the nest cam can you let me know day/time?
Either here (BCAW) or via the contact link on:
www.asic.ca/peregrinefalcons
Hopefully he resurfaces!
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Ouch...just went back and not good news: the young are only about 2 weeks old here!! :'(
UPDATE - Thanks to the assistance of the MNR,SPCA and local Humane Society, we now know that our male (ID'd via band #) has been recovered but has a broken wing. He was taken to a clinic in Vineland for further assessment. From my limited knowledge of raptor rehabilitation this isn't great news in either the near or long term.
Our female is obviously put off by this given behaviour witnessed at the nest ledge today.Updates will be posted as received.
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Just to add to Carly's report ... depends on where the wing is broken and if it is an open or closed break. Lower break (toward tip of wing) better than higher, closed (not broken through the skin - which is quite thin) better than open.
Keep us updated Carly ...
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This cam is blocked for me at work..grrrr. Wish I knew what he meant by her 'behaviour' witnessed on the ledge. I've emailed Frank to see if he knows what's going on.
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1202 hrs (Winnipeg) - chicks are tucked into corner on the right of screen. Not an adults in sight ...
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Mathew added more info:
Some additional info has been received - in the late afternoon Wed May 27th some sort of alarm calling and stooping/dives were witnessed in the roof area or above the building.
Wonder if he hurt himself trying to go after an intruder pest or if it was territorial dispute...
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Ok home now so I can see these guys, wow big kids!! They are scheduled for banding on Tuesday apparently. They are quite active and healthy looking and obviously closer to 3 weeks old so that's good. It's too bad the 3 males from last year didn't make it, would have been nice to have 1 around now to help out.
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5:23 pm and mom is in with dinner. Holy big catch! She's feeding herself atm as well as doing food prep..go mom!
Spoke to Mathew via post and the MNR is involved now so they will all look after the family and step in should the need arise!
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I'm glad Mom is feeding herself and chicks...very sad and sorry to hear about her mate though. I do hope he will be okay. I'm also very happy that the chicks are old enough to be on their own but this will be hard for mom to keep up so good news that the project will step in if need be. Again...hope the male isn't badly hurt so he can return to where he belongs!
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No word on the male's condition yet but Mathew is receiving local reports that there may have been a territorial dispute..not confirmed yet though. If there is a new male around though, may explain why mom keeps coming in with so much food. Either they had a huge cache already and she's drawing from it, she's an extraordindary hunter or the new guy is trying to win mom over with food!
I'm hoping it's a new male, not to write off dad but it would be nice if she had help. Only time will tell...but so far no reports a new male around since the altercation.
The female is doing an excellent job though, she's there right now watching over them and earlier they had a huge feeding.
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Those chicks look huge. :o They have been moving around the ledge for a while now, in and out of the shade. Mom has been perched on the edge preening. Now something has captured her attention and she has moved to the other end of the ledge. She looks interested but not upset, so perhaps potential second breakfast going by.
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There was just a long feeding with more than enough food for the huge chicks. It looks like the mom here is able to keep up with the feeding on her own.
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carly, sorry to nudge you because I know you have your fingers in a lot of pies!, but any news on dad? Just a brief response requested. :)
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There is a brief update and photo of dad on the CPF site today. Dad is being assessed right now and is in good care. The picture of him looks good..he's not at deaths' door which is good. I'm hoping that his wing is fixable..talons crossed. Will let you know if I hear anything.
http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2009/06/sightings/etobicoke-ontario-injuried-adult-male-peregrine-black-4-over-green-b-rescued/
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I should also mention that it looks like he tangled with a hawk and not another falcon as was originally suspected.
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what a handsome boy he is! sending wishes for a speedy recovery. :-* and hugs and kisses to his rescuer(s). good deeds all around.
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If the banding goes ahead here it should be happening shortly. At the moment the kids are napping on the ledge. Little do they know that they may have visitors soon. ::)
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Mom was back on the ledge looking upset and took off. The chicks look like they are still napping.
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They are doing the banding right now, I can't see though at work. :'(
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Mom has been on the ledge for a while now guarding her chicks (who are still napping) and watching whatever is going on above her.
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Hmmm..they are late then. I hope they cancel, they said they would if she was too stressed.
Just read on BCAW they are on the way down to get the chicks...*sigh*
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I left the room for a minute and missed the arrival, however there is a man with a big black bag is on the ledge. He is putting the chicks in the bag and now sending it off. I saw mom flash by once and I am sure that she is not far away.
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Thanks Maggie, they better be fast.
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The guy on the ledge just had to duck. Angry mom. The picture has gone out now while they switch over to the banding feed.
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The banding process is underway and it looks like they are trying to be pretty quick about it. One chick was put in what looked like a little bucket and weighed on a scale. Can't see too much (banding crew in the way) but I think that the banding is going. A woman sprayed a little water on the 2 still in the bag. I am sure that there will be pictures on the site later for the people who can't see this at work. Trying to get chick number 2 out now and decided to ditch the big gloves. And here s/he comes.
