Manitoba Falcon Cam Forum
Other Peregrine Projects => Canadian Peregrines => Topic started by: Alison on May 04, 2009, 20:34
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2009 NESTING SEASON
There is a new falcon at the University of Montreal, and she has been identified as being from the Hilliard Road Bridge nest in Cleveland. Her name is Spirit (band black/green 93/E), and she is one of four chicks who were born in 2004 to the great Buckeye and his mate Hillary. The chicks were Turbo, Pulse, Mystic and Spirit.
Turbo disappeared very shortly after fledging; Chad and Chris Saladin spent the whole day searching for him, and they found his body. It seemed that he had encountered some type of predator.
Pulse fledged and landed on the ground, but was able to gain height and fly up high enough to be safe. Mystic and Spirit also fledged successfully. Later in the summer, Mystic was found with a badly fractured wing, and she did not survive the surgery to repair it.
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Great great news!!! Come on Spirit..now we just need to find you a mate!
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In March 2007, I was watching the Pittsburgh Cathedral of Learning webcam when Erie, the resident male (and father of the new female in Rochester) battled in the nest box with another male. He finally threw the other male out of the nest box. I didn't know it then, but he killed the other male, and the other tiercel was Pulse from Hilliard Road Bridge, who was by then three years old. So Spirit is the last survivor of these four chicks from five years ago.
Spirit and her unbanded mate, Roger, have been provided with a nest box, and are currently incubating eggs.
Spirit in 2004:
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/may%202009/spirit1a.jpg)
Spirit and Pulse:
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/may%202009/pulseandspirit1a.jpg)
Spirit now:
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/may%202009/Spirit-93E1a.jpg)
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Great shots Alison...
Wow, what a story. Spirit is a fitting name then for this female, the spirit of her family lives in her!
YOU GO GIRL!
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I had intended to mention that the photos of Spirit and Pulse from 2004 are by Chad and Chris, and the one of Spirit as she looks now is by Eve Belisle in Montreal. She has a blog (in French) on Spirit and Roger.
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GO SPIRIT GOOOOOO!!!!!!
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Any word on the eggs?
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Thank you for asking, Allikat! The eggs were expected to hatch around May 3, but didn't. However, at least one chick hatched on May 9! Eve Belisle saw food being brought to the nest at least five times on May 11, and saw at least one baby today!
I hope it's okay to post the link to her blog, but if not, I'm sure TPC will delete it.
http://fauconsudem.blogspot.com/
There is now a webcam:
http://fauconsudem.000space.com/motion_detect/
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/may%202009/may15montreal1.jpg)
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/may%202009/may15montreal2.jpg)
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/may%202009/montrealmay153.jpg)
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Great news!!! One is better than none! ;D
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It seems there is more than one chick in the nest, but I'm not sure how many. According to the blog, the chicks are well fed.
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From the blog on May 19:
"This morning, I was able to see two pretty little white heads in the nest box. Spirit fed the babies once again with a pretty yellow goldfinch. What can you do, the babies have to be fed!" (translated by me, not by Google)
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This Canadian nest has been somewhat neglected -- I'm not sure why.
There were two chicks this year; one male and one female were banded. The male was named Algo and the female was named Polly. There are some beautiful photos of them on Eve Bélisle's blog.
Later, Polly was injured somehow: :'(
From August 17:
As I mentioned last week, poor Polly still has an injured foot. I have made several attempts to capture her with the intention of taking her to the rehabilitation centre for birds of prey at St-Hyacinthe, but without success. Still, I have not given up . . .
From September 19:
In spite of numerous attempts to capture Polly and have her cared for, my efforts failed and I have had to give up on the idea, due to lack of time. The good news is that she seems to have adapted to her handicap fairly well, since she has managed to survive so far. I see the juvies less and less; I am really quite surprised to see them still in the area. I would have thought that they would have left long before this!
There is a video of Polly on the blog. She can barely manage to get around at all, as of September. It's hard to tell, but this looks like a leg fracture or possibly even a hip fracture. Poor little Polly -- I hope she will be okay. I think about Mariah in 2006. when she had a serious leg injury, and she made a complete recovery. Hoping for the same for Polly.
Any errors in the translation from the French are mine . . .
http://fauconsudem.blogspot.com/
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An update from December 1:
I have not seen Algo since mid-October. It seems that he has left his parents' territory, or at least he no longer visits the Tower.
On the other hand, to my great astonishment, young Polly comes to perch on the Tower regularly. She still has the problem with her right foot; however, I see a slight improvement when she is in flight. At first her foot hung down like a dead weight, while now it is bent back a little. She can also move her toes and use them a little bit, as you can see in this video taken on November 19.
It seems clear to me that her handicap has slowed down her ability to learn to hunt, and thus her departure has been delayed . . . I am nevertheless hopeful that she will be able to fend for herself during the next few months, because she seems to be in good condition. I am fairly sure that she is now able to catch prey for herself.
Roger and Spirit show absolutely no aggression towards her, but neither do they show any particular interest in her . . .
As before, any errors in translation are mine.
http://fauconsudem.blogspot.com/
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Wow...I hope Polly makes it and I'm glad the parents are tolerating her presence.
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Polly may do quite well despite her disability. Since she has lasted this long hunting for herself she may have figured out what she can and can't do. The first year is the toughest bar none, and she is only a few months to making it past year one!
For hunting, she needs to be able to fly more than use her feet. So long as she can kill and subsequently get to her prey, she could do well. She may never be able to catch and carry heavy items, but she there are lots of smaller birds she can catch and carry. There are lots of larger birds she can catch, kill, eat on sight, or dismember into small pieces if she needs to transport/cache. More work, but it sounds like she's adapting well. Or she might have the strength, just not the dexterity in that foot, in which case she will simply compensate with the other one.
Of more interest is her ability to breed. She needs to be able to support herself and her mate during copulation, tends to be a quick act but they are rather, umm, "busy" in the spring so it may be a question of endurance for her.
As for leaving, she may decide not to ... she knows where she is and can hunt her safely/effectively and that may be enough to keep her there. Other birds stay to defend territories year-round, other young birds (think New York City) and there is no identifiable reason why they decide to hang around. And there will be plenty of food for her year-round in Montreal if she stays.
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I hope she does. Thanks for your words of encouragement. Coming from you given all your knowledge and experience - I can be hopeful her chances of survival!
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Thank you for your thoughts on this, TPC. I am still hoping that Polly's leg may heal completely with time. I also remember Gahastey, one of Mariah and Kaver's daughters in 2004, when she was just a juvie. Later that summer she too sustained a serious leg injury -- the leg was just dangling when she was in flight -- but she made a complete recovery. She moved to Ontario; sadly, she was killed in October of the following year in a collision with a jet at Niagara Air Force Base.
And I always think of the remarkable Dundas, born in Hamilton in 2004, who lost a leg when he was only a few months old. He survived and became an extremely skilled hunter, and had two different mates. He had so much courage.
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2010 NESTING SEASON
Polly, the female juvie born last year, is still at the nest with her parents. I'm not sure whether she is able to manage better with her injury at this stage.
The nest box has been cleaned out, and new gravel provided. Two new webcams have been installed, which should provide good views of Spirit, Roger and their family this year. After all this work a gift of quail was left for the falcons, to entice them to come and see the new modifications. The cams are not live yet, but it should not be too long.
Photos by Eve Bélisle.
Roger and Polly:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/4352976662_082225c858_o.jpg)
Roger:
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2698/4352976618_e442e2c7b2_o.jpg)
Polly at the nest:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4067/4352976698_01f230584e_o.jpg)
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Wow..she's still there? And they are ok with it? I hope they let her stay once they start courting and nesting. Perhaps like over in the UK a few years ago, she will help her mom raise the young?!
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What injury does she hav3e an can they not trap her and check her out and try and rehabilitate her.
I know trapping is possible
I jsut read back on this. Hopefully she is O.K.
the parents will not harm her and they jsut might let her stay around . I have read wehre sometimes a juvenille has helped out in the rearing..
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I would be inclined to think that if she has been with them since hatching, she may not be seen as a rival when the nesting hormones kick into gear in a month-ish, could mean, if she has the good sense to be low-key, that she will be able to stay through the summer on her parents' territory. Will be interesting to watch!!!
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I would be inclined to think that if she has been with them since hatching, she may not be seen as a rival when the nesting hormones kick into gear in a month-ish, could mean, if she has the good sense to be low-key, that she will be able to stay through the summer on her parents' territory. Will be interesting to watch!!!
I hope you're right about this, TPC! Spirit and Roger seem to be comfortable with Polly there for now. I hope she stays. I wonder if she is hunting for herself, or if Spirit and Roger are allowing her to share their food.
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What injury does she hav3e an can they not trap her and check her out and try and rehabilitate her.
I know trapping is possible
I jsut read back on this. Hopefully she is O.K.
the parents will not harm her and they jsut might let her stay around . I have read wehre sometimes a juvenille has helped out in the rearing..
Not sure if you found the posts from the 2009 thread, Bev. Polly has a serious leg injury (according to the site, a foot injury, but it looks more like an injury further up the leg, or even a hip injury. She has been barely able to get around.
Eve had attempted to catch her, but Polly was not willing to cooperate, so she finally had to give up.
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I just checked the blog, and the two new cameras are now up and running. Eve Bélisle has posted videos from the new cams.
On February 20, there had been quail left in the nest. Polly was the one who came and ate almost the whole thing. Spirit came in to finish off the few leftovers.
Polly with quail; she is such a beauty.
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/polly1a.jpg)
http://fauconsudem.blogspot.com/
Temporary link to the cams:
http://www.teambelisle.com/test/
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The girl who posts about this site from Montreal - asked on Imprints about Polly's situation. She said Polly flys and plays with her parents regularly!
Paul Hamilton replied and posted these two links showing that cooperative nesting is not as uncommon as we think.
http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1642/0004-8038%282003%29120%5B0717%3AOAEOCB%5D2.0.CO%3B2?journalCode=tauk
http://www.bioone.org/action/showFullPopup?doi=10.1642%2F0004-8038%282003%29120%5B0717%3AOAEOCB%5D2.0.CO%3B2&id=i0004-8038-120-3-717-t02
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The girl who posts about this site from Montreal - asked on Imprints about Polly's situation. She said Polly flys and plays with her parents regularly!
Then, is she likely able to hunt for herself?
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I'm really not sure to be honest. She just says Polly takes food from them. I've posted the question to her on the board and we will see if she replies. Nicole did say she helps them defend the territory so we'll see.
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I'm really not sure to be honest. She just says Polly takes food from them. I've posted the question to her on the board and we will see if she replies. Nicole did say she helps them defend the territory so we'll see.
Quoting from Eve Bélisle's blog on December 1, 2009:
It seems clear to me that her handicap has slowed down her ability to learn to hunt, and thus her departure has been delayed . . . I am nevertheless hopeful that she will be able to fend for herself during the next few months, because she seems to be in good condition. I am fairly sure that she is now able to catch prey for herself.
I think Polly is in the best possible place, staying with her parents. Her favourite place to perch is in the middle, between Spirit and Roger. She looks in good condition; her feathers look healthy, and her eyes are bright.
And Spirit and Roger have now begun copulation -- Eve posted a short video.
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Oh that's wonderful news Alison! I wasn't sure the way Nic had worded it - she said Polly steals a wing, a breast from them so you could infer anything from that. But this is good news if she is learning to hunt for herself. It sounds though they enjoy having her there and I think it's wonderful personally!
Amazing isn't it how the falcons always seem to surprise us, they really are the most wonderful birds ;)
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Spirit is on the ledge right now at the University of Montreal - at least, I believe it is Spirit, and not Roger, considering the size.
