Author Topic: AB / Red Deer - Capri Centre - 2009-11 (Read 5759 times)

bev. · « **Reply #26 on:** June 02, 2011, 17:22 »

I will ask Gord about Capri. I do not think the naturalists will do anything here. this is where a cam would be useful

the weather was too bad when we were coming home on long weekend to stop and check for falcons

The Peregrine Chick · « **Reply #25 on:** March 29, 2011, 16:26 »

2011 NESTING SEASON

Time to see who's coming home to Red Deer this year and if we will finally get a webcam here!

bev. · « **Reply #24 on:** June 18, 2010, 13:07 »

there are eggs and there should be chicks by now. Everything is proceeding nicely.

peaches123 · « **Reply #23 on:** June 14, 2010, 20:38 »

Quote

I will ask what I can and cannot tell you.

I'm intrigued by your words, bev. Is the Capri nest hush hush ? And is this due to the media being on the roof several times last year ?

bev. · « **Reply #22 on:** June 14, 2010, 17:13 »

They are nesting and so far so good.

The other nest is more up front now becasue ti has a cam, but I am sure there will be news on this one. I will ask what I can and cannot tell you.

ballywing · « **Reply #21 on:** June 11, 2010, 15:48 »

Can't find anything on this nest for this year yet - no cam so although there are peregrines here, I guess nobody knows what's going on

bev. · « **Reply #20 on:** May 27, 2010, 20:41 »

there is an active nest there. On our way to the mountains we stopped there and the other nest site in Red Deer. Beautiful falcons.
the sun was in our eyes so could not get good shots but I will be that way again in a few weeks and try and get some shots for you.

It is on the back of the hotel so hopefully they f ledge there. I am going to e-mail the regroup in charge of the other site and see if they are going to watch that site also at fledging. this site needs it.

ballywing · « **Reply #19 on:** May 21, 2010, 15:46 »

I haven't found anything yet that says there's an active nest here this year - will keep checking

bev. · « **Reply #18 on:** April 01, 2010, 11:49 »

They placed a nestbox there after the loss of the chicks. The one remaining chick was warmed up and made sure it was O.K. and then they placed a chick from the Misrecordia nestbox in Edmonton there. they had 4 at that site and Gord thought one less mouth to feed would be good for the pair in Edmonton.

One chick came to the ground but was put back up and as far as Gord knows they fledged successfully.

I do not know if the owner is open to a cam and so maybe that is why they went with the other site.

And Red deer does not seem to be into the falcons but maybe they will get educated with the cam on the other site

I will be going down a few times to see them though

Just 1.5 hours away.

The Peregrine Chick · « **Reply #17 on:** March 20, 2010, 22:30 »

A little more cleaning up and sorry, not the first time the birds have nested there according to the local biologists - rather they think its the fourth time. Okay, my question is, exactly how does one miss such large birds making that much racket around a hotel, its not like there aren't alot of folks in and out of the building every day of the year .... and no, I'm not being critical of the folks in Red Deer or the Capri Centre, its just something that ALWAYS amazes me!

The Peregrine Chick · « **Reply #16 on:** March 20, 2010, 21:49 »

2010 NESTING SEASON

Last year was the first year a pair has nested at the Capri Centre Hotel in Red Deer and though they lost chicks due to exposure the one they did raise and the Edmonton chick they fostered did well. Hopefully the pair will be back again to try again. The Hotel was talking about installing a nestbox at this site but I haven't heard anything about that ... there could be one from now or not. Nor have I heard anything about putting a webcam at this site so we will probably just have to wait until the birds return to find out what they are returning to!

bev. · « **Reply #15 on:** January 19, 2010, 10:17 »

This is great. I am glad they did well. You can see I am just catching up on all the news

Alison · « **Reply #14 on:** August 22, 2009, 00:28 »

An update on the falcon family at the Capri Hotel in Red Deer from the Red Deer Advocate yesterday:

Falcons thriving atop city hotel
Red Deer Advocate - 20 August 2009

A family of four peregrine falcons seem to love their stay at one of Red Deer’s biggest hotels. The parents and two chicks have made a temporary home on the rooftop of the Capri Centre, which suits the hotel general manager just fine. When Gil Vallee gets the chance to step away from his desk, he heads outdoors to see what the peregrines are doing 14 storeys up. He’s not disappointed.