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They are just finishing banding the third chick and back in the bag he goes. That was all pretty quick. Looks like they are going to have a brief photo opp. I hope very brief.
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Phew..thanks Maggie for keeping me updated. Hopefully they will get them up and back to mum ASAP.
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All back in the bag and on their way back to the ledge. The camera switched to the ledge shot where the fellow in the shorts is waiting for them.
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Excellent..yay! That was quick, good on them. Let me know when mom comes in and if she's ok.
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The bag has arrived safely back. Chicks are being placed on the ledge. Very cute the way one of them is looking at this guy who is trying to clean up a little while he is there and put some of the debris in the bag. The bag is gone and I expect the man to follow soon. It almost looks like he is trying to take a picture with a cell phone. Or maybe calling to say he is ready to leave? He is out of sight now. AND MOM IS BACK IN ABOUT A SECOND.
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Yay...go mom! I'm so relieved!! Was so worried how she would handle all this after her missing mate vanished. Thank you! :-*
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Mom looks just fine, just looking up, watching the guy get to the roof I presume. ;D
Oops mom just took off. My guess is that she has gone up to the roof just to make sure they leave.
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Lol...nothing like a 'falcon' escort off the premises ;D
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There was a message that the feed is being shut down temporarily so no more viewing for a while. :P
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Matthew Rossi has provided an update on the banding now and it appears that everything went very well. 2 boys and 1 girl this year :-*
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Yes I'm home now..yay..doing laundry and catching up on what I missed!
4PM - Banding update:
Three young were banded as follows:
1. "Master Casper" - Male, 635 grams, 18 days, band 35Y, blue tape.
2. "Master Byron" - Male, 611 grams, 21 days, band 36Y, white tape.
3. "Ms. Marla" - Female, 889 grams, 22 days, band 15X, red tape.
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Same question here about the numbers on the band. The males seem to carry on in sequence from the other site banded today (32, 33, and 34) but the female is quite different. What does it all mean?????
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I think TPC posted that info.. somewhere in here...... ::)
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Oh here we go...Woo Hoo!!! 2 Males here..okay, now we just need a lot more! Come on Princess and Trey..males please, and Transmitter Girl & Beau (I think I got that right) , and Radisson & Damon!!! We need Tiercels!!!
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Update on the resident male's condition from Mathew:
When we first examined him we discovered he has a carpometacarpal bone fracture and it appeared to be broken in several spots. There were two openings both dorsally and ventrally where the bones have punctured through. So, we cleaned up his wing and bandaged it up so he wouldn’t move it and then took him to the vets the next day for and x-ray. The x-ray showed that his carpometacarpal bone on his left wing was in fact shattered but with the bandaging it was in relatively straight in alignment. Our biggest concern at the present time is to make sure that the wound site does not become infected and it’s so far so good. We have him on antibiotics and some pain medication to make him more comfortable. So unfortunately for now it’s just a waiting game to see how everything heals. I know that all of this information doesn’t sound all that great but on the bright side, the peregrine himself is doing quite well. He’s very bright and alert and eats like a pig!
...he is going to be out for the rest of the season at least. Unfortunately I can’t give you a definite answer as to whether or not the wing will fully recover as these kinds of injuries are difficult to assess and it is a little too soon to tell at this time, but we are doing everything we can.
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Cool news, carly! He's healthy, and that's the most important thing! I just hope the pig doesn't get fat! LOL
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Still don't know how low (close to the wingtip) the break is - needs to heal strong enough to support weigh and tolerate the kind of pressure a peregrine's flying/hunting style requires. I'm not being negative folks, just giving you a heads up that even if it does heal well, it is very likely it won't heal well enough for him to be re-released ...
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No worries TPC - honestly the description was waaaaaaaaay over my head but the word 'shattered' to describe a bone doesn't sound promising. :(
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Glad he is doing well..alert and eating like a pig but the unfortunate thing is that it sounds like it's a bad break on his wing. I do hope that he will recover from his injuries and hope that his rehab will go well!
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More trouble for mom possibly :(
This update is based on a few sources of information.
As early as Saturday a second Peregrine has been observed on site. Aerial maneuvers, possibly combative, were witnessed over the nearby greenspace, both falcons were said to be equal in size so it may be a second female in the vicinity.
Sunday this new adult was again spotted at various locations around the building including at the nest ledge. Our resident female was spotted chasing the intruder off the ledge.
As of Monday our resident "Mom" continues to feed the young, sometimes only dropping off food chunks and letting the young feed themselves. She has been observed storing remaining food in a nearby cache.
The MNR has advised that this may be a new female showing an interest in the nest site and testing our female's dominance.
Since Monday no reports of the intruder have been received. No details regarding any possible leg bands on the intruder were received. The video remains troublesome, will hopefully be resolved in the next few days.
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Oh...I hate this!
I hope the Mom can defend her territory without any injuries to her and her babies....
Any news on her mate?
