Tower Nest - 2012 / ? & ?

[RCF]

10:40 am
For some reason I decided to take a trip out to the Tower nest this morning. I asked Rose if she would like to join me and I'm glad she did because she spotted the falcon right away.    The falcon was perched on a camera support beam on the southwest corner. By the size of the bird we figured it was female and she sat up there for 30 minutes.  She flew down onto the roof and disappeared, so we went to the north side and that's where we saw two falcons. One was at the northeast corner of the building where I believe TPC put the nest box and the other one was about 20 feet away on the edge of the roof.  They both flew to the south and we followed them, she was perched on the southeast corner when he flew over to her.  

Female                                                                     Male

[susha]

How exciting is that?!?  It would be so great to have another nest in Brandon!  Of course, then Rose and rcf will have to give up sleeping for a few months 

[Rose]

Dan just called and we have a pair back as of today!  Considering the location, it is probably Alice and likely Zeus but he will be 17 this year, so its possible that its a new male.  We are working on getting band numbers and we will have to see if the pair likes the condo we have provided for them.

More news as we get it!

Well I can tell you that the male is very active and the female is very accomodating.

[MayShowers]

Great news

[dupre501]

Woo hoo!

[The Peregrine Chick]

Dan just called and we have a pair back as of today!  Considering the location, it is probably Alice and likely Zeus but he will be 17 this year, so its possible that its a new male.  We are working on getting band numbers and we will have to see if the pair likes the condo we have provided for them.

More news as we get it!

[The Peregrine Chick]

Nice timing if the peregrines do come back to this site this year ... the raven chicks may be ready to fledge by the time the peregrines are ready to lay eggs ...

BTW - on the 20th, 3 peregrines were reported migrating through Windygates.  No way to know if they include Alice and/or Zeus but it does mean that there are still anatum peregrines still moving as it looks like the tundra peregrines are just beginning to work their way north.  According to the two tundra birds with transmitters I keep an eye on - IG crossed out of Chile into Peru on Friday and Felipe crossed over into Peru yesterday.  IG nests on Baffin Island, don't know where Felipe nests as transmitters are fitted on their wintering grounds in Chile.

[RCF]

I was at the tower nest yesterday and all I saw were gulls, pigeons and a pair of Ravens nesting on one of the catwalks. I could see there was a lot of poop art on the backside of the tower wall.  After I checked my pics I could see they have some little ones.

                                 

[The Peregrine Chick]

We checked the Tower site last night in the rain before leaving Brandon and only a crow was in residence - perhaps the McKenzie Seeds crow?  Who knows but that was the only bird we could see when we were there.  We check out the site for camera angles etc at the nestbox so if someone does turn up we have a plan in place already.  And no, there hasn't been any disturbance in the nestbox - and the box looks great after its first winter in place.  There is some pooling of water on the roof in spots but the bottom of the box is raised up above the roof a bit and then there is 3-5 inches of gravel so if this box is used, no one is going to have problems here!

The folks at this site are keeping an eye out for the falcons (they are big fans of the falcons) and RCF and Rose have been great at spotting who's home pretty much as soon as their home, so if/when someone does turn up here, well, we should hear about it almost immediately I expect!

[RCF]

I'll keep checking for them.      It would be awesome if Zeus did show up again this year and Alice too! 

[The Peregrine Chick]

I have been checking the towers a couple of times a week and I haven't seen another falcon since March 30th. 

Its still early-ish days, so we can wait.  And even if Alice returns alone and hangs out there alone this summer, it will still be hopeful news for next year as she would likely return and get another chance at attracting a mate.  I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for this year though - Zeus didn't turn up in Winnipeg right away - at 17 years of age, he might just be a wee bit more leisurely in his progress home ...

[RCF]

I have been checking the towers a couple of times a week and I haven't seen another falcon since March 30th. 

[bccs]

Thanks for the pictures RCF. And glad to see that at least one falcon is back.

[RCF]

Might have been a red-tailed hawk, apparently they did used to have a nest in the woodlands nearby for a few years.  Or it could have been one of a number of other hawks, the area is prime for hunting easy prey (gulls) and the raptors are starting to come home.  Since she's back fast (and end of March is fast enough), chances are other raptors won't get a chance to nest in the area if she sticks to her "guns" and her nestbox.  But we will just have to see - if it is Alice, she lost chicks here most likely to predation so she may have very little tolerance for invaders and maybe it will mean she will choose a more defendable (ie nestbox) location.

The nest box is definitely the best location, now we just have to wait for a suitor to show up for her. 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Before I saw her perched on the corner of the building, I saw a raptor of some sort flying around the towers with some thing in its beak, which it dropped and tried to retrieve. Looking through the binos it didn't look like a falcon to me. There were lots of gulls around too, but it wasn't a gull.   

Might have been a red-tailed hawk, apparently they did used to have a nest in the woodlands nearby for a few years.  Or it could have been one of a number of other hawks, the area is prime for hunting easy prey (gulls) and the raptors are starting to come home.  Since she's back fast (and end of March is fast enough), chances are other raptors won't get a chance to nest in the area if she sticks to her "guns" and her nestbox.  But we will just have to see - if it is Alice, she lost chicks here most likely to predation so she may have very little tolerance for invaders and maybe it will mean she will choose a more defendable (ie nestbox) location.