The parents are teaching their young to hunt prey “very aggressively.” Vallee has even seen the parents catch some kind of bird and then drop it, while a young one swoops down to grab it.

“They perch on the side of the building throughout the day,” Vallee said. “It’s really great watching, when the (chicks) were so young and helpless, to being very graceful and beautiful birds.”

Alberta Fish and Wildlife and hotel staff initially had concerns about how the family would fare. Four out of five chicks born on top of the hotel died due to exposure from wind and rain. The remaining one was barely surviving, so Red Deer wildlife biologist Dave Prescott gave it some raw chicken.

A male chick from Edmonton was brought to the roof in mid July. A three-sided plywood box was added to help protect the two youngsters from the cold. Since then, no one has returned to the roof so that the chicks could feel safe as they learned to fly. Vallee understands the birds will fly the coop towards the end of August or early September. Peregrine falcons migrate south, with some heading as far away as Argentina. Wherever this foursome travels, Vallee said he’d hold out a ‘Welcome’ sign upon any of their return.

“They took care of my pigeon problem,” he said, laughing.

Fish and Wildlife officials believe this is the fourth time that the falcons have chosen the Capri Centre for their high nesting spot. Another three peregrine falcons are believed to be living on top of the Telus tower, on the north side or Red Deer, where a manmade nesting box was set up.

Alberta has developed a recovery program for the peregrine falcon, which is legally a threatened species in Alberta. The peregrine can reach speeds over 322 km/h in a dive, making it the fastest animal in the world.

To view the original including photos ... http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradvocate/news/local/Falcons_thriving_atop_hotel

Photo by Jeff Stokoe.

birdcamfan · « **Reply #13 on:** July 24, 2009, 10:01 »

Thanks for following up on this story.

Alison · « **Reply #12 on:** July 23, 2009, 23:55 »

Thank you for the additional information, Bev. I hope the two chicks will continue to do well, and I'm glad that a nest box has been installed for next year.

sami · « **Reply #11 on:** July 23, 2009, 22:28 »

Thanks for the info, Bev. It's amazing that one chick survived the bad weather, but thankful it did. And hopefully both chicks will do well now.

bev. · « **Reply #10 on:** July 23, 2009, 21:46 »

I have the information and did not know if I was allowed to share it but since you have so much already I will fill in the blanks the 4 chicks that died did not survive the horrible wind and rain storms the area had. They were happy one survived and I was told it was doing very well. The chick brought in was from the MIsrecordia nest in Edmonton. They had 4 and it was noticed at banding that one was quite small. So they thought it would do better in a nest with one other chick as it would get fed more , adn the 3 remaining ones at the MIsrecordia would get more as they grew older. And it is always good to have 2 chicks in a nest and they knew the Red Deer pair could handle it. they do this all the time, if necessary. the death of the 4 chicks was not the fault of the parents.They also put up a nest box now which should help against the elements. they were going to put one up later but the time wa right now. Hope that fills in the gaps.

Alison · « **Reply #9 on:** July 21, 2009, 21:30 »

Quote from: The Peregrine Chick on July 21, 2009, 21:20

Four chicks died due to rain, surviving chick okay now after a little help, second chick fostered into the nest, hence the two there now. Why from Edmonton? The Edmonton female was inexperienced and with one less chick to support will be able to better meet the needs of her remaining chicks. Why foster one here, chicks do better, fledging etc if they aren't alone, so adding a chick to this nest helps everyone. And no, the adults don't really care whose chicks they are ...

Thank you, TPC, for the reply. I'm curious about which Edmonton nest this was, and who the falcons are at the nest. Peregrines are usually such good foster parents! I agree that chicks do better if they are not the only one. I think they learn quite a bit from each other, especially once they fledge and start playing in the air together.

debc52 · « **Reply #8 on:** July 21, 2009, 21:28 »

Thanks TPC. Interesting to know they fledge better when more than one. Hard to imagine that parents don't know that one chick isn't theirs. Especially with all the dive bombing that goes on when stuff is being done to their little ones. How we do like to anthropomorphize(sp?)!

The Peregrine Chick · « **Reply #7 on:** July 21, 2009, 21:20 »

Quote from: Alison on July 21, 2009, 16:52

I wonder what happened to the four chicks, and why it was decided to move a chick from an Edmonton nest (and I wonder which nest?).