The live camera has a great view of her, looking very regal and strutting around for the last few minutes.
http://ornithologie.ca/faucons/ (http://ornithologie.ca/faucons/)
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Two falcons ( I presume Spirit and Roger) are on the ledge right now at the University of Montreal site; one is defeathering and eating, and the other is placidly watching, so I guess they are in the courtship phase right now. Oh, wait, the watcher ran over and grabbed a piece; but there was no argument, so I guess all is love and kisses.
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Caught Roger at the nest box today:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmar175a.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmar177a.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmar178a.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmar179a.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmar1711a.jpg)
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I think this is Roger in the first pics; don't see a band, and the bib is white:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/m2mar241a.jpg) (http://s1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/?action=view¤t=m2mar241a.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmar241a.jpg) (http://s1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/?action=view¤t=montrealmar241a.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmar243a.jpg) (http://s1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/?action=view¤t=montrealmar243a.jpg)
And I think this is Spirit in the nest box this evening, which means there could be a first egg any time:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmar245a.jpg) (http://s1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/?action=view¤t=montrealmar245a.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmar246a.jpg) (http://s1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/?action=view¤t=montrealmar246a.jpg)
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Spirit has laid her first egg!
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmar251a.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmar253a.jpg)
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Roger with the egg:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmar256a.jpg)
And a couple of minutes ago, Polly with the egg:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmar259a.jpg)
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Great shots Alison, I was wondering what Polly would do when she saw the egg or if they'd shoo her off but obviously she's there to stay for awhile! It will be great to see if they let her feed the eyases and let her help raise them!
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Spirit laid her second egg today in spite of Polly bullying Roger and wanting both mom and dad out of the nest when she wanted to lay in 'her' nestbox and nap. Eve is doing a great job of recording this amazing situation and has some good videos on the blog site.
In one today you can see all three in the nest box together as Polly wants in, the second one is Spirit laying her second egg.
It will be interesting to see how long they tolerate her presence as she's quite the little bully. In one video a few days ago, she was actually rolling the first egg around a bit :o
http://fauconsudem.blogspot.com/
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I hate to say this but she needs to go and find another roost. Spirit has to be tough as Polly is bigger than Roger.
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Lol..Polly is back today after an absence of a few days. She promptly bullies a parent out of the nestbox and examines the eggs - love the expression on her face...great video of the episode. Eggs are intact and dad back on eggs by the end!
http://fauconsudem.blogspot.com/
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Wouldn't imagine birds could get expressions on their faces, but they certainly do. Is there any danger Polly would damage the eggs?
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Wouldn't imagine birds could get expressions on their faces, but they certainly do. Is there any danger Polly would damage the eggs?
She could accidently step on them for sure and I agree the expressions were what got me!
YOu have to wonder if they don't sense something about Polly that is not obvious to us as they are extremely patient and tolerant of her. Eve has seen her chasing prey but not seen her actually catch anything so perhaps she truly couldn't survive on her own is what I mean. Maybe that is why they are hesitant to push her out? It sure is an interesting situation to study.
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More drama here today. Eve has a new video up, polly forced her mom off the eggs and out of the nestbox today and prevented dad from coming in. Eggs were uncovered for an hour - fortunately it was 23c outside so that should be ok. Finally mom came in and took over.
Not going to end good if they don't Polly under control.
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Well, Polly is still around, and it seems that her parents cannot convince her to leave, but from what Eve says on this site, if my understanding of the French is correct, Polly can possibly turn into a first-rate babysitter, when the chicks are hatched. So, although there is still worry and concern about Polly's behavior, she may eventually be a welcome addition to chick-sitting duties.
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Yes, yesterday they wre all learning to get around each other. Hope this keeps up.
but not good for next year, I would think. But one step at a time
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Well, I guess this threesome have worked it out; but, it is not very often you see two falcons resting in the nestbox with the eggs! Somehow, Polly has managed to make herself accepted, and so we have three falcons taking care of these eggs. I hope when the chicks are hatched, that Polly continues to be cooperative and helpful to her very understanding parents.
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I've been researching some falcon studies papers and I came across something last night that indicates that this situation may be more common than previously believed. A group of biologists did a study on it recently and I read a synopsis on their published findings. Apparently this type of thing may occur more often than believed however due to lack of observation - it's not being documented as much. Their current findings suggest about 3% of all raptor species may be nesting in 'trios'. Some they found are young that have delayed dispersal and in some cases they found a subadult that wasn't related to the breeding pair!
This last point is interesting because the first 'Angel' at my site that showed up a decade ago kind of invited herself into the nestbox of the existing pair at the time and was tolerated for quite awhile and then the next spring the resident female vanished never to be seen again and was replaced by the young upstart 'Angel'. At the time of course they didn't have the webcams so no one knows what really happened, did she end up battling the female in the end or did the resident female meet another fate and the subadult took over.
It's quite fascinating and obviously the Montreal situation gives them an opportunity to study a situation on cam. From what I read their report was based on observations in the wild.
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Gosh, having these webcams is just the beginning of what scientists can learn about falcons. Before, alot of what they studied was observation when possible, conjecture, and past studies; now, the technology is doing something good, I think, in opening up a world of falcon behavior. This can make such a big difference to our knowledge base, I hope for the benefit of our birds of prey!
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I really liked the photos Eve posted of Polly and Roger in the nest box together. They look so peaceful.
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/pollyandroger1.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/pollyandroger2.jpg)
Incubating today:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealapr152a.jpg)
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Very interesting, this trio with eggs in the nestbox. Had not heard of such a thing happening. Parents have been very tolerant of Polly hanging around. :)
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Polly was back at the nest today, but things were peaceful and she did not harm the eggs in any way. Eve has posted a new video on the blog.
A look at Spirit's family: all photos are by Chad and Chris.
Her Dad, the charismatic Buckeye, whom we lost in April 2007:
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/hilliard%20road%20bridge/buckatya1.jpg)
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/hilliard%20road%20bridge/buckbath2_nov16.jpg)
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/hilliard%20road%20bridge/bucktreesit2_nov17.jpg)
Her Mom, Hillary, who was very young when she first came to this site, still in her juvie plumage:
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/hilliard%20road%20bridge/hillbranch3_nov19.jpg)
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/hilliard%20road%20bridge/hillriver2_nov16.jpg)
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/hilliard%20road%20bridge/hillriver4_nov16.jpg)
Spirit's brother, Pulse, just after fledging in 2004:
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/hilliard%20road%20bridge/pulseinweeds2.jpg)
Spirit as a juvie in 2004:
(http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o337/quintara2/hilliard%20road%20bridge/spiritpreen.jpg)
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An article in the Montreal Gazette today on Spirit, Roger and Polly:
Like a lot of teens, Polly is a little slow to leave the nest
Université de Montréal falcon pair may have to evict their daughter
By DAVID BIRD, Freelance
April 21, 2010
Welcome to Montreal's newest Internet reality show, Mind Your Own Falcon Business, starring Spirit, Roger, Polly and Eve. Who needs soap operas when you've got the real thing on your computer?
I have studied and written about peregrine falcons for more than 30 years and I thought I had seen it all. But this year takes the cake.
It all started in 2007 when Eve Bélisle, a programmer in the chemical engineering department at École Polytechnique on the Université de Montréal campus, contacted me about a pair of peregrines hanging about the 26-storey tower there. The following winter, we installed a comfortable nesting box on the 23rd floor and, lo and behold, right around Mother's Day in 2009, the birds produced two young, a male and a female.
From reading her leg band number, Eve discovered that the mother's name is Spirit and she fledged from a bridge nest in Ohio in 2004. She gave the name Roger to the father in honour of Roger Gaudry, the man the tower is named after. The two nestlings were called Algo (after Alain Goulet, owner of the Centre de conservation de la faune ailée, a nature store in the east end, and the financial backer for both the nest box and the web cam) and Polly, a former name for Spirit. And Eve, of course, is now the official voyeur. So now you know all the players in this fascinating drama.
After the usual rescues of both nestlings from the ground when they made unsuccessful attempts to fly, both kids hung around Mom and Dad for quite a while.
Algo eventually disappeared and will hopefully show up as a breeder at around 3 years of age - a very natural thing for young fledged peregrines to do. But here is where our story gets quite interesting.
Polly became the child who wouldn't go away; she stayed with her parents through the entire winter. Eve had noticed that Polly had sustained some form of permanent leg injury, which, to a peregrine used to nailing their prey with their feet in the air, can be a handicap. Thus, it is conceivable that Polly remained with her parents throughout the winter with the thought that she could garner the odd food handout for old time's sake.
Spirit and Roger are now sitting on a clutch of four eggs in the nest box. The episode titled The Trouble with Polly started during egg-laying. Polly just couldn't keep her little beak out of Mom's business. Every time Mom or Dad would enter the nest box, Polly had to be there, too. You see, some bird species like crows and scrub-jays welcome assistance from helpers in the form of youngsters from previous years, but not falcons, at least not to my knowledge.
For the rest of the article:
http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Like+teens+Polly+little+slow+leave+nest/2932137/story.html
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7:55 am and Polly is in the nestbox trying to incubate the eggs again ::)
Edit: She's decided laying next to them in the sun is better :-\
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Alison, those photos of Spirit's family are fantastic! Most photos posted on this site I never get to see because of the firewall here at work, but there was no problem at all with these stunning photos. Thanks.
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Eve posted a video yesterday of Polly trying to take over incubation duties from Spirit. But although she tried, she just could not see to get the knack of it: she was up and down, then circling the eggs, then touching them, then trying again to sit properly on them, all to no avail. I am not sure about whether or not Polly is all there; she just does not seem to have a natural instinct about this whole process, or peregrine life, for that matter. I do hope things work out well for her.
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She is just a year old and so all of those instincts are not there yet. and hopefully she will not cause any more problems.
I hope for the best possible outcome for this site.
I watched this morning and they were off eggs for quite awhile, but the temperature is warm.
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Alison, those photos of Spirit's family are fantastic!
Yes! Those photos certainly are stunning, Alison!!! :-*
...I am not sure about whether or not Polly is all there; she just does not seem to have a natural instinct about this whole process, or peregrine life, for that matter...
Hopefully you're right about Polly just needing to mature a bit, bev!
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I am not sure about whether or not Polly is all there; she just does not seem to have a natural instinct about this whole process, or peregrine life, for that matter. I do hope things work out well for her.
I agree with Bev that Polly is just young. She knows that these are not her eggs, and that she has been somewhat discouraged by Spirit and Roger from being near them. I think that by next year, things will be different.
Meantime, I think she looks really good, and I notice that she has considerably more range of motion in her injured leg than she did last year. She is getting around much better.
In 2008, when Brent showed up at the King Plant nest in Minnesota for his first year, he was two years old. He didn't know the correct way to make a scrape, but Belinda straightened him out on that. When Belinda started laying eggs, Brent was so excited; his new favourite thing was to roll the eggs in and out of the scrape! He soon settled down to incubate the eggs instead. Last year, he had so much more confidence and knew exactly what to do. It can just take a little time for young peregrines to learn what is expected of them.
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From what I have been reading on this site, the experts feel that there is almost no chance of these eggs hatching, but they have their fingers crossed . Eve says that what is likely to happen is that eventually the parents will sense that the eggs are not viable, and will leave them. She says it is possible that they may try again this year.
No one seems to know with any certainty why the parents tolerate Polly's presence. They have theories: because Polly is handicapped, because they do not see her as a threat and feel that she can help them with babysitting duties; and also, Polly's hormones have not kicked in, and this makes a big difference.
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Well, these eggs are not due for a few days yet, and I say , never say never. they said the egg in NCTC eagle nest would not hatch becasue of all the cold temperatures, rain and snow they endured, and it did.
