U of Alberta - 2009 / Damon & Radisson

[bev.]

So I am done and feel relieved to have this done. I had so many pictures.
I split it up so as not to bore you too much.
remember these all from the ground and even with a great camera, when they are way up , they are way up 

So I believe there are about 7 or 8 shows  altogether

[bev.]

And finally Radissons last days before migration.
when we came back at the end of September we knew the kids would be gone. We must have  just missed Damon leaving.
this ,for me , is always a sad time because we never know what the next year will hold.
click on picutres

[bev.]

The next 3 slideshows are up to Peter left mid -September.

These bring back so many memories. In one show I show all 3 kids on ledge tucking in for the night. Red and Froona were on the same ledge. I remember that  because she came in so fast that I thought she would crash. Red looked astonished. those 2 were buds.
I think white and yellow would have been buds. Yellow was the one who left first and he was sighted  in an area west of Edmonton where a lot gather before migration

We always knew when Froona was around as she was so vocal. and Red always tried to knock the adults from their perches .
 click on pictures

[bev.]

The next is a series of 4 slideshows showing the kids in action. I always tried to find all 3.

I had to leave suddenly mid august so Peter was left with the task of tracking them.

so when he came to pick me up on Vancouver Island mid September we had no one to watch.
but Froona was still there when he left Sept14.

the first 2 slideshows
Click on pictures

[bev.]

The next 2 slideshows are the start of fledging and Froona after her first night night out.
 Poor Froona. She had such a strong flight at 9:30pm and the next day a maintenance worker scared her off the heart building intentionally because he thought a helicopter could come in. I did not report him and thankfully she was strong and eventually did well the day after.
what a beauty she is.

click on picutres

[bev.]

These shows are dedicated to white band


I have put start and The end adn tired to say how many pictures in each one.
Someone requested I do that and it makes sense. I will have to learn how to do titles. they are not professional but doing them brought back so many memories. 
Click on pictures

[bev.]

I am going to finally post my slideshow.

There will be several so I will split them into several posts

This was a hard year for me, as I found organizing the first fledge watch very draining. It has taken a long time for me to recover .   It also meant I could not take as many pictures for all of you.

The shots in my shows are all from the ground so they are not always big. I tried to tell the story with the  pictures.
Peter and I are  still very troubled about the demise of white band as we always said he never left the nest box roof.  I guess having picked him off the ground and looking him in the eyes made it worse. I still have not been able to meet with the biologists but things will have to change next year if I do this officially.
Peter and I do not think we are knowledgeable enough to make the call as to whether they should be put back or not. I think they should always be checked out by someone who deals with the raptors on a daily basis. If we had not put him back , maybe he would have survived.


Having said that , we did do 5 rescues and had 3 make it to migration. 3 of the rescues were as a result of interference and this is unfortunate. It was not because they were not capable of flying. Red Bands first rescue was becasue he was scared off the perch when yellow band landed in the white contraption. His wings were not developed enough to be fledging. # 2 rescue of red band was becasue he was spooked off the roof by maintenance workers. # 3 should have been rescue #1 for him but at least he stayed put for a few days after that and was later very cocky and strong. He was a hoot to watch. Quite the personality.

I hope you enjoy my story in slides.
See next post

[The Peregrine Chick]

Not sure if this link is somewhere else in this thread, but here is a YouTube video of the banding of Radisson's and Damon's chicks this year

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8tcXTQVcLk

[bev.]

Peter and I almost have all the pictures sized and will hopefully have our slide show up soon. Just so busy this season.

I am hoping to meet with Gordon early in January to discuss the box and the white contraption that I feel is a  great harm  for our birds.
I am not sure why they are so negligent in cleaning the box. i know they are busy but... 

[allikat]

You were right Alison, I checked all 3 cams today and gees amazing what dusk, some debris and sprinkling of snow can make you think you are seeing 

I think we are all just suffering from a little falcon withdrawals right now.....

[Alison]

I checked the cams earlier, when it was still light -- and there is still so much debris in the nest. The exterior perch is also draped with leftovers.

[carly]

You were right Alison, I checked all 3 cams today and gees amazing what dusk, some debris and sprinkling of snow can make you think you are seeing 

[carly]

Yes that's it Alison.  In the dark it sure looked like a bird sitting there.  I will check later on today in the light..you are probably right, it's probably leftovers and the dark and cam light was playing tricks on my mind.

[Alison]

I can't really tell what is in the box -- it is just too dark -- but is this what you saw, Bev? If so, I think it is probably leftovers.

[carly]

Hi Carly, I see what you mean.  In the box, cam 3.  What could it be?

I will check tomorrow in the daylight and see if it's really a bird sheltering from the cold or debris.  I don't why I thought to check the cam there at this hour but I just did...hopefully it's just a winter bird hanging out.