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Haven't seen anything posted on the male this week but I expect shattered bones take awhile to heal. I hope the other female is just passing through, maybe if she sees there is no male..she'll move on.
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Let's hope this female moves on as well Carly......I have everything crossed for the male to recover!
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The live cam is up and running here again. It was a great relief to see the three healthy looking youngsters being fed by mom. The chicks have changed a great deal since the cam went down and are in varying stages of transformation. One still has a lot of white fluff but the two others are looking quite dark now.
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Update...
Friday info was received that at least one non-resident adult falcon has again been seen around the building.
The young are apparently eating very eagerly.
Afternoon update - female watching over the nest ledge from nearby peak, no further sightings
of other adult falcons.
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Mom just arrived with dinner and was eagerly met by the 3 big chicks. From the size of them mom must be doing a good job on her own of keeping up with the feeding for this threesome. Prior to her arrival they were all sitting at the edge of the ledge, heads all swivelling around in unison. Perhaps they were watching mom catch dinner. ;D
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For anyone worried about these chicks, that feeding that mom just did was 20 minutes and at the end she couldn't find any takers, so she dropped the leftovers in the middle of the ledge and flew off. These guys are looking good, and boy are they fast when they want to get from one end of the ledge to the other.
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Any word on her injured mate?
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Prior to her arrival they were all sitting at the edge of the ledge, heads all swivelling around in unison. Perhaps they were watching mom catch dinner. ;D
You mean, like people watching tennis? LOL -- that's sounds so cute. :D
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Update from Mathew:
Our non-resident falcon made another appearance today and Fred was fortunate enough to snap some shots during the brief visit. We still can't determine if it's a male or female, nor can we get any band info.
The youngsters continue developing and losing their white fluff. First flights are getting more likely with each day, but for now we probably need to see a lot more wing-flapping before they're ready.
TPC, if you have a minute or two can you go to the site and have a look at the photos of the so called intruder? It's a full blown adult not a sub adult and mom isn't ripping it's head off. I tried to blow the photos up on my desktop but it's hard to tell if said falcon is smaller due to positioning. Would she tolerate another female so close to her young? Is she bowing at one point or is she fuming? I left a message asking Mathew if mom chased him/her off as the post gives away nothing. I'd be interested if with your experience you can notice something an amateur like me wouldn't notice. Like the posture or stance maybe tells a story.
My amateur guess is it's a male but that might be wishful thinking :-\
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TPC, if you have a minute or two can you go to the site and have a look at the photos of the so called intruder? It's a full blown adult not a sub adult and mom isn't ripping it's head off. I tried to blow the photos up on my desktop but it's hard to tell if said falcon is smaller due to positioning. Would she tolerate another female so close to her young? Is she bowing at one point or is she fuming? I left a message asking Mathew if mom chased him/her off as the post gives away nothing. I'd be interested if with your experience you can notice something an amateur like me wouldn't notice. Like the posture or stance maybe tells a story.
My amateur guess is it's a male but that might be wishful thinking :-\
Not wishful thinking, the bird on the right of the photo is a male to my eye based on size - he's smaller and finer overall. Could be why Mom is standing her ground rather than fighting. Just because a male appears doesn't mean she will solicit. She could in fact be keeping her tail feathers away from him in a peregrine version of "thanks but no thanks" ...
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Thanks TPC. It will be interesting to see what happens here. Part of me wants her to have a new mate to help with the kids but another part of me hopes she moves on and finds another location and mate away from here. It's not a good location because it's so close to the airport and last year all 3 juvies were found dead in and around there - they didn't even make it past two months after fledge I think. I hope this years kids can stay away from the airport.
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How did last years' fledglings die Carly? I ask because other than death by airplane (from which there is rarely much left), airports are really popular locations for peregrines, not alot of buildings and great hunting much of the time. For fledglings, that lack of building thingy is a bonus.
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seems to me they bounced off buildings.. i know thats how we lost our chicks in mississauga last year.. updrafts and cross winds and glass buildings don't mix well with new flights... :-[ :'(
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Not sure TPC, they were all found on the road sides at or near the airport. I can ask Mark for details next time I speak to him, they are all in Burlington for the fledge there this week.
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How did last years' fledglings die Carly? I ask because other than death by airplane (from which there is rarely much left), airports are really popular locations for peregrines, not alot of buildings and great hunting much of the time. For fledglings, that lack of building thingy is a bonus.
Not Carly, but I remember what happened last year.
Spartacus was lost in a collision with an airplane at the airport on August 22, 2008.
Vega died in a collision with a building, also at the airport, on August 25, 2008.
Mascota's body was found in Toronto on October 28, 2008. No details were given on the cause of death, and the information was not posted on the site until December 3, 2008.
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Thanks Alison! And holyy cow, these kids are flapping up a storm right now!! It's pouring buckets outside at the moment...hopefully they will stay put until it clears up!!
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Thanks Alison - I figured collisions with buildings for at least some of the chicks, its what gets them. In the "wild" it would be cliffs instead of buildings but nonetheless ...