Even if only one egg hatches. but even thought they have been left at times it was not that cold out and the main thing is turning and keeping the temperature so it does not get below a certain tempertatur. I f anything they may hatch late. Look at Columbus last year, that one egg was not incubated for over a week(I will have to check archives) and then she had 3 more and they all hatched.
Polly was there for a bit this morning and the parent tried 3 times ot come around and finally got in. Eggs were uncovered for 20 minutes but Polly was there and maybe her body heat was enough.
Slideshhow(does say beginning and end)
(http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev39/th_montralapril28-1.jpg) (http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev39/?action=view¤t=97753e98.pbw)
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I sure hope you are right, Bev. We cannot give up hope. This has been such and interesting and compelling site, and I want all our falcons here to do well.
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...This has been such and interesting and compelling site, and I want all our falcons here to do well.
This is a very interesting nest site, indeed, Elaine, what with Polly in the picture. I do hope the eggs will hatch!
Slideshhow(does say beginning and end)
Thanks for the slideshow, bev. :)
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First hatch at Montreal .they have sound now. I am on my way out but I thought I would share it with you :-* :-*
Seee video at BCATW of Polly visit. heart attack
http://www.peregrinefalcon-bcaw.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=480&start=360
It is towards end of page
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First hatch at Montreal .they have sound now. I am on my way out but I thought I would share it with you :-* :-*
There is a hatch? According to today's post on the site, there are pips in two eggs so far.
I am very much hoping that all the eggs will hatch successfully.
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Yup, saw the little one this morning and there are noticeable pips.
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Here is the pic posted by Eve on the blog, showing pips in two eggs:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/image002-70-1-1.jpg)
Saved this one moments ago:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/image002-71-1.jpg)
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Congratulations to Spirit and Roger on their first very cute little fluff ball:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/image002-74-1.jpg)
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the pips Alison are the other 2 eggs. there ws one born this morning.
I posted the link to BCATW for SGB video on other page. It is something else. It shows Polly going to visit
I think #2 is ready to hatch
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Those are amazing "pip" photos, exactly the right place at the right time - and a good quick "trigger" finger!
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Two chicks this morning! Just caught a feeding at 6:00 am and clearly saw 2 little heads taking food from Spirit :-* :-*
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Great news :-* :-*The pips wee big yesterday an you could hear before I went out yesterday.
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Spirit wasn't allowing a good look at the chicks, but I like this little face just peeking out:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/image002-91-1.jpg)
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here is one when there was an exchange. They are very loud.
(http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev39/montrealmay3-.jpg)
(http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev39/montrelmay3-3.jpg)
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What great photos, Alison and bev! Thanks! :D
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I think there may be a 3rd hatch, maybe
(http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev39/montrealmay3-9.jpg)
(http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev39/montrealmay3-10.jpg)
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I think you might be right here Bev....I see an new empty eggshell. Good for them!!!!
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definitely 3 . having problems with my pictures today
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If I understand the French correctly here, the chicks have not eaten since 5:00 this morning! What has happened to Roger?
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Finally, he arrived with a very late lunch! But the little one that was just born this morning has not eaten anything yet - oh, wait, now it looks like he has got himself turned around in the right direction and is getting something to eat.
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Finally, he arrived with a very late lunch! But the little one that was just born this morning has not eaten anything yet - oh, wait, now it looks like he has got himself turned around in the right direction and is getting something to eat.
No worries Elaine, the adults will always make sure the chicks are fed, maybe not everyone everytime but it does all average out over each day for the first couple-three weeks. After band age, the birds are big enough/strong enough/mobile enough to become greedy little gluttons (anyone remember Vesper last year :o) with larceny in their hearts ... sweet little things that they are ;)
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Still three chicks - it doesn't look as if the fourth egg will hatch.
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/image002-122-1.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/image002-121-1.jpg)
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Tragic news here tonight. Polly has stolen one of the babies and they thiink she has consumed it. Eve has posted on her blog tonight that she went to search for it thinking perhaps it had fallen and was somehow still alive.
My god, what will happen now. Will she go after the other two?!
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Oh my goodness!!! This is very tragic!
I can't believe that happened! :(
I hope Polly doesn't hurt or take any of the other ones.
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Will Roger and/or Spirit (assuming they are aware of what Polly did) drive her away from the nest now? I'd be afraid that if she's taken one of the chicks, she'll just go after the others.
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Will Roger and/or Spirit (assuming they are aware of what Polly did) drive her away from the nest now? I'd be afraid that if she's taken one of the chicks, she'll just go after the others.
I honestly don't know what will happen or what is going on out there right now. They seem to feel that it's the males fault for not driving her out and are excusing Polly as just doing what is natural and perhaps that is the case?
We've never seen a juvenile stay on after dispersal like this - perhaps this is one of the reasons the parents chase them off when they try to come back. Maybe they know they are a danger to their new offspring...I'd be interested in TPC's commentary on this.
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Having a helper isn't to my knowledge a common occurrence so can't say what commonly, or rather not uncommonly happens in these situations. Carly reminded me that Polly had a foot injury last year and didn't migrate after it resolved itself. I do know that peregrines don't practice siblicide or infanticide but I can't say if Polly "knows" that this year's chicks are younger siblings (I would doubt it) and these aren't her chicks and she's very young so I don't know if she has any hormonal urges to protect chicks or what happens if she has hormonal urges and their not her chicks.
Sorry, not being much help so far ...
As to whether or not Roger and Spirit will drive her off if she goes after another chick, I can't even guess. Their protective instincts didn't compell them to drive her out of their territory before, not sure if they will now. It has taken a few years for Hope & Doorly to nest successfully in Topeka, Kansas because he kept breaking the eggs (as far as I know, no one knows if the broken eggs were viable).
I do have one question and that is if her foot injury has had an effect on her behaviour - by that I mean, is she perhaps learned to be more opportunistic about food (get it when and where she can) because of her injury. If that were the case, she could (I suppose) view the chicks could be an opportunity for food since they aren't hers and she's not a mated bird.
But all of that is purely speculation, just more questions we may or may not ever have an answer for. It will be interesting to see what Polly, Roger and Spirit do now ...
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Yes TPC, Eve has said she has seen Polly stealing food from her parents even though she is now capable of hunting for herself.
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Eve has posted on BCAW the following:
Yes it was indeed very devastating to see Polly steal a chick yesterday... From what I saw she flew to the second nest with it - possibly to eat it - then Roger chased her away - she flew away with the baby then came back with nothing. She was on the tower after and the parents were not even angry with her...!!!
She also included a link to her site of the video with Polly stealing the chick. I can't watch it but go to her site if you want to see it.
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SGB got some good shots of a feeding. Spirit is now keeping the prey with her in the nestbox instead of taking it out. Polly was in earlier terrorizing her and she seems nervous now, she lost her balance and fell on one of the babies but it looks okay. Photos here:
http://www.peregrinefalcon-bcaw.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=480&p=59146#p59146
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I am wondering if she took it to eat or to raise. I just cannot get my head around her eating it.
I have a message into Gord and Helen.
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SGB got some good shots of a feeding. Spirit is now keeping the prey with her in the nestbox instead of taking it out. Polly was in earlier terrorizing her and she seems nervous now, she lost her balance and fell on one of the babies but it looks okay. Photos here:
http://www.peregrinefalcon-bcaw.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=480&p=59146#p59146
Keep in mind that the chicks have had their parents "on" them and while they look fragile, they really are pretty tough, even at an early age ... the chick is probably just fine.
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I just got on my computer after being busy all weekend with my upcoming move, and I am so upset to read this. The last time I looked on Friday afternoon, everything seemed so serene and peaceful, and now this. This is just awful. Eve has not posted anything further about the situation since Polly took the chick.
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Tragic news here tonight. Polly has stolen one of the babies and they thiink she has consumed it. Eve has posted on her blog tonight that she went to search for it thinking perhaps it had fallen and was somehow still alive.
My god, what will happen now. Will she go after the other two?!
Oh my goodness, this is a tragedy! :'( Is Polly not able to hunt for food herself?! ???
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Tragic news here tonight. Polly has stolen one of the babies and they thiink she has consumed it. Eve has posted on her blog tonight that she went to search for it thinking perhaps it had fallen and was somehow still alive.
My god, what will happen now. Will she go after the other two?!
Oh my goodness, this is a tragedy! :'( Is Polly not able to hunt for food herself?! ???
Yes she can apparently now hunt for herself. She's not taking her parents ignoring her for new silblings well though it seems.
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I don't even know what to say about the events here. I have never heard of this happening before. In the few cases I am aware of where a juvie has remained in the area of the nest through the first year, particularly in Chicago and Brighton, the juvie assisted in the feeding of the new chicks. What I don't know for sure is whether these juvies were male or female.
I can only hope that the missing chick is okay.
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/image002-189-1.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/image002-190-1.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/image002-191-1.jpg)
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I wrote to biologists at my site and this is the reply form one and he said I could post it. I appraised them of all that had happened thus far ,from Pollys injury and staying with adults till now.
Hi, Bev, et al.,
Every Peregrine webcam will show us something interesting. Occasionally the webcam events are extremely revealing about the plasticity and the limitations of the falcons' behavior.
I hope somebody keeps careful track of what transpires and writes up the events from the Montreal nest. This appears to be a well-documented, well-observed event.
From Bev's descriptions only (I've not been watching the website), I can offer a few comments.
I've watched as a male of a pair of captive breeding Merlins temporarily 'stole' some of the brood from under the female and brooded them a few cm away from the female. The drive to incubate or brood can be very strong!
With their beaks, raptors can pick up and carry tiny nestlings without damaging them.
Sometimes in (captive) circumstances in which the female apparently was confused, she may pick up and carry a nestling, then brood it, then pick it up again... In one case I've watched, everything was fine a hour later, and the nestling eventually was reared to fledging; in another case, an hour later the nestling was found dead, cached in a corner of the nest box, and the female was incubating the remaining (infertile) eggs.
In the literature there are a small number of cases of "threesomes" at falcon eyries, usually with a yearling (usually female) helping the adult breeding pair (apparently not always their own offspring of the previous year).
Observations have not clearly shown how these unusual situations arise.
Even when there were many high quality territories vacant, yearling Peregrines rarely took up those territories and tried to nest as one year olds.
Presumably the few that tried were especially high quality birds. The 'extra'
bird at the Montreal nest probably is not an exceptionally high quality, well nourished yearling, and so she may not be in 'full breeding condition'.
In captivity there have been a few observations in which some much older nestlings have been seen to feed much younger ones; in large nestlings or fledglings there appears to be a powerful instinctual urge to feed begging young falcons (but those were not tiny, recently hatched nestlings). As the spring progresses, perhaps Polly will become more 'maternal' and may properly
take on some parenting roles.
In Montreal, if the fledgling of the previous year had a leg injury, it is understandable that the parents might have cared for it as a dependent youngster into the fall and winter, and that it did not learn how to kill quarry and disperse when it normally would have. And if the adults remained on territory through the winter, it is understandable that the juvenile might become an accepted part of the "pair" and still be there in the spring. But, while we might like her to, we cannot expect the young bird to do the appropriate parenting behaviors. It may work out. Or it may not. I hope somebody watches closely and tells us what eventually happens.
Wayne
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Thank you for passing on the information from the biologist, Bev!
I wonder if we will ever know what really happened to the third chick.
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/image002-282-1.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/image002-899-1.jpg)
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Yes, thank you, bev, for posting the biologist's insights... Is Polly still at this site with Roger & Spirit? ???
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Yes, thank you, bev, for posting the biologist's insights... Is Polly still at this site with Roger & Spirit? ???
Yes she is still there.
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I've read and re-read Wayne's note and he really isn't providing anything new or any real insights into what might have happened here, or rather nothing concrete. That perhaps shows how difficult it is to find a reason for Polly's behaviour ....