Four chicks died due to rain, surviving chick okay now after a little help, second chick fostered into the nest, hence the two there now. Why from Edmonton? The Edmonton female was inexperienced and with one less chick to support will be able to better meet the needs of her remaining chicks. Why foster one here, chicks do better, fledging etc if they aren't alone, so adding a chick to this nest helps everyone. And no, the adults don't really care whose chicks they are ...

carly · « **Reply #6 on:** July 21, 2009, 17:03 »

Oh wow Alison, thanks for the follow up here. I hope the remaining little one and the foster chick are both healthy and surviving to fledge. Perhaps TPC can get some updates for us.

Alison · « **Reply #5 on:** July 21, 2009, 16:52 »

There is an article in the Red Deer Advocate today about the falcons at the Capri Centre. Part of the article:

Biologists hopeful for falcon family on the penthouse
Red Deer Advocate - 21 July 2009

Alberta Fish and Wildlife is hopeful two peregrine falcon chicks living on top of a 14-storey Red Deer hotel will survive after a little human intervention. Although Red Deer wildlife biologist Dave Prescott hasn’t returned to the roof of the Capri Centre in more than a week to see how the pair is doing in a man-made nesting box, he’s confident of their survival. He doesn’t want to disturb them as they approach flying for the first time.

“There’s no reason they aren’t doing well now,” said Prescott on Monday.

Prescott and hotel staff were keen to help the parents of five falcon chicks, which were born on top of the hotel on the corner of 32nd Street and Gaetz Avenue. Four of them died due to exposure from wind and rain. The remaining one was barely surviving, so Prescott gave it a “bit of a kick-start.”

“I gave it some raw chicken while the mother circled overhead,” Prescott said. The mother seems to be a good one, considering all five eggs had hatched and had survived for a little while. Fish and Wildlife decided to bring a male chick from Edmonton, where a young inexperienced mother had been caring for four. It was brought to Red Deer on July 10. A three-sided plywood box was added, which will help protect the youngsters from cold weather. Prescott expects if all is going well, that these two birds will begin flying in about 10 days.

This is likely the fourth time that the falcons have chosen the Capri Centre for their high nesting spot, according to Fish and Wildlife. egrine falcons mate for life and breed in the same territory each year. Two peregrine falcons and their young, believed to be three in total, are living on top of the Telus tower on the north hill. A manmade nesting box was set up there about 10 years ago, Prescott said. Alberta has developed a recovery program for the peregrine falcon, which is legally a threatened species in Alberta.

“The public has told us that these species are at risk and we should be protecting them,” Prescott said. The peregrine can reach speeds over 322 km/h in a dive, making it the fastest animal in the world. Prescott described them as spectacular hunters.
They catch their prey in mid air and feast mainly on medium-sized birds. Occasionally, they hunt small mammals, small reptiles or even insects.

Prescott said people should be able to see the falcons flying around the Capri. “They are majestic birds and are worth a look.”

To view the original including photos ... http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradvocate/news/local/Biologists_hopeful_for_falcon

I wonder what happened to the four chicks, and why it was decided to move a chick from an Edmonton nest (and I wonder which nest?).

bev. · « **Reply #4 on:** July 04, 2009, 21:57 »

Wow!1 that was a lot of reading.Glad the littleone is just belwo. He will probably stay there now.

Off topic for a moment. I know well the hotel that the peregrines are on in Red Deer. Saw that on the news the same day I was on the news.

thanks for all the info today guys. and thanks to anyone who is watching for the kids downtown,.

carly · « **Reply #3 on:** July 04, 2009, 20:34 »

Here is the CTV online article on Red Deer that willmax is talking about - they laid 5 eggs!!!:

http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090704/EDM_falcons_097004/20090704/?hub=EdmontonHome

And kudos to the hotel, they want to put up a nestbox so they'll come back again!

Kinderchick · « **Reply #2 on:** July 04, 2009, 20:22 »

Quote

I see CTV News Channel is showing another hotel falcon family.

Where is that willmax?

willmax11 · « **Reply #1 on:** July 04, 2009, 20:16 »

2009 NESTING SEASON

I see CTV News Channel is showing another hotel falcon family.