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Update today; Super Mom feeds her chicks, prepares them for fledge and echups with a (presumed) Canadian male! The modern urban peregrine female ;)
This morning wing-flapping is picking up. Marla is 39 days old, Byron 38 and Casper 35. We might need to see a bit more flapping before any departures take place, but generally speaking we should now be more on guard for possible first flights.
Noon update - Feedings appear to be getting reduced, still waiting to see if lunch gets delivered. Shortly after 11AM our visitor was spotted e-chupping with Mom on the ledge above the nest. Photos were taken, will be reviewing for band ID.
2PM - no luck getting a band ID on the visitor, but one band appears to be all-black which would make this falcon a Canadian, eh?
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Very happy to hear that Super Mom is doing well and looking after her chicks....
A canadian male? Hmmmmmm?
Carly...is there any news at all about her injured mate?
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No I asked Mathew the other day and he said he hadn't heard anything but would let us know when he did. All he knows is the male will not be returning this season due to the extent of the damage to his wing.
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Thank you Carly! I appreciate the feedback!
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All day we've been trying to figure out the band numbers on the new male here and guess what ... I thought that band is familiar and I looked up my Jack's band number and it's my resident male from Etobicoke!!!
What the heck is he trying to do!!!
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???
Seriously??
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Yes seriously. Unless they used the same band sequence two times, it's the same male. I'm going down to my site in the morning to see what is going on. I've been off for the past 3 days...and I saw him there on Tuesday so we'll see.
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Really strange...
Please keep us posted Carly...
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Ooooo, birdie bigamy ... probably the only thing the Radisson peregrines haven't tried yet!!
Can't wait to hear what you find out Carly!!!
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Past from Mathew this morning:
Mathew's Update:
Jul 5, 2009 - Injured bird - The drama continues
You'd think things were exciting enough around here the past while, but the drama continues to unfold.
This morning a lot of noisy calls were heard, a combination of juveniles excited to eat along with alarm-calling by either one or two adults.
Two adults were witnessed eee-chupping, hidden away on the nest ledge, one departed soonafter... ?
Later this afternoon a territorial dispute was witnessed, observers reported seeing two birds go on the offensive versus a third bird. In the hours to come, animal services were in the area retrieving an injured bird, details were a bit confusing at the time.
Piecing the available information together, it appears two (assumed adult) Peregrines from our site were defending the territory against an unfortunate Red-tailed hawk. The Red-tail didn't fare very well, suffering an injury in the talon area and possibly also a wing problem considering it was retrieved from the ground. Animal services originally thought the bird they had was a Peregrine falcon but thanks to Marlene and the MNR they eventually realized it was a hawk and not a Peregrine falcon with ID bands.
Following all of this, Mom is apparently looking fine, patchy details on the rest of the gang but things seem okay and have quieted down from earlier.
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Thanks for that update Carly......wonder who that intruder is?? (The one from Etobicoke?)
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No idea but still no sign of our male here this morning. No sign of mom either which is unusual. I'm going to see if I can find them on my lunch break. I don't like this at all :'(
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I know Carly.......let us know when you get a minute.
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I hope everything is okay, Carly. Please let us know when you can.
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Well everything is fine here, apparently the new male is suspected to be mating with the female today as per Mathew..while her juvies are still on site!!
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Update from Mathew on his site:
Yesterday I was glad to receive an email from a friend Lee in St. Catherines. Lee apparently made a visit to the facility where our resident male is being kept and passed a brief status update my way.
Our male is said to be healing well and if all goes as expected will be released in the spring! Not sure how a release like this works or if he will find his way back to the nest location, but it's safe to say Mom would appreciate seeing him again.
Safe to say CARLY will be happy to see him again too ;D ;)
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Great news Carly!!! Thanks for that little report! :D
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Thanks, Carly! This is great news - I've been wondering about him. I don't know where they are planning to release him, but I think he will find his way back to the nest site.
I hope everything continues to go well for him - he's been through a lot.
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I think he will go home as well, he and mom had been together for a number of years through thick and thin so no doubt he will wing his way back to her. And I think she will be happy to see him as Mathew says - Jack, not so much but let's hope he bows out gracefully when the time comes.
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Spring releases are frequently safer, no migration for a newly re-released bird - also means that he will be rested, fat, happy and ready to resume his resident duties. If he wants to go back (and he is hardwired to do so as he was the resident male) he will - and no he won't get lost ;)
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Awesome news from Mathew on his site:
Nov 25, 2009 - AWESOME NEWS!!! - Master Casper!
It's very exciting to post today's report!!! I'd first like to give a HUGE thanks to Doug Round and Lisa Cavello who spotted one of our juveniles, and using the band ID and some detective work found me and passed their findings along.
Master Casper (35Y) was spotted north of the 401 near Winston Churchill in an industrial area. He was observed on the ground feasting on a feathery pigeon. Doug had the good fortune of snapping quite a few great shots from indoors, and even had a chance to get closer to Casper outside.