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Any more news as to how Polly is doing with the remaining chicks at this site? Is she leaving them alone? ???
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Any more news as to how Polly is doing with the remaining chicks at this site? Is she leaving them alone? ???
She hasn't around much Eve said but she did visit a few times last week and behaved herself.
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She hasn't around much Eve said but she did visit a few times last week and behaved herself.
Good! :-*
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And, I guess that means the parents are willing to still have her around, if she still comes by?
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Two comments from EVE
Not seen Polly still since last Tuesday - but I'm not worried about her. I'm sure she's OK or she would be here begging to her parents...!! I would be surprised if she was far, I think we'll see her again in the next weeks.
Yeah I "lost" Polly for a week in the past. Maybe she's gone with a new boyfriend? :-)
I am pretty sure she dropped the baby when Roger was chasing her and when she realized what it was, because she was back on the tower in no time (less than 5 minutes), and stayed there for at least half an hour. Spirit was looking for it right after Roger came back, I followed her hoping she would lead me to it but no luck. Then when she was back in the box I tried to search where Roger was looking, he also seemed to be looking for the third baby. Unfortunately Polly flew toward the city so there is a lot of places and roofs where it could have fallen. If it was in the cemetery in the other direction it would have been easier for me... I have a very good view of the second box from my window, the baby is not there unfortunately.
At least the two remaining are doing very well! I was concerned that Polly would steal from Roger and prevent him for doing his dad duties but it's not the case, he's really good at bringing starlings and small birds and mom goes out to catch a pigeon once in a while. It usually takes her less than one hour to catch one - I think her dad Buckeye passed on the good genes ;-)
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. . . mom goes out to catch a pigeon once in a while. It usually takes her less than one hour to catch one - I think her dad Buckeye passed on the good genes ;-)
I think you're right! Buckeye was famous as a great hunter, and he also passed his abilities on to his son Rocky.
There is a poll to vote for names for the chicks on the blog:
http://fauconsudem.blogspot.com/
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/293025/Noms-des-fauconneaux-de-l-UdeM
The chicks earlier:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmay171a.jpg)
And a few minutes ago:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/montrealmay172a.jpg)
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Polly hasn't been seen since May 11th - Some are wondering if she took the 'stolen' chick to another nest to care for, (probably not but who knows) ...some think she's finally flown the coop. ??? - If so it's probably just as well for the well-being of this nest!!! 8)
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Now wouldn't that be interesting if Polly did take the other chick to another nest to care for! 8) Who knows? But probably highly unlikely.
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They just finished banding the two chicks at the Univ. of Montreal. It is all over now, but the parents and the chicks are still stressed. The parents were furious and attacked the banding team during the process, according to what I read on the live chat. Everyone should settle down soon, I hope, but right now they are all the nestbox, mouths open, and mom does not strike me as being the best-natured falcon around.
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The chicks have settled down and seem to have forgotten their big adventure this morning, but mom and dad are still upset and on full alert. Roger, the male, has been flying by the nestbox repeatedly, vocalizing, while mom, Spirit, is still agitated. She is glued to the nestbox with the chicks, but she is not happy.
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From what I just saw on the chat, it looks like a boy Horus and a girl named Eve !
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I really appreciate the updates, Carly and Elaine, as I can't find the link to this cam or chat. Has it been posted anywhere on the forum?
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bcbird, here is the link to the cam:
http://ornithologie.ca/faucons/
And the blog:
http://fauconsudem.blogspot.com/
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/May%202010/montrealmay262a.jpg)
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Thank you, Alison.
I'm grateful the cam page is bilingual, as it is slow going for me to read French.
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The chicks still look displeased about the whole banding thing:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/May%202010/montrealmay263a.jpg)
Spirit arrived:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/May%202010/montrealmay264a.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/May%202010/montrealmay265a.jpg)
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Those poor chicks, Eve and Horus, had to wait 4 hours yesterday after banding to get fed by their parents. From what I could understand on the web site, the parents were too agitated to even think about feeding them, and were flying around the area, watching for the return of the hated banding team. But finally, Roger dropped off the food, and mom topped up the chicks, who were mightily pleased to finally get some food, and all's well that ends well.
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From the photos, the chicks look fat and healthy, a testament to their parent's parenting skills. I suspect the four hours until their next meal was more stressful on the parents (they being so agitated) than on the chicks. At this age, they can wait this long and longer between meals without difficulty, particularly since there are only two at this site, their is more food for each at each meal anyway.
Just as a note, bander or predator, the parents' response would likely be the same, so if they were anonymously living on a cliffledge somewhere and had a close call with a predator, the chicks probably would have had to wait the same amount of time before their next "snack".
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I watched the banding and the taking of the chicks form the nest box. Mom was still in the nest box, when they opened the back door. she backed out but stayed on the perch for a bit. thankfully they lowered a net over the front because the second chick backed right up and would have been out of the box. Scary to watch.
You could see the 2 legged people up there on outside cam as things were happening inside. They heard them on the roof first and started chupping .
As soon as net was removed , and they went to their room to band Spirit was back in the box and Roger was cacking up a storm.
I knew they would have fun putting the chicks back ;) ;)
I will post my slideshow but their cam inside was very blurry .
(http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev41/th_montrealmay26-2.jpg) (http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev41/?action=view¤t=c77a07c9.pbw)
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a few shots from today
thumbnails so click on each picture
(http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev41/th_montrelmay27-1.jpg) (http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev41/?action=view¤t=montrelmay27-1.jpg)
(http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev41/th_montrealmay27-3.jpg) (http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev41/?action=view¤t=montrealmay27-3.jpg)
(http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev41/th_montrealmay27-4.jpg) (http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev41/?action=view¤t=montrealmay27-4.jpg)
(http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev41/th_montrealmay27-5.jpg) (http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x135/fullbrandt/bev41/?action=view¤t=montrealmay27-5.jpg)
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Many thanks for the pics and slideshow, Bev!
The chicks were looking very well fed today, and making a lot of noise.
Horus (on the left in the first pic) has the yellow band, while Eve has the red band:
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/May%202010/montrealmay271a.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/May%202010/montrealmay272a.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/May%202010/montrealmay275a.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/May%202010/montrealmay279a.jpg)
(http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af254/wingshigh/Buckeye/Peregrines/May%202010/montrealmay2711a.jpg)
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Boy, what a difference a few days makes! These two chicks are much darker now, and very sturdy on their feet. I have noticed that since the banding last week, mom hardly every leaves the nestbox site; I am sure she is thinking that there is no way they are going to disappear again if she keeps a very close eye on them!
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There are some very good photos that you can watch as a slideshow on BCAW of the banding, capture, actual banding and putting the chicks back in the nest box. The parent(s) were very aggressive as you can see from the pictures. The banders went out in full gear which apparently is due to asbestos at this site. They didn't do this last year but apparently were made to do it this year. The link is as follows and it is the 3rd posting down:
http://www.peregrinefalcon-bcaw.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=582&start=160
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Their fledge watch starts Thursday. Horus is already outside the box and looking great. Eve is still inside nd so she should be
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Update from Eve posted on BCAW - Eve is not well and was removed for treatment today! Talons crossed she gets better! And wow Horus fledges on Day 37...you go boy!
Hi all !
Since yesterday Eve has not been well at all. She was lying down all the time and refused to eat this morning. No wing flapping, nothing. So we captured her this afternoon and I took her to the vet, we will know more about her condition tomorrow. Meanwhile, Horus did his first flight, he flew very well ! He's now on a roof below and seems in very good shape. You can see photos of Eve on my blog :
I will keep you posted on Eve's condition when I know more!
Eve
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Update from Eve posted on BCAW - Eve is not well and was removed for treatment today!
Oh no! Poor Eve! :'( Please do keep us posted, carly.
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Seems that Eve has been throwing up her food :-\ - Hope it's nothing too serious!
Brother Horus has been pulling some pranks, landed beside an open window at the University and then went IN the window!!! - Didn't show much appreciation to his rescuers either, lots of aggression ...but they got him back outside & all is well.... :D
(http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv175/ballywing/aaa.jpg)
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Horus is back in the nest with Mom who rewards him for his shenanigans with a snack! ::)
(http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv175/ballywing/Peregrine%20News/zzz.jpg)
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Hope he at least fell in to a Biology dept window, where the likelihood of an adept rescuer would be higher than in a, say, Philosophy dept.
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I just read on Imprints that Eve has passed away. It was posted by Nicole :'( :'( . Here is the link to the thread.
http://rfalconcam.com/forum/index.php?topic=1423.msg18782#msg18782
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How sad. Hopefully they will be able to determine what was wrong. Won't help her, but maybe next time.
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...Brother Horus has been pulling some pranks, landed beside an open window at the University and then went IN the window!!! -Didn't show much appreciation to his rescuers either, lots of aggression ...but they got him back outside & all is well.... :D
What?! :o Would that be a highly unusual experience for a peregrine?! :o
I just read on Imprints that Eve has passed away.
Oh no! :o How very sad! :'(
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Note from BCAW site:
"The falcon has steadily deteriorated since she was admitted despite treatment (fluids, antibiotics, antifungals). Radiography, endoscopy, biochemistry, hematology, cytology and oral endoscopy did not lead to a diagnosis. She has just now died and I have submitted her for necropsy to know what happened....
Speaking later on the phone and it appears that she was suffering from a virus or bacterial infection, we'll know more later after the analysis. Her liver, her spleen and lungs were infected, and the antibiotics she received after her admission did not give results ... :'(
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It sounds like no intervention could have saved her if so many organs were involved by the time she was taken for treatment. How very sad.
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It is so sad about Eve.
Looking at the positive side, her brother, Horus, is a feisty little falcon, and they have some great pictures of him on the site:
http://picasaweb.google.com/evebelisle/Printemps2010#5482057275340416226 (http://picasaweb.google.com/evebelisle/Printemps2010#5482057275340416226)
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thanks for posting the link for the fabulous pictures Elaine
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So sad about Eve. I hate hearing that one of the falcons dies.
I hope Horus does well.
Has anyone seen Polly since she disappeared in May?
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No sign of Polly since then Moonstar.
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Has anyone seen Polly since she disappeared in May?
Hmmm... I wonder if she's okay? ???
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I'm actually wondering if Polly is looking after that chick she stole from the nest? :-\
Not sure, maybe that's a long shot but thought I would put that out there.
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That thought has crossed my mind, too, Alli. I know it's a long shot, but as they say, hope springs eternal.
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From June 14, 2010 - "Horus was fed this afternoon - he's flying very well"
HORUS - What a GORGEOUS PEREGRINE!!! ;D
(http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv175/ballywing/Peregrine%20News/horus1.jpg)
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Isn't that a great photo? And you're right, Ballywing -- he truly is a gorgeous peregrine!
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Isn't that a great photo? And you're right, Ballywing -- he truly is a gorgeous peregrine!
What beautiful colourings he has! :D
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Horus seems to be doing fantastic!!! ;D....(What's with the Sticks) ???
(http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv175/ballywing/Peregrine%20News/ddd.jpg) (http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv175/ballywing/Peregrine%20News/aaa.jpg)
(http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv175/ballywing/Peregrine%20News/fff.jpg) (http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv175/ballywing/Peregrine%20News/hhh.jpg)
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I'm actually wondering if Polly is looking after that chick she stole from the nest? :-\
Not sure, maybe that's a long shot but thought I would put that out there.
allikat & sami, I too have wondered the same thing, way in the back of my mind... has anyone heard if the chick that Polly snatched from the nestbox was ever found? ???
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Horus seems to be doing fantastic!!! ;D....(What's with the Sticks) ???
