ON / Etobicoke - Bloor & Islington / 2008-21

[allikat]

Now, that is cool!  Oh sigh, if only I could! 

[bccs]

http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2010/06/sightings/life-on-the-43rd-floor-ledge/

[bcbird]

Maybe they could be morphed to Canada, Black and Merc. The hard C adds a bit of panache, don't you think?

[bccs]

Wow Carly, you got to be there and saw the kiddies first hand.  Yes!!!!!.

[carly]

Yes I am and also on color - the youngest is quite white compared to the other two.  That being said the two other ones could very well be reversed!  Angel's eggs typically all hatch the same day, usually 2 within an hour or two of each other and the last one a few hours later. 

I just couldn't bring myself to say those names 

[bcbird]

Gorgeous photos, Carly.  It is always good to hear your enthusiastic reports.
Are you calling the eldest to youngest, based on weight?  How would it otherwise be known?
Those names, I agree, just not very dignified!

[carly]

Thanks bcbird!  I was excited to see them and make sure they were healthy and strong.  Given mom has pretty much been on her own most of the time,  she's done a great job.  And I'm thrilled they are all boys as we need more boys and I'm hoping that makes fledge a bit easier on her as she won't have the usual heavy girls to deal with and worry over as they tend to come to ground more often.

Jack I'm very disappointed in today -  I know the female largely takes care of defending the nest but the male is the back up, he clears the air space - in other words he should have her back.  That's the kind of falcons I want these boys to grow up to be, strong, feisty and fierce so they have a decent chance at survival.

At one point today when mom was attacking the humans as they were extracting the chicks from the ledge a kestrel was actually attacking her!  Okay the kestrel is small in comparison but it kept dive bombing and hitting her - had Jack been there, his job would have been to ensure no one disturbed her as that stressed her out more and distracted her.  What if that had been a bigger bird looking for a fight?  She would have been at a disadvantage.  the fact that he came in twice but almost 3 hours apart and then just left her there to fend for herself disappointed me but perhaps I expect too much.

So without further ado, here is a preview of the boys!  From oldest to youngest!

     

[bcbird]

Great report, Carly.  You sound excited!

[carly]

Okay we have 3 big, healthy BOYS!!!  From 660-690 grams, all beautiful, healthy, pink throats (yes we checked)!!  Poor mom defended all on her own.  Apparently Jack showed up again for 5 minutes, made alot of noise and left while I was inside with the babies.

I'm not crazy about the names, in fact I hate them and I wish they'd stop let the kids pick these names and try to guide them to more distinguished names.  The first one is dot.ca - yes you read that right, who the heck names a chick after a domain name??  The second name is Blackberry - not even going to comment on that one.  And the last name is Mercedes..after the car.

I had someone doing photos and once he uploads them I will give you all a peek!

[carly]

It's Banding Day here today - 10:00 am!  The swing stage guys are setting up now and mom is in attack mode!  Jack did come in briefly, mostly to squawk like a girl and then he went back to TR site probably to advise his other wife that he's going to be busy this morning!

I'll keep you posted 

[carly]

First Sighting of Chicks from the Ground
May 31, 2010 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre

Kathy Reports:
What a great day!!  I’ve had my first sighting of two of the chicks from the ground level!  I could see one set of black and white wings flapping in the corner next to the nest box.  Mom is directly seated in front of the nest and was keeping her eye on me as I watched.  And I saw one head peeking around behind her!  Hopefully we still have three chicks and the other is just napping or out of viewing range.

I’ve had word this morning that Milton, the other male is back at the TR site.  Both Jack and TR Mom are there and are aware of his presence.  The female seems to be confused and is going between them but no sign of hostility yet.

The past week has seen our female pretty much on her own, save for sporadic visits by Jack she is feeding them, hunting, guarding and defending the territory on her own.  The other day during the extreme heat I saw her at one point looking quite exhausted and she undershot the nest ledge and almost hit the glass coming in with food.  Thankfully, although still hot and sunny, there has been a nice breeze the past few days and she looks much better today.  She is doing an amazing job on her own and at least now the young are old enough that she can leave them when she has too.

Fledge will be challenging as she can’t be in three places at once if they decide to go at the same time but hopefully we can muster enough volunteers to give them a helping hand should it be required.

[bcbird]

Thanks for that clip, Carly. 
Oh, I do love to see the action and hear the noise, spoken as one who hasn't yet experienced the full magnificence and volume in person.

[carly]

Video of Jack, Angel, the babies and a Turkey Vulture..sound is off by default so click on the red X to hear it but turn down as they are quite loud once they start yacking!!

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2vteasz&s=5

Kinderchick:  Frank is a CPF member who went up on a nearby roof to try and get a look in the nestbox today.  Parents were NOT impressed... 

[Kinderchick]

Three Eyases just confirmed!!! Both parents on site dive bombing Frank..!!

Who is Frank and why are the parents dive bombing him?

[bev.]

Two parents dive bombing a good thing. Sorry Frank