After spending a few minutes stripping feathers from his prey, Casper struggled to fly away with his catch, flying as low as 5 feet from the ground! Fortunately there were no trucks passing when Casper was making his getaway.
Again, thanks so much to Doug and Lisa for contacting me!! This is a great example of how helpful the ID bands are in tracking the whereabouts of our feathered friends.
It's awesome to see one of our juveniles thriving out in the wild urban world, way to go Master Casper!
The pictures are fabulous, wow he's a beauty!
http://www.asic.ca/peregrinefalcons/
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(http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/ab39/sheilahavoc/oct%202009/emotions/4faa4ccbc7325991d60867c5e9cb5c2e.gif)
How great is this I think this is the first time that I have heard of any juvie seen this soon after fledging, remember though I'm still new to all this I get excited easy
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It's always great news to hear about one of the fledglings once they've gone. We all wonder and worry about them, this is the reward ;D
I'm thrilled for Mathew, poor guy puts his heart and soul in that site and when all three perished last year..I really felt for him. And with the male falcon in rehab, he must have wondered..why am I doing this again?? Now he finally gets to feel good about all the hard work he does - he should regardless but sometimes it's too easy to let all the bad news gets you down because you get so attached to them.
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Hey i work five minutes south of here ! I must pay closer attention from now on !..
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It's always great news to hear about one of the fledglings once they've gone. We all wonder and worry about them, this is the reward ;D
I'm thrilled for Mathew, poor guy puts his heart and soul in that site and when all three perished last year..I really felt for him. And with the male falcon in rehab, he must have wondered..why am I doing this again?? Now he finally gets to feel good about all the hard work he does - he should regardless but sometimes it's too easy to let all the bad news gets you down because you get so attached to them.
Well said, Carly! This is wonderful news. I know how I felt last year when all three juvies were lost, so I can imagine how Mathew must have felt. He must feel so good about Casper, who is a very handsome juvie. He looks so purposeful in the photos.
A couple of the great photos by Doug Round:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/mastercaspertorontoresidential1a.jpg) (http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/mastercaspertorontoresidential7a.jpg)
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AWESOME NEWS!!!!! He looks great and proud!!!!
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2010 NESTING SEASON
A couple of updates from this site: I'm glad to hear that the original male from this site is improving, and hope he will completely regain his flying ability. Jack seems to be maintaining two sites . . .
Feb 9, 2010 - Houston, have we a problem?
The past few days, the falcons are behaving strangely. I don't know if it's remotely possible (please contact me if you have any insights!), but if I had to guess I'd say Jack and Mom are in courtship mode.
One problem with the current situation is that lately, the location of choice for the falcons is the south end of the building, where I'm forced to stand on the ground and try to guess what the heck is going on above. No camera to observe with, no way to know what's going on within the ledge.
Yesterday, a tandem food run was observed. Today just moments ago (1:15PM), I watched two falcons sitting on different ledges. Next came the tell-tale squawking, the male flew out, came back to the ledge Mom was on, some hoopla ensued (hidden within the ledge), and after about 20 seconds the male flew out again. A bewildered looking female soon peered over the edge of the ledge. Ah yes, memories of matings of years gone by. AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! NO!!! :)
Monitoring continues as possible. Frankly I hope they're just wrestling or something, it seems pretty early in the season to start counting eggs... Right?
**2PM Update** Kathy was kind enough to pass me some additional information. Kathy knows Jack well from the Bloor/Islington site. Kathy says "Jack usually started courting Angel second week of February - the last 2 years I observed anyway. They were always the first site to lay eggs and hatch them out. She usually laid them last week of March with him. Not sure how it will work this year but he was here yesterday morning making all kinds of noises and they were both in the nestbox for awhile." - Thanks Kathy!
And so, once again we can confirm Jack is a little two-timer, quite the busy boy! 2PM - An update has been received from the MNR regarding our original male, the one currently in rehab.
Feb 11, 2010 - Mom in HD Video + Update on our original male
This morning it's a chilly -7C and Mom was spotted at the nest ledge through the remote monitoring camera. I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to shoot some video.
If you're interested, the video is on YouTube, click below to view.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS9Hn8kNfMU
According to the rehab facility, our male is being kept in a serpentine cage where he's able to fly at his leisure. He has ~50 meters to fly, and has been doing so. He also has a pal in the cage with him (though they are separated), a juvenile Peregrine falcon.
Our male is apparently flying okay, but is showing a bit of weakness turning in one direction.
The MNR has said that our male will eventually be released, but not in time for mating this year. This is actually a relief, because I think our nest is already covered by "Jack", and there's been some tension amongst observers on what would happen if our original male found his way back here while Jack is around.
Our male will tentatively be released later in the season. I will get more information at a later date, and will share this info and document any release that takes place, whenever that may be.
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Sad to hear that TR male won't be released but I"m glad he's improving and am hopeful eventually he will be free to fly the skies and find mom again.