Fledglings like to play with things ... had a hacked chick in Portage la Prairie that played with stones on the roof from which she was being hacked - played with them for hours - she'd flip them in the air then chase after them (running and flapping her wings) and do it all over again. Others have made an art form of chasing grasshoppers on the wing - my first year with the project we had a grasshopper infestation in the province and the fledglings I was taking care of became amazing aerialists!
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That is a great photo of the parent holding the prey above for Horus to grab!
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I love it when they (the chicks) grab hold of something in the nestbox, usually a leftover wing or a feather and they wingersize with that in their talons! It's just great to watch!
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l'Université de Montréal
Montréal, Quebec
webcam & website: http://ornithologie.ca/faucons/
Nice to have a webcam here, though we will have to work on our French to be able to follow all the minutae of Roger and Spirit's lives!
Resident Pairs & Offspring
- 2014 - Roger & Spirit - ?
- 2013 - Roger & Spirit - ?
- 2012 - Roger & Spirit - ?
- 2011 - Roger & Spirit - ?
- 2010 - Roger & Spirit - ?
- 2009 - Roger & Spirit - ?
Couple of notes:
Roger - unbanded I believe - named by Eve Belisle after Roger Gaudry
Spirit - 2002 wild-hatch from the Ironton/Russell Bridge in Ironton, Ohio
And in 2010, Polly, a 2009 offspring of theirs hung around during the beginning of the nesting season. She had injured herself after fledging and her parents let her hang around the nestsite the following spring. She left the nestsite in May 2010 ...
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2011 NESTING SEASON
Elaine L has offered to websit this site for us, so as soon as Roger and Spirit (or whomever) arrives home, we will have the best seats in the house!
Their webcams are up and operating but there is a new web address. I have updated the other webcam links, but here it is again for those who want to update their book marks.
http://ornithologie.ca/faucons/
There are 4 cam angles, one appears to be active at the moment - one is freeze-framed on a night shot from December and the other two cams are offline.
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Well, there's someone on that live camera now. Thanks for this link, TPC and Elaine ;D
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Yes! Thanks for the reminder of this link! :)
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ditto
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Neat.
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The cameras are up and running at the University of Montreal, and both Spirit and Roger are back. They installed new cameras, which are more stable than the old ones. Apparently Roger paid the camera crew a visit while they were installing them, and paid a return visit to the nestbox this afternoon.
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Do we have official confirmation (i.e., band numbers) of Roger and Spirit? Or has a pair returned and they are assuming its Roger and Spirit? I don't know the site well, so I don't know if this early a return is usual for this pair.
If they are officially confirmed, I can update the board subject ...
Elaine - help? ???
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They stay year round here TPC , like ours do. Eve has also reported 'mating' took place for the first time on February 11th - that she witnessed anyway.
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TPC, as Carly says, these falcons stay year-round. Eve Belisle, who is in charge of this webcam and reports on these falcons throughout the whole year, says that they are Spirit and Roger, but I don't know if they are banded; I don't think so. She says that mating took place 15 days earlier this year than last year. Spirit and Roger produced their first egg on March 24 last year.
Also, she has not seen their son from last year, Horus, since August, but this may be because he has moved to a new territory. No reports on this, though.
Just as an aside, they had falcons at the Champlain Bridge in Montreal last summer who produced four young in June, and then the mother went missing, likely hit by a car. The father did not keep up feeding the young, and by the time the government decided to step in and save the young, it was too late; two were already dead in the nestbox, one died on route, and the last one died at the bird clinic. It was very sad to lose 5 falcons at once. If I see news on the Champlain Bridge nestbox for the coming Spring, I will let you know, and perhaps you can set up a separate link, TPC.
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Spirit is banded (a 2004 offspring of the famous Buckeye and Hilary from Hilliard bridge in Ohio) but Roger is unbanded.
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We have photos this morning of Spirit and Roger bowing to each other in the nestbox. The game is on, and I would not be surprised to see some eggs by late March.
http://fauconsudem.blogspot.com/ (http://fauconsudem.blogspot.com/)
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We have photos this morning of Spirit and Roger bowing to each other in the nestbox. The game is on, and I would not be surprised to see some eggs by late March.
That's great news, Elaine! :D
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Spirit is in the nestbox now, adjusting the gravel to her liking for that first egg. Eve Belisle is conducting a poll, just for fun, as to when the first egg is expected; last year, it was March 24.
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Everyone is awaiting that first egg. On the online poll, most people selected March 21 as the egg day, but that day has come and gone. Spirit did spend a couple of nights in the nestbox last year, though, and then produced her first egg, and this year, she so far has spent one night, Saturday, in the nest box. I am thinking March 24 will be egg day.
Meanwhile, Roger has been having a few problems with finding his way around the new elevated vents on the building, according to the video; Spirit was sitting on the ledge taking it easy and he came flying in and smacked into her, even though she saw him coming and ducked. No one was hurt, anyway.
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First egg Wednesday morning, much to the surprise of Roger, it seems; he looked that egg over thoroughly, and thought about it for a few minutes before deciding maybe he should sit on it. Right now, it looks like Spirit is working on the second one.
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Second egg for the proud parents today at 1:15 p.m. Eastern Time.
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Third egg for Spirit and Roger yesterday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time. If all goes well, the first chick should appear on April 29.
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Spirit laid her fourth egg at 1:54 this morning. And just a while ago, there was apparently an intruder (unspecified) on the scene; Roger stayed on the eggs, but Spirit took off to check out this problem. From what I gather, the danger has now passed, and the intruder has left the area.
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Hatching is expected on April 29 or 30. Eve has posted an excellent photo of Spirit taking a break, showing that total perfection in flight that is the mark of the falcon: every part of her body is lined up perfectly, there is not one fault, not one feather out of place.
Apparently she and Roger are excellent guards of their territory, too, and any creature that has the misfortune, Eve says, of unintentionally or intentionally entering their territory, suffers the wrath of the gods.
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Engineers have placed a nestbox under a new bridge they are building in Montreal, the Mercier Bridge, and a falcon with a wire attached is now there. I could not understand the French in this video enough to figure out everything that is going on here, but Eve was there, and the biologists and the newsmedia were there and all all seemed to be delighted; the hope, of course, is that there will be a breeding pair in this nestbox this year. With all the construction activity going on there, I don't know, but I sure hope this works out.
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Engineers have placed a nestbox under a new bridge they are building in Montreal, the Mercier Bridge, and a falcon with a wire attached is now there.
The falcon has a wire on it? As in radio/satellite transmitter?
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Yes, TPC, that is what I meant to say; the falcon had a little box on its back with a wire sticking up out of it.
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Yes, TPC, that is what I meant to say; the falcon had a little box on its back with a wire sticking up out of it.
I figured that's what you meant Elaine, but it is late on a Saturday night, so just needed to clarify. ;)
Hope the Montreal folks manage to find out who their new arrival is and where they have been!
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And just for eye spy, get out your banjo again! Polly has been located, alive and well and nesting possibly with her brother!!!
http://fauconsudem.blogspot.com/2011/04/des-nouvelles-de-polly.html (http://fauconsudem.blogspot.com/2011/04/des-nouvelles-de-polly.html)
Rusty french tranlsation in my own words:
Eve starts off saying 'we all remember Polly, the juvie who wouldn't leave the nest last year and who continuously interfered with her parents during incubation last year, she also to our great distress stole one of the babies. And here she is one year later, at 2 years of age attempting to nest herself for the first time at a newly discovered nest. Thank you to Sylvain Cusson who discovered and read our Polly's bands.
The most troubling thing is her partner might be her brother Algo. So far the numbers we've managed to read on his bands correspond to Algo's but have still to be confirmed.'
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And just for eye spy, get out your banjo again! Polly has been located, alive and well and nesting possibly with her brother!!!..
LOL, carly! Of course we all remember Polly! How could we ever forget her and her baby snatching antics?! ;)
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French birds, right ? ::)
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My gosh, this site is never dull. I have never heard of a brother and sister falcon mating, and I think there is something wrong here, if that is indeed the case. But I expect TPC knows more about this type of situation in the falcon world than I do.
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Actually Sir James in Virginia was paired with his full sister for a 8 years and they produced an awful lot of young. He was 20 years old last year and held the record for nesting males (ones on web cam anyway) and disappeared last summer. HIs son has now taken over the nest with his (James's) second mate Elizabeth
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I know that close family pairing in the wild animal world weakens the gene pool, among other things. I guess this is not the case in the falcon world; or, if it is, perhaps when you cannot find mates outside your family, you do what is necessary to ensure survival of the species. In the case of Polly, I don't know what to think, as she seems to be a very unusual falcon.
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I know that close family pairing in the wild animal world weakens the gene pool, among other things. I guess this is not the case in the falcon world; or, if it is, perhaps when you cannot find mates outside your family, you do what is necessary to ensure survival of the species. In the case of Polly, I don't know what to think, as she seems to be a very unusual falcon.
Actually, so long as there isn't a genetic weakness in the line, close familial ties in the wildlife world appear to work out just fine. Certain species, like hours, have lots of blips along our genetic strings so close ties have caused severe genetic problems. For cheetahs, the close ties were a necessity due to be down to just a few animals or even just one pregnant female - problems there is low reproductive rate, but the hardware works just fine. The advantage (so to speak) of being a wild non-human is that the lack of health care (or vet care) helps the species - can't help the "problems" to survive so to speak. Think of all the genetic tinkering we have done with breeds of dogs and the inherited problems some breeds are more prone to - without human and vet care, how many of those breeds would have survived. Cats too, but perhaps not to so great an extent.
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Eve reported this morning that you could hear the chicks peeping. I just checked, but no hatch yet. Spirit is very restless, though, so any time now!
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First hatch in Montreal reported by Eve :-*
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First hatch in Montreal reported by Eve :-*
;D
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Second hatch!! :-* :-*
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They have an excellent video here of Spirit feeding her two chicks. You certainly can see what an experienced, expert mother she is, as she dissects the food, talks to the chicks, and stuffs the food right into their open mouths, without missing a beat.
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They have an excellent video here of Spirit feeding her two chicks.
Elaine, where is this video? On the site linked on this thread, I only find the cam views.
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Premier repas: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/14412386
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Sorry, BCBird. On the site, for all videos you have to go to "Blog". Then on the blog site, where it says "Deux bebes", this is where this video is.
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Third chick is here. One more to go.
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Thanks Elaine. Thanks, Horus.
That video was very interesting. Spirit even fed the chick that kept falling over in its effort to sit up tall with mouth open.
She is also very good at talking with her mouth full.
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Mom is eating the eggshell right now. Is this normal?
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Yes, Horus, it is normal; she gets nutrients from this.
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Thank you Elaine, it is so fascinated to watch them.
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Three chicks now - Eve says that they already ate four times today (by 5 p.m.), so they are certainly not going hungry. I think it is safe to say that Roger and Spirit are very good providers.
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The fourth chick hatched yesterday afternoon, and they have a video of the birth on the blog site. Also, Eve says that now they are looking for names for the chicks: four male names and four female names; once they know at banding which is which, they will have enough names to choose from.
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Just watched a funny video of Spirit feeding her chicks on the "Blog". One chick somehow got behind her and off alone, and, at first, she didn't notice; but then she did a head count and realized that someone was missing, so she looked around, saw him sitting off by itself, and picked him up and dropped him on the chick pile. She is one very efficient mother.
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That's hilarious! ;D
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Yep! Super funny! ;D
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Here is a link to video of Spirit picking up her chick and dropping into the chick pile. ;D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=030_808E0EU&feature=player_embedded
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:) that was soooo cute. thanks
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Well now ..........why didn't I figure that birds would do that. THe mother cat sure does! ::)
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Now that was a less than dignified fling !
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Here is a link to video of Spirit picking up her chick and dropping into the chick pile. ;D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=030_808E0EU&feature=player_embedded
I loved watching this video! 8)
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Banding of the four chicks is to take place on May 26; more details yet to come. Then, they will then announce the names for the chicks, based on the survey preferences, and boy, are there alot of choices, in case you are interesting in voting for names: they had to have four names in case the chicks are all boys, and four names in case they are all girls.
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The banding of the chicks will take place tomorrow (May 26) between 11:00 a.m. and 2 p.m. eastern time. The banding can be watched on the University of Montreal website cam : ornithologie.ca/faucons (http://ornithologie.ca/faucons). They will name the chicks at the same time, from the top choices from the survey of chick names.
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The chicks are banded, and, to everyone's surprise, it looks like four females! Here are their names and weights:
Kaya, E81 - 710g
Isis, E82 (rouge) - 760g
Eva, E83 (vert) - 785g
Zoé, E84 (jaune) - 750g
There is a video of the banding on the web site.
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The chicks are banded, and, to everyone's surprise, it looks like four females! Here are their names and weights:
Kaya, E81 - 710g
Isis, E82 (rouge) - 760g
Eva, E83 (vert) - 785g
Zoé, E84 (jaune) - 750g
There is a video of the banding on the web site.
Here is a link to the banding Elaine 8)
http://youtu.be/cmen_rPXdl8
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Wow! What was with the breathing apparatus? :o I've seen chicks being banded at other sites, but never like that. It was as if they (the banders) didn't want to get contaminated or something. Again Wow!!
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Kinda reminded me of the movie "Outbreak" with Dustin Hoffman & Renee Russo! :o
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Spirit was in rare form. She clipped one of the banders a few times. she would not get out of box to let them in. I was watching. They used net at one time to shoo her out.
but i would rather have them feisty than not.
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Maybe that's why they had that gear on, nobody wants to get gouged by their talons. OUCH!!
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Spirit was in rare form. She clipped one of the banders a few times. she would not get out of box to let them in...
So her name certainly suits her! ;)
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What the fluff ?
Are they worried about bird cooties ?
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Wow! What was with the breathing apparatus? :o I've seen chicks being banded at other sites, but never like that. It was as if they (the banders) didn't want to get contaminated or something. Again Wow!!
Could be a location near a pigeon roost colony - breathing aparatus is a requirement if it is. Histoplasmosis isn't something anyone wants to play around with!
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Are they worried about bird cooties ?
Could be.
There was an article in the paper a couple of months ago about a girl in Fredericton who they figure contracted a serious fungul disease cryptococcal meningitis from local pigeon. A found a link about this here http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/rss/article/1400697
Might have to do with urban falcon diet of Flying K-D? I don't know if falcons can be carriers of this disease or if its fatal to them or how prevalent this disease in in pigeons. Maybe TPC knows?? ???
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I am so glad that Spirit is a feisty chick, as you pointed out, Bev. I did not see her attack anyone when I looked at the video, she was just making a huge racket and she looked fit to kill, but what I saw was more talk than action. Anyway, maybe because she remembers this banding procedure from previous years, she did not want to launch a big offense and risk injury for something she knows will not be harmful to the chicks. I think Roger is perhaps a tad more laid back, but they are both so experienced, and I am very happy they are passing on their good genes to their offspring.
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I just left the Brandon site, and what a difference there is here. These four females are sleeping soundly, bunched so close together they look like a fluffy blanket. I wish some of this comfort for the Brandon falcons.
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I snuck a quick peak at our female foursome, who are a month old now. They just completely fill up the nestbox, and moving about - well, there just isn't enough room, they can hardly turn around. Much more time will be spent outside soon, where they will have room to stretch those wings.
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Drama here yesterday. A bald eagle flew into Roger's and Spirit's territory; Spirit was the first to notice, and took off after it, attacking it repeatedly; then, within seconds, Roger came racing in like a jet fighter and joined the battle. The eagle did its best to defend itself and turned over to reveal its claws to its attackers. This did not bother the falcons, who kept on him and chased him out in short order. I sure hope he is o.k.; no one wants to see a bird just flying through have to suffer a injury.
Meanwhile, the chicks are fine, and Eve expects them to fledge within a couple of days or so.
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Yikes! Drama is right! I cannot imagine what it might be like to observe an encounter between a bald eagle and a peregrine falcon! :o
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Now it looks like they have 3 males and 1 female here, so I don't know what happened before when they banded them, except, I guess, sometimes it is hard to tell. Anyway, their fledge watch begins this weekend, and they have a number of people who have committed time to this, so that is good. It looks like the action starts on the ground on Friday.
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We have four males here. The reasons for the confusion were feet size and weight: all four had what appeared to be male feet, but female weight. Now they know for sure. The names of the four boys are: Tawodi, E81; Rick, E82 (red); Éole, E83 (green); Altius, E84 (yellow).
Tawodi made his maiden voyage this morning, and landed at the chapel; his mom tried to help him get back up to the nestbox, and he tried twice, but just could not make it, so he is spending the night on top of another building he landed on. The other three also flew very short distances, and were able to return to the nestbox. All are doing fine under the watchful eyes of their parents.
Here is a photo of Tawoidi:
http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h343/Eli-oop/Montrealfalcon.jpg[/img]](http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h343/Eli-oop/Montrealfalcon.jpg) (http://[IMG)
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The latest info on this site: The young falcons are flying and returning to the nestbox without incident, and have been enjoying playing with each other and with mom. They are chasing after her and taking prey from her talons, and just generally enjoying their new-found flying abilities.
I wish all our falcon chicks could do as well as these four fledgings, who surely have been blessed to learn to fly in the City without major problems (at least so far)!
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That's good news Elaine.
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Eve has given us an update (from Friday, July 15) on her blog. The falcon chicks are learning how to hunt and catch their prey, and are putting on some spectacular shows around the Montreal campus. Spirit is dropping food, and the chicks are racing to catch it, so they are learning all the right things from their parents. There are also some great photos, by Richard Dupuis, of these exchanges. Here is Eve's blog address where you can view the photos: http://fauconsudem.blogspot.com/
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Tawoidi is a beautiful falcon. :D
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2012 NESTING SEASON
Horus, the male offspring from this site last year, was spotted on Sunday (in the vicinity of Montreal's south river and Ste. Catherine Street), thanks to an alert falcon watcher who got his tag number. No word yet on Spirit and Roger.
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As many of you probably already know, the University of Montreal Cam for Spirit and Roger is not available this year because they are doing some kind of construction work on the falcon cam building. However, Richard D., who is keeping an eye on this site, reports on BCAW that Roger and Spirit are in the area. He did not see any evidence of a nest, though. He did get some videos of the two of them, at:
http://www.peregrinefalcon-bcaw.net/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1049&start=0
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As for ROGER and SPIRIT, Rick D. reports on the same Forum that they may have a nest on the Oratory in Montreal, but he cannot yet confirm.
moved Turcot Exchange update to Turcot thread ~ TPC
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Rick D. reports today at BCAW that Roger and Spirit do have a nest on the Oratory. Incubation began about April 16, but he doesn't know how many eggs.
He also reports on Algo and Polly on the Turcot Interchange - Algo is two-timing her! See separate report (Turcot Interchange) for info on this.
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Rick D. reports this morning on BCAW that Roger and Spirit no longer have a nest on the east side of St. Joseph's Oratory; they have apparently moved to the west side. He says he does not know what happened, but he will find out, and let us know. So, now we don't know what happened with incubation, as the last report said that there were eggs in the nestbox. Did they abandon the nest, or did something else happen, and why - I hope that Rick will find out more soon.
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An update on Roger and Spirit's nest site at the University of Montreal: latest report from the site (no date) says:
GOOD NEWS: The tower's revamping is now over. The nestbox and cameras will be back on the tower before September 2012.
I am really looking forward to seeing these two again at their old haunts.
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I am really looking forward to seeing these two again at their old haunts.
So am I, Elaine. :)
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The long-time resident female at this nest is Spirit, banded black/green 93/E, born in 2004 at the Hilliard Road Bridge nest in the Cleveland, Ohio area. She is a daughter of the great pair Buckeye and Hillary. Now eleven years old, she is the only survivor of the four chicks born in 2004. Turbo was found dead shortly after fledging; Pulse was not seen for three years, until he turned up in 2007 at the Pittsburgh Cathedral of Learning nest. He was killed in a territorial battle by Erie, the resident male. The other female, Mystic, is also gone.
The resident male at this nest has been Roger, who is unbanded. However, in the fall of last year, Roger disappeared. He was replaced by Éole (Aeolus in English, named for the Greek ruler of the winds). Éole is a son of Spirit and Roger.
Earlier in this breeding season, Éole lost a territorial battle with an unbanded male. Spirit was just starting to lay her eggs; Éole is the father of the first egg and quite possibly the second also. The new male is the father of the other two.
It was not known at first what happened to Éole, but the good news is that he is alive and well. He has been seen and identified at the other nest in the area, on the incinerator building, with a new mate.
As happened at de Mortel, the new male did not incubate the eggs or bring food. Spirit has been caring for the eggs on her own. She did train the new male to start bringing her food and leaving it close by. He has been named Arthurin.
The eggs are due to begin hatching this weekend.
http://www.ornithologie.ca/faucons/ (http://www.ornithologie.ca/faucons/)
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Check this out!!! ;D
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/peregrine-falcon-endangered-species-population-growth-1.3256608
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Nice find Allikat! Thanks for posting it! ;D
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Nice find Allikat! Thanks for posting it! ;D
My pleasure!
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I had not seen Spirit or Arthurin at the nest for some time. Today I caught a momentary bonding at the nest. The female was Spirit, but the male was not Arthurin. This male was banded; Arthurin is unbanded. I am pretty sure the male at the nest today was Éole .
He left, and Spirit did some work on the nest.
(http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa393/falcoperegrinus1/November%202015/montreal-nov-15-1a_zpsjawwf2ev.jpg) (http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/falcoperegrinus1/media/November%202015/montreal-nov-15-1a_zpsjawwf2ev.jpg.html) (http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa393/falcoperegrinus1/November%202015/montreal-nov-15-4a_zpsy8rjuobx.jpg) (http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/falcoperegrinus1/media/November%202015/montreal-nov-15-4a_zpsy8rjuobx.jpg.html)
(http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa393/falcoperegrinus1/November%202015/montreal-nov-15-3a_zpswy9zi5zb.jpg) (http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/falcoperegrinus1/media/November%202015/montreal-nov-15-3a_zpswy9zi5zb.jpg.html) (http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa393/falcoperegrinus1/November%202015/montreal-nov-15-6a_zpshkw3kplc.jpg) (http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/falcoperegrinus1/media/November%202015/montreal-nov-15-6a_zpshkw3kplc.jpg.html)
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Spirit, now eleven years old, looked really good. On this dark and wet-looking day, she went dancing along to the end of the ledge.
(http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa393/falcoperegrinus1/November%202015/montreal-nov-15-8a_zpsgjejdwpc.jpg) (http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/falcoperegrinus1/media/November%202015/montreal-nov-15-8a_zpsgjejdwpc.jpg.html) (http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa393/falcoperegrinus1/November%202015/montreal-nov-15-9a_zpsazjdo4d0.jpg) (http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/falcoperegrinus1/media/November%202015/montreal-nov-15-9a_zpsazjdo4d0.jpg.html)
(http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa393/falcoperegrinus1/November%202015/montreal-nov-15-7a_zpszvvcazws.jpg) (http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/falcoperegrinus1/media/November%202015/montreal-nov-15-7a_zpszvvcazws.jpg.html)
Spirit and Arthurin raised three chicks this year, all female:
Céleste, banded E/92 (black tape on the silver band)
Luna, banded E/85 (no tape on the silver band; very pale legs and feet)
Éclipse, banded E/91 (red tape on the silver band)
All three fledged successfully.