As for Jack...I'm not really sure what to make of him. He seems to be spending 90% of his time at TR lately with his new mate and only comes by our site to check in. The other day we all watched Angel, she was perched on the condo and from there she has a line of sight straight to his new location. She never ever perches there and she sat there for 2 hours preening and looking around.
It's going to be an interesting season :-\
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Ack!! Just saw this posted on Mathews site from yesterday!!
Today at approximately 5PM there was a confrontation between two predatory birds less than 1km north of our site. It was reported that two large raptors were on the ground, talons entangled, apparently trying to kill one another. A third bird was noticed in the air above the disturbance.
Within minutes a few of us were at the location, and one bird was noticed flying out of a nearby tree, no birds were on the ground. I would guess it was a red-tailed hawk flying away but I was too far away to be sure. A brief look in the area didn't turn up any injured birds.
Back at our nest site no falcons have been seen, but for this time of day (early evening) that's not uncommon. I will be checking for Mom & Jack tomorrow morning.
Thanks to the community members who took the time to find me through Building Security, as always everyone's help is appreciated.
I'm out, heading to check on Angel!!
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Well that was the fastest trip I've ever made to work..lol! Angel was snoozing on her webcam in her usual corner so all is good. NO sign of Jack but then I wouldn't expect to see him anyway. ::)
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Good news, Carly!
How's that for a little heart racing activity on a Saturday afternoon.
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Good news, Carly!
How's that for a little heart racing activity on a Saturday afternoon.
Lol..no kidding, I actually broke out in a sweat..hehe! ;D
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Apr 1, 2010 - 420 Booty-call starring Mr. Loverman (from Mathew's site)
From shortly after 4PM until 430 I was able to partake in the gorgeous weather, hang out with the friendly neighbourhood dog club, and witness even more falcon mating.
I initially heard a falcon calling from far over yonder, and heard and saw one at the nest ledge returning the calls. Eventually Jack left the building to meet his mate.
The episode was brief, lots of flailing wings and an awkward balancing act, followed by Jack returning to the building to (I guess) don his smoking jacket and pipe and chill out. Mom remained at the tree, possibly thinking "is that it?", only judging from the expression on her face...
Apparently, Jack's mate at Bloor & Islington may now be incubating eggs, which naturally leaves Jack with more free time on his talons. Nice to see he still likes hanging out over here. It seems safe to say incubation is not underway here.
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Mathew has the release video of the newly named Milton aka TR Male up on his site. Have to admit, I got teary seeing him fly off. And boy did he NOT hesitate for a nano second, he was like lightening...straight for home! He's cute too, hope Jack doesn't hurt him :-\
http://www.asic.ca/peregrinefalcons/
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Release videos are wonderful to watch.
Thanks for the link, Carly.
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Just got an email from Mathew. Jack is at his site right now. NO sign of Milton but he says Jack looks pretty relaxed and not stressed. Hopefully Milton will bide his time before he makes a move. No doubt he would have been surprised to see his mate on eggs too. I will go out tomorrow to see what I can see.
ps: TPC, love the title modification.. ;D ;)
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that video brought tears to my eyes.
And where did they expect that he would go. this site is the one he knows.
I hope he stays safe
I do wish Jack would just go back to angel and leave him here.
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Very moving video! Brought tears to my eyes too!
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Mathew posted the release video of the juvenile male they also released. Oh he was so cute and he didn't seem to want to go...I hope he'll be okay :-*
http://www.asic.ca/peregrinefalcons/
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OMG! Yes, he is so cute! :D He did indeed look as if he didn't want to leave. I too am hoping he will be okay. :-\
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Haven't had a chance to look at the release videos yet, but love the photo of Milton, who is a beautiful tiercel.
Photo by Mathew Rossi.
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/image002-186-1.jpg)
I was surprised, to say the least, at the decision to release him right in the middle of the breeding season. I hope he will stay safe.
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Why was Milton in rehab? ???
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Why was Milton in rehab? ???
He was found on the ground with an injured wing - well on a balcony really. No one is sure what happened as there were no eye witnesses that day.
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Just noticed the rename of this thread.
I know Milton was there soon after his release, but is he still, days later, able to avoid Jack's notice by hanging out on the opposite side of the building?
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And just to spice things up, TR Mom may now be cheating on Jack with Milton :o :o
I will just post the link to Mathews Blog as it's a long one day but she's been seen flying with Milton while Jack was babysitting the kids ... and he was around yesterday apparently one of the residents said. Could get interesting... :-\
http://www.asic.ca/peregrinefalcons/
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Geez, and folks think we have "swinging peregrines"!! :o
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Is the mom at this site called "Angel"? :-\
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Is the mom at this site called "Angel"? :-\
Names of the resident pairs are in the subject line Kinderchick ... that is if we know who they are ...
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Sorry, TPC, I was confusing these with Jack & Angel on the Sun Life Building. And I thought there was a Milton over there too. ::)
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Is the mom at this site called "Angel"? :-\
Angel is the mom at my Bloor/Islington site, jack's other home. The territories are adjacent to each other.