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thanks for keeping track Allison :-*
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Last year at this nest, there were no chicks. Spirit and Éole incubated four eggs, but close to the end of incubation there was a male intruder, and Éole was displaced. The intruder male was given the name Brett. It seemed that there was also a female intruder at one point, and Spirit had some injuries, but fortunately they did not appear to be serious.
Due to the intruder problem, Spirit was forced to abandon her eggs. Very sad, since they would have been close to hatching.
However, Éole survived his eviction from the nest site, and later in the year was back at the nest with Spirit.
This year Éole and Spirit are still together. There are no eggs so far, but I hope there will be. Spirit is now thirteen years old.
(https://picload.org/image/rlwlpala/montreal-mar-26-1a.jpg)
http://www.ornithologie.ca/faucons/ (http://www.ornithologie.ca/faucons/)
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Spirit was displaced a few months ago by her rival - Eole's second mate, she was sorely injured and we feared the worst.
Today this news: Breaking News - Spirit has been found and rescued! She's in rough shape, she wasn't able to hunt due to her wounds but she's alive and now she will be cared for!
https://www.facebook.com/fauconsudem/?hc_ref=ARTSspEyi8Ua3Dy2UC77uXT8yH8Yi3bGPrHclrEwVXRccVu0u7oFROKt9GuS6BBvPbU
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Do we know what Eole's mate's name was this year? If she had a name of course!
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Do we know what Eole's mate's name was this year? If she had a name of course!
They call her 'Eve', she is unbanded. He has been two timing for a few years now and this is not the first time Eve had attacked Spirit - she did so last year as well but this year she was determined to win and she did. Spirit is 13 years old now.
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Do we know what Eole's mate's name was this year? If she had a name of course!
Spirit and Eole were mated and she laid two eggs in early April. There was a intrusion by an unbanded female April 22nd. There was a nasty fight between the unbanded female and Spirit April 26th. https://youtu.be/NdGdXEIvXNo (https://youtu.be/NdGdXEIvXNo)
Spirit was back at the nest April 27th. Things kind of settled down and Spirit lay another egg May 11th. On June 11th the unbanded female was back and there was no sign of Spirit until she was found the other day.
From what I understand the unbanded female was Eole's mate at another location and is being called Eve.
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From 2007 until she was displaced by Eve earlier this year, Spirit was the first and only resident female at this nest. Her long-time mate, Roger, also arrived in 2007 and was the resident male until he disappeared in October 2014. It was never known what happened to him.
Éole then left his mate, Eve, and moved in with Spirit. He is also her son.
In 2015, Éole was displaced by an unbanded intruder, and returned to Eve at the incinerator building, where they raised five chicks. The new male with Spirit was given the name Arthurin, and he helped raise Spirit's chicks.
Arthurin did not return in 2016, and Éole moved back in with Spirit. Four eggs were incubated, but with continuing intruder problems from Eve and at least one male, Spirit was eventually forced to abandon her eggs.
This year, Spirit laid three eggs, but during incubation Eve attacked a number of times. In late April Spirit already had visible injuries to her cere and beak area. Éole continued to incubate as much as he could. Recently the eggs were removed from the nest, and all three were found to be infertile.
Eventually, Eve drove Spirit away, and took over the nest. Searches were done for Spirit, but there was no sign of her at that time.
I am very glad that she has been found and rescued. I hope she will make a full recovery, but in the meantime she will be well cared for and safe from predators. Although she is not in good condition at the moment, she has always been a strong falcon, both physically and mentally.
Photo: Christian Fritschi
(https://picload.org/image/rwgcilaw/montreal-spirit-2a.jpg)
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Spirit earlier this year:
In April, with tiny snowflakes on her head (left) and on May 6, with some injuries to her beak and cere.
(https://picload.org/image/rwgcilar/montreal-apr-7-spirit-1a.jpg) (https://picload.org/image/rwgcilal/montreal-may-6-9a.jpg)
With her first two eggs, and with Éole.
(https://picload.org/image/rwgcilai/montreal-may-9-2a.jpg) (https://picload.org/image/rwgciipr/montreal-may-17-3a.jpg)
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I'm so saddened to see how thin Spirit has become, but at the same time I'm thankful that she has been rescued and is now receiving some much needed care, perhaps in the nick of time.
Thank you for sharing this news, Carly.
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I see there's a new update on Facebook regarding Spirit.
News from spirit since it was sent to the bird s' clinic. His name, Spirit, makes sense. In addition to his elbow arthritis, following an x-Ray, it was observed that she suffered a fracture to the right hip that cured herself (explains her boiterie which had been observed repeatedly on the cameras). We already knew she was fierce and aggressive, but her courage is inspiring. Interestingly, @[1493852852:2048:Christophe Meyer] observed a Pilgrim Peregrine this morning where she was found. This one wasn't bagué, so it's not éole, and according to the photos it doesn't seem to be eve either. Maybe Spirit had made a new boyfriend, possibly a popular hunting place.
https://www.facebook.com/fauconsudem/posts/1573373529380270
(https://www.facebook.com/fauconsudem/posts/1573373529380270)
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She sure was named appropriately, a strong girl! :-*
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I see there's a new update on Facebook regarding Spirit.
Thank you for the update, Burdi! Spirit is a very courageous falcon.
Here is another short update from a different source, dated today, which I translated from the French.
A new twist in the story of the peregrine falcons at l'Université de Montréal: Spirit was probably not alone at the place where she was found!
In fact, I observed for a long time this morning an unbanded peregrine falcon perched on the water tower at the foot of which Spirit was found. This peregrine vocalized several times, but I did not see any other falcon. Was he looking for Spirit, or is it that he was talking to himself? It is a mystery. Here is the first view of this peregrine.
https://youtu.be/o9M22ViLipk (https://youtu.be/o9M22ViLipk)
To be continued . . .
In the video, the peregrine is animated and e-chupping, which makes me think that perhaps he has a mate close by.
https://www.facebook.com/falcoUrbanisMontreal/posts/1885033531816991 (https://www.facebook.com/falcoUrbanisMontreal/posts/1885033531816991)
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News regarding Spirit, August 8
Falcons of UdeM / UdeM Falcons shared their post.
3 hrs ·
News from Spirit / News about Spirit (short story: she is doing better every day, eating well.)
I will give you news periodically when I have ...
Falcons of the UdeM / UdeM Falcons
to
Union for the Rehabilitation of Birds of Prey - UQROP
3 hrs ·
A big thank you to all the staff of the clinic of birds of prey for the care given to our dear Spirit. I was lucky to hear from her today, she is getting better and better, her elbow is getting better. She eats well by herself, is given anti-pain twice a day. The drugs are in his food, so the stress caused by human contact is at a minimum. We do not know if she will be able to fly one more day, but she is in very good hands. We look forward to seeing the progress she will make in the coming weeks under your care ...
Translated by Google
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After reading through other Facebook posts it appears that the male (mentioned by Alison on July 26) who was noticed in the area where Spirit was rescued - is still there! And since he continues to be observed alone it seems more and more likely that he could be waiting for Spirit to return ... however, it hasn't been determined whether or not she will fly again ... I've been thinking about Spirit every day.
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Éole at the nest today:
(https://picload.org/image/rwpplwwl/montreal-sept-1-2a.jpg) (https://picload.org/image/rwpplwwi/montreal-sept-1-4a.jpg)
(https://picload.org/image/rwpplwww/montreal-sept-1-13a.jpg) (https://picload.org/image/rwppcggr/montreal-sept-1-17a.jpg)
Eve spends time at the nest fairly frequently.
I keep checking for new updates on Spirit, but have found none so far.
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We now have a brief update on Spirit!
Falcons of the UdeM / UdeM Falcons
September 13 at 1:55pm ·
Eve shows us her beautiful feathers this afternoon with summer flavours! And by the way, I've heard from spirit. She's doing well, her elbow swelling remains a problem, but the rest has evolved very well, the extension of her wing is good according to Dr. Fitzgerald's words. Too early to see if she can be released.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/pg/fauconsudem/posts/
(https://www.facebook.com/pg/fauconsudem/posts/)
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my fingers are crossed for Spirit. I love this gal.
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my fingers are crossed for Spirit. I love this gal.
Bev, I'm also crossing my fingers for Spirit. She’s been through many difficult times.
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A new update on Spirit from Fritz Fritschi; I translated it from the French.
Spirit is truly one of a kind.
I had the opportunity to participate in the distribution of her meal during my trip to Chouette à Voir on September 15. She was perched in her private flight enclosure and she attacked her daily meal, which consisted of chickens. She looks very much in shape and has a good appetite, since there was nothing left of her meal from the day before. I had the opportunity to see her again on September 26, during another visit. Still with a voracious appetite. On Sunday, October 8, the same thing. One would very much like to see the staff introduce her into the large flight enclosure, in order to provide her with all the space necessary to properly assess her recovery. I believe that the future is promising. This particular Spirit has very much earned her name. An avian example of resilience if there ever was one.
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Wow! It’s wonderful to read that Spirit’s condition has greatly improved … thank you so much for the update, Alison!
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News of Spirit this morning from UQROP
You are familiar with Spirit, the famous female peregrine falcon who was seen for many years in Montreal? You know that she was found injured last July and that we are caring for her? She will be released on the morning of Sunday, November 19 at Chouette à voir! at St-Jude around 9:30 a.m. An auction has been opened. The person who has made the highest bid (to cover the cost of her care) will have the chance to return her to freedom. Follow the news on this page in the next few days and you will learn more of her story.
https://www.facebook.com/fauconsudem/posts/1681459788571643 (https://www.facebook.com/fauconsudem/posts/1681459788571643)
I am very happy that Spirit has made such a good recovery, but also very concerned about what will happen when she returns to Montreal, as I believe she will. Eve is there, and she is big, young and very strong.
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Thank you for posting the news regarding Spirit, Alison. Perhaps something will cause her to seek a different home, I hope; however, she could very well head straight to Montreal where the much younger Eve has taken over that site, with Éole.
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Spirit has been released. She looks very beautiful and in great condition. It is clear that she has received the very best of care at UQROP. Stay safe, beloved Spirit.
Spirit was indeed returned to freedom today, November 19, 2017, as the first snowflakes of winter arrived at Chouette à voir! It was a hard working volunteer who assists in the transport of injured birds of prey, Roger Rousselle, who carried out this release after having made a donation to UQROP to help pay for the cost of her care. We reached almost 20,000 people with the announcement of this release. Imagine how much this would help UQROP to save other birds of prey if each one had donated $1! A summary of Spirit's story will soon be published on this page and on our Internet site. Continue to follow us . . .
Beautiful photos by Christian Fritschi, who is also the person who rescued Spirit in July.
(https://picload.org/image/drlaripi/spirit-release-nov-19-5a.jpg) (https://picload.org/image/drlaripw/spirit-release-nov-19-6a.jpg)
(https://picload.org/image/drlaaraa/spirit-release-nov-19-8a.jpg) (https://picload.org/image/drladpoi/spirit-release-nov-19-7a.jpg)
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Thankfully UQROP was able to restore Spirit’s health - she looks incredible!
I cannot bear to see Spirit injured and starving again, so I just hope she will stay well wherever she's inclined to go. Fly strong and free, Spirit!
The release photos by Christian Fritschi are beautiful. Thank you for the update, Alison.
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Saving Spirit
CBC Short Docs documentary
(http://www.cbc.ca/shortdocs/content/images/blog/Algo,_Polly__Turcot_still_17.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&crop=w:0.5625xw;*,*&downsize=1280px:*) (http://www.cbc.ca/shortdocs/blog/saving-spirit)
Click on photo
(I had a bit of trouble accessing the video ... just as an FYI)
In June 2017, peregrine falcon Spirit was badly injured.