So Jack & Angel - Bloor/Islington Etobicoke.
Last year - Milton & TR Mom - Private Residence Etobicoke.
Milton was injured last year and spent 11 months in rehab and was just released a week ago. While he was gone, Jack went over and romanced TR Mom and is now the resident male at 2 sites. Milton and Jack fought a bit last weekend but no serious injury and Jack is still in control of the territory but Milton seems to be meeting TR Mom on the sly :
So now it's Jack & Milton & TR Mom - Private Residence Etobicoke
and still Jack & Angel - Bloor/Islington Etobicoke.
It's like a falcon soap opera I'm afraid and probably won't end well but it's out of our control now. Just hope for the best and prepare for the worst. There are eyases at both sites now, 3 at Islington and we dont' know how many at the other site yet but she usually throws 3 as well. So Jack is potentially father to 6 eyases now!!
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Sorry, TPC, I was confusing these with Jack & Angel on the Sun Life Building. And I thought there was a Milton over there too. ::)
Milton was at our site too Kinderchick, it's very confusing I agree!!
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OMG!:o Thanks, carly! No wonder I was getting confused! Jack & Milton get "around"! :o And I thought we had a soap opera here in Winnipeg! ;) Now how is Jack going to manage feeding all of those chicks at both sites?! :o
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OMG!:o Thanks, carly! No wonder I was getting confused! Jack & Milton get "around"! :o And I thought we had a soap opera here in Winnipeg! ;) Now how is Jack going to manage feeding all of those chicks at both sites?! :o
Well he's doing ok so far as they are still small and don't eat a lot yet. Once the chicks are past the critical 10 day mark then the females can leave the chicks and hunt in the area to supplement the food supply. As they are larger they tend to bring in bigger prey. Both sites have ample pigeons and various other birds right by the nest sites so the females won't have to go far and risk leaving the babies out of visual range. I expect it won't be easy though and perhaps that is when the females will have had enough of sharing Jack.
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Thanks, Carly, for the recap of the the two areas, including the interconnections.
You should get on "As It Happens" with the Toronto version of "Guiding Flight!"
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Thanks, Carly, for the recap of the the two areas, including the interconnections.
You should get on "As It Happens" with the Toronto version of "Guiding Flight!"
Yes you should, carly! I agree with bcbird! ;)
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Mathew has a new post and photos of mom and the new kids on the block...congratulations TR Mom and Jack (again!). Looks like he's the father of six now!!
http://www.asic.ca/peregrinefalcons/
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Looks like he's the father of six now!!
WOW! Now that's alot of mouths to feed! :o
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May 31, 2010 - Milton Makes My Monday Morning!
Posted by Mathew Rossi
This morning I spotted Jack at the nest ledge. En route around the building I also saw a smallish looking falcon (ie non-female) at the old nest ledge, which seemed odd having seen Jack moments ago elsewhere.
Upon returning to the nest ledge, I saw Mom coming in for a quick stop. Jack was still there, half asleep, sunning himself and clearly unaware of any intruder. Mom did a quick bow towards Jack and left again, no alarm calling. She headed towards the old nest ledge.
Checking the old video feed, I saw the same falcon as minutes ago, and immediately figured out what was going on.
I ran up to the old nest ledge, and got lucky, snapping some shots of Milton. I didn't get any band ID but frankly I could recognize Milton in a police lineup, no problem whatsoever. As usual I had my RCAF hat on and it seems Milton got a good look at me too. Remember me buddy? ;)
As you can see from the photos, Milton is looking quite rejuvenated compared to a few weeks ago when he was described by Kathy as resembling a "feather duster".
So, Milton is alive and well, looks healthier than when we last saw him, and has apparently not given up on taking back his territory and mate. Do you hear that Jack? Eh? Milton seems to be biding his time and perhaps wondering what's going on. Mom may be wondering too.
I can't think of a cooler update to post today, so there you have it. I'm so happy to see Milton!!!
Please keep this new development in mind and let me know if you spot any territorial disputes or other strange activity. If you think you're looking at Milton, he has a black and green band on one leg.
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Well, now that Milton's back, this should/could make for some interesting drama again, at this nest site! :o
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I suspect he's been around all along kinderchick and just by chance he went to his old nest ledge today and Mathew was able to take photos.
The sad thing about all this is that our site gets neglected while he's over there playing 'who's feet are bigger' with Milton.
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...The sad thing about all this is that our site gets neglected while he's over there playing 'who's feet are bigger' with Milton.
I hear ya, carly. ;)
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Looks like Jack is the father of 5 boys in total!!
From Mathew's site:
Jun 8, 2010 - Banding Report - quick update & more to come
Thanks to everyone who contributed to today's successful banding of our young! It was a team effort involving the MNR, brave rock climbers, Management and residents.