Another female falcon had been nesting Spirit’s eggs in her absence. When Spirit returned, she attacked the intruder — and the entire fight was caught on camera.
After the fight, Spirit disappeared. She was only spotted again in August, seemingly on the verge of death. Birdwatcher Christian Fritschi rescued Spirit and brought her to Union québécoise de réhabilitation des oiseaux de proie (UQROP), a prey bird clinic in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.
Spirit is the mother of Algo and Polly, featured in the short documentary Algo, Polly & Turcot.
source: http://www.cbc.ca/shortdocs/blog/saving-spirit
youtube video:
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Saving Spirit
CBC Short Docs documentary
(http://www.cbc.ca/shortdocs/content/images/blog/Algo,_Polly__Turcot_still_17.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&crop=w:0.5625xw;*,*&downsize=1280px:*) (http://www.cbc.ca/shortdocs/blog/saving-spirit)
Click on photo
(I had a bit of trouble accessing the video ... just as an FYI)
In June 2017, peregrine falcon Spirit was badly injured.
Another female falcon had been nesting Spirit’s eggs in her absence. When Spirit returned, she attacked the intruder — and the entire fight was caught on camera.
After the fight, Spirit disappeared. She was only spotted again in August, seemingly on the verge of death. Birdwatcher Christian Fritschi rescued Spirit and brought her to Union québécoise de réhabilitation des oiseaux de proie (UQROP), a prey bird clinic in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.
Spirit is the mother of Algo and Polly, featured in the short documentary Algo, Polly & Turcot.
source: http://www.cbc.ca/shortdocs/blog/saving-spirit
youtube video:
The video would not play for me in any of the usual browsers, but I just tried it in Opera, a browser I don't normally use, and it played on the first try.
The other female, Eve, had not been "nesting Spirit’s eggs in her absence". She simply wanted the eggs gone, and had also forced Spirit to abandon her eggs the previous year.
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The other CBC video, "Polly, Algo & Turcot" is very interesting. I could not access that video on CBC either, but it is also on YouTube, and it worked perfectly there.
I watched Polly and Algo grow up in the nest back in 2009, the first chicks raised by Spirit and Roger. The views of the birds in the video are quite beautiful.
CBC link:
http://watch.cbc.ca/short-docs/-/algo--polly--turcot/38e815a-00d61d463ed (http://watch.cbc.ca/short-docs/-/algo--polly--turcot/38e815a-00d61d463ed)
YouTube link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7C17tqpMOo&feature=youtu.be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7C17tqpMOo&feature=youtu.be)
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I had not seen much of the other female, Eve, recently. However, since the day after Spirit's release she has been at the nest frequently.
The first two pics of Eve are from yesterday; the others are from this morning.
(https://picload.org/image/drlpwrll/montreal-nov-22-8a.jpg) (https://picload.org/image/drlpwrlw/montreal-nov-22-17a.jpg)
(https://picload.org/image/drlpwrcr/montreal-nov-23-9a.jpg) (https://picload.org/image/drlpwrca/montreal-nov-23-10a.jpg)
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Thank you for posting the “Saving Spirit” CBC documentary, TPC.
Spirit has suffered so much … I think of her often and hope she is staying well and enjoying her freedom. She must be thinking about her University of Montreal site (I assume), but perhaps she will seek a more welcoming place to call home.
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There is additional information on Spirit from Union québécoise de réhabilitation des oiseaux de proie (UQROP), posted today:
Did you know that Spirit, the female peregrine falcon star, was a survivor? Learn more about her story of rehabilitation by visiting https://uqrop.qc.ca/fr/actualite/31-l-histoire-du-faucon-spirit (https://uqrop.qc.ca/fr/actualite/31-l-histoire-du-faucon-spirit). You will learn there, among other things, that she was shot with lead ammunition from a rifle at some time in her life! Our educational work still has a lot more to be done.
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Here is the article, which I translated from the French.
The story of the falcon named Spirit
Posted December 15 2017
A falcon with a great deal of "Spirit"
In May 2004, in Cleveland, Ohio, biologists banded young peregrine falcons at a nest installed on a bridge structure. Several years later, one of these birds was observed in Montreal on one of the buildings of l’Université de Montréal. It was thanks to the numbers on the bands on her legs that she was identified, and she was named Spirit. Then, in 2009, began a long history of following the reproduction of peregrine falcons in Montreal by means of webcam images on the Internet. You can see Spirit's family tree at https://uqrop.qc.ca/Symfony/web/upload/files/g%C3%A9n%C3%A9alogie%20Spirit.pdf (https://uqrop.qc.ca/Symfony/web/upload/files/g%C3%A9n%C3%A9alogie%20Spirit.pdf), or follow the activities of these magnificent birds live at http://www.ornithologie.ca/faucons.
In April 2017, webcam surveillance allowed the observation of a fight between two female peregrine falcons at the nest. In July 2017, UQROP received a call from a trucker in Montreal concerning a bird of prey who appeared to be injured. He sent us a photo on his cellphone, which allowed us to recognize an adult peregrine falcon. One of our most valued volunteer transporters, Christian Fritschi, agreed to go and catch the bird and bring her to us at the Birds of Prey Clinic at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
During the general examination of Spirit at the Birds of Prey Clinic injuries were observed on the cere and the beak, covered by dry scabs, as well as a major, hot swelling of the right elbow. X-rays confirmed a septic arthritis of the elbow, and we also found an old fracture on the right side of the pelvis (synsacrum). All these injuries were compatible with the famous battle of about 30 minutes duration which took place in April and in June with another female. The X-rays also told us that Spirit had been shot with lead ammunition from a rifle (lead shot) at some point in her life. What a survivor!
(https://picload.org/image/drwwawdl/spirit-x-rays-dec-15-1a.jpg)
Radiography of Spirit where the arrows indicate the swelling of the right elbow (septic arthritis), the fracture of the right hip and the lead shot in the keel bone.
After several weeks of treatment with antibiotics, wound care and physiotherapy, Spirit was able to be transferred into a rehabilitation flight at Chouette à voir! at Saint-Jude. The final stage of her rehabilitation took place in the large flight. Then the great moment arrived on November 19. Spirit reclaimed her freedom at the site of Chouette à voir! at Saint-Jude. We are waitimg to hear news of her when she will be seen and recognized by her bands.
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Photo of Spirit taken by the trucker who found her:
(https://picload.org/image/drwwoioi/spirit-dec-15-4a.jpg)
Photos of Spirit in care at l'Union québécoise de réhabilitation des oiseaux de proie by Guy Fitzgerald.
(https://picload.org/image/drwwawwl/spirit-dec-15-1a.jpg) (https://picload.org/image/drwwawwi/spirit-dec-15-2a.jpg)
(https://picload.org/image/drwwawww/spirit-dec-15-3a.jpg)
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Thank you, Alison. I always appreciate information regarding Spirit.
Many people must be wondering how she is doing since her release ... hopefully someone will spot her somewhere.
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Éole and Eve have four chicks this year. The chicks have been banded, and have now been given names.
They are:
Ezio, banded C/71 (black tape)
Altaïr, banded C/70 (green tape)
Isis, banded 81/W (red tape)
Aura, banded 82/W (silver band, no tape)
(https://picload.org/image/doppdwlr/montreal-chicks-1a.jpg)
Left to right: Ezio, Isis, Altaïr and Aura
There have been no known sightings of Spirit since her release in November of last year. I believe that something must have happened to her. I doubt that we will ever know for sure. :(
http://www.ornithologie.ca/faucons/ (http://www.ornithologie.ca/faucons/)
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Really nice to see these four beautiful chicks here! Thanks Alison.
I want so much to see Spirit again. She crosses my mind every so often, but I also worry that something has happened to her. :(
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Certainly is nice to see a full house ... so many houses are far from full this year ...
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April 11, 2019
The resident peregrines at this nest are still Éole, son of Spirit and Roger, and his mate Ève, who is unbanded. They are seen less frequently during the winter, but they do not migrate.
Ève was approaching the time for laying her first egg, when a horrendous ice storm hit Montréal, blanketing the area for three days. High winds, ice, snow, ice fog and cold. Almost 250,000 people without power.
Huge icicles obscured the view of the nest, where Ève spent most of her time.
(https://i.ibb.co/9cqtr0P/montreal-april-10-5.jpg) (https://ibb.co/1796mNc) (https://i.ibb.co/9WBgsRR/montreal-april-10-6.jpg) (https://ibb.co/zZCxGKK)
(https://i.ibb.co/sjPdxQD/montreal-april-10-7.jpg) (https://ibb.co/4WfnvMD) (https://i.ibb.co/nzg0BWf/montreal-april-10-8.jpg) (https://ibb.co/YpRWXr8)
http://www.ornithologie.ca/faucons/ (http://www.ornithologie.ca/faucons/)
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During the worst of this ice storm, with visibility almost nil, Éole went hunting and came back with a pigeon, which he presented to Ève. She was very hungry, and ate ravenously.
Yesterday around noon, the temperature rose to about 5 degrees. The icicles did not melt and drip; they fell like projectiles. One large chunk of ice crashed down exactly where Éole had been perching ten seconds earlier.
Éole
(https://i.ibb.co/rtkcsLc/montreal-april-10-9.jpg) (https://ibb.co/7zvR4TR) (https://i.ibb.co/yyjwPp7/montreal-april-10-14.jpg) (https://ibb.co/WyJb50j)
Renewing their bond:
(https://i.ibb.co/d62LY1Q/montreal-april-10-10.jpg) (https://ibb.co/rM6crTZ) (https://i.ibb.co/g9ZvLc0/montreal-april-10-11.jpg) (https://ibb.co/dM4bwHN)
(https://i.ibb.co/h13FNYc/montreal-april-10-12.jpg) (https://ibb.co/QjyvVDk) (https://i.ibb.co/6RHRvBB/montreal-april-10-13.jpg) (https://ibb.co/bgsgHJJ)
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At 5:33 a.m., Ève was finally able to lay her first egg. By 5:59 a.m., Éole was there to admire the egg, and by 6:01 a.m. he was incubating.
(https://i.ibb.co/3pZ3Hm7/montreal-11-13a.jpg) (https://ibb.co/2v49B3y) (https://i.ibb.co/ZX97gWZ/montreal-april-11-3a.jpg) (https://ibb.co/4tk3SPQ)
(https://i.ibb.co/wBSJbrP/montreal-april-11-16a.jpg) (https://ibb.co/xX1mc8B) (https://i.ibb.co/QjP0T5p/montreal-april-11-15.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Dg9dvqz)
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Throughout the stress of the last few days, Éole could not have been more supportive of Ève.
People all around the world watched Ève lay her egg this morning.
(https://i.ibb.co/XsdmgWt/montreal-april-11-18.jpg) (https://ibb.co/r6LnSQH) (https://i.ibb.co/pZjv9k3/montreal-april-11-20a.jpg) (https://ibb.co/TRMBFNH)
(https://i.ibb.co/DbmCh3M/montreal-april-11-21.jpg) (https://ibb.co/X46s1m5) (https://i.ibb.co/GPTgZFT/montreal-april-11-22a.jpg) (https://ibb.co/tCXy03X)
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Ève laid four eggs, which she and Éole took turns incubating with great skill and seamless shift changes.
All four eggs hatched, and on June 12 the four chicks were banded.
The chicks were named for the Three Musketeers:
Porthos: Male, 672 Grams, banded C/72 (Green tape over silver band on right leg)
Athos: Male, 643 Grams, banded C/73 (Yellow tape over silver band on right leg)
D'Artagnan: Male, 638 Grams, banded C/74 (no tape over silver band on right leg)
And their sister was named Sola:
Sola: Female, 880 Grams, banded E/93 (Red tape over silver band on right leg)