We are the proud foster parents of 2 healthy, somewhat quiet male Peregrines:
"Pinto" - 640 grams, band # P56, USFW band 11260433 - Yellow tape
"St. Maurice" - 630 grams, band # P57, USFW band 11260434 - White tape
A full report including photos will follow, hopefully this evening, but here's a short summary of what took place:
- the climbers had a challenge safely tying off, and so had to double-tie their lines and join those lines to create a third properly aligned line. This was why there was a delay descending the wall.
- the young were brought in, watered, weighed and sexed
- they then received their black ID band and silver US Fish & Wildlife band, as well as coloured tape to assist with fledge watch
- there was a brief photo opp
- the young then went behind closed doors to give blood, which was to help our government and the Canadian Wildlife Services to collect information to help them research the impact of flame retardants on bird species. This is an emerging problem that is being monitored and our birds appeared proud to assist with the research :)
- Our "Mom" falcon made a valiant effort to protect her young, Jack, well not so much. According to Kathy at Bloor/Islington, Jack was back at that nest before our rock climbers had even removed their ropes, "hanging out on the ledge having some lunch while mom patrols the skies" That Jack character...
More later...
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Looks like Jack is the father of 5 boys in total!!
Great news, carly! :) 5 boys! That Jack!!! :o
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- the young then went behind closed doors to give blood, which was to help our government and the Canadian Wildlife Services to collect information to help them research the impact of flame retardants on bird species. This is an emerging problem that is being monitored and our birds appeared proud to assist with the research :)
I was wondering, just exactly how are flame retardants affecting bird species? ???
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Kinderchick, this is a post TPC made yesterday, referring to a variety of contaminants, to the eggs. I recall there was a fair bit of flame retardant information in a similar thread in a previous year, but I'm not sure how to search the archive files.
Contaminants don't always turn up in the eggshells - DDT and DDE and related contaminants do. Flame retardents don't it appears. Others will be other places. Do we test? No. There is academic research though, the flame retardant stuff is the newest contaminant being looked at - not an eggshell problem so far, but there are some questions as to whether or not they cause behavioural changes. And DDT and DDE was not related to fertility/viability, it caused eggshell thinning which was responsible for embryo/chick mortality.
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Yes, I did see this yesterday, bcbird and thank you for drawing my attention to it again. :) I guess I was wondering, is flame retardant used in fighting forest fires and is that how the birds are being affected? ???
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2011 NESTING SEASON
Looks like Jack's other wife started incubation yesterday as per Mathews update:
Apr 6, 2011 - Start of incubation today?
This assumption may change, but at the moment I'm leaning towards saying incubation has begun.
I'm seeing a falcon in the corner, but the video is often unavailable so it's difficult to know if this is an all-day pastime. I am also seeing food deliveries and/or changing of the guard, hard to tell for sure, but definitely a change in behaviour compared to a week ago.
This sounds a bit vague, but I did see the corner occupied quite a few times today, so I believe it's 'game on'! :)
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I have great news about the former male here that Jack upsurped - Milton is alive and well and at a brand new site nearby in Brampton paired with Truss!
Brampton Territorial Male Identified
April 30, 2011 - International, National and Local News
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Bruce Massey was on-site today and was able to make a positive identification of the male. It is the bird known as Milton that was hatched at the Gulf Tower in Pittsburg in 2002. This male and his young mate, Truss from the Burlington Lift Bridge in 2009, are still holding the territory but their status as a nesting pair is still in question. While copulation was witnessed by Bruce last week, the adults are being seen off of the ledge at the same time most often. There was a period today where both birds entered the ledge and “discussed the situation” but it is apparent that incubation is not underway at this time. With the change over of the female from an unbanded one reported earlier to now being Truss has certainly disrupted cycles and timing at this potentially new site. We will continue to monitor and update as we follow the pair this season.
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That's great news about Milton, carly. 8)
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I have great news about the former male here that Jack upsurped - Milton is alive and well and at a brand new site nearby in Brampton paired with Truss!
That is great news, to hear that Milton is alive & well! :D
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2012 NESTING SEASON
Jack has been confirmed as the resident male at this site once again. Not sure who the female is. 3 eggs were laid but only 2 were confirmed to be incubated. 1st hatch today. :)
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I read that there are two white fluffy bodies at this site, so it appears all their eggs have hatched. :D
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2013 NESTING SEASON
As of the last two weeks, Jack and Mom are canoodling around their nestsite and apparently in a particular nearby tree.
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2014 NESTING SEASON
Been very hard to get reports for this site as the residents that did care have lost interest for the most part.
The last I heard - week before last when I prodded - was that they thought the site was deserted as they had only seen one for a long time then suddenly two are around again. Jack is still going there so I suspect he's one of them.
They aren't nesting in the usual places and now they're only seeing one. So either they've picked a new spot to nest or something else is going on there.
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Finally got an email day before yesterday on this nest. The window washers came upon the female on 4 eggs on a hidden ledge.
No idea if it's still TR Mom but I know Jack is still going there so assuming he's the dad. Will post more if I hear it.