Radisson - 2013 / Ivy & Princess

[The Peregrine Chick]

The rain has arrived in Winnipeg but it isn't heavy ... still wet though 

[The Peregrine Chick]

TPC, so many details to be taken care of. Second guessing these birds seems to be getting more complex rather than easier.

New birds are fun but new birds means we can't guess what they will do/how they will react, which is fun as well so long as they don't  insist on making iffy choices ... but, Jules isn't a new bird and her major choice is constantly iffy!!  This year we got a mix of new and old birds so its not been too bad despite our concern about Cowboy and Joli, but that's not entirely new, we've been watching them closely since Cowboy turned up with Kate in 2011.

[The Peregrine Chick]

If anything untoward was going on, is there anything you could do to intervene or would you just have to stand by and watch and leave nature to take its course (in spite of having 5 cameras)? 

That would depend on what is going on Rose.   We have installed the tuppernest in a spot we know they have been considering in the hope that ups its kerb appeal so they will not decide to stray further afield.   We are keeping an eye on all the places we can - in-person and via camera to monitor what the birds are up to - more information will help us figure out what we need to watch out for and help us to identify what we need/can do.  If you are asking if we can stop the peregrines if they start fighting, the answer is no.  It's why we try to ensure there is space between nestsites if we can pull it off.  But fighting is pretty extreme even for peregrines, way too easy to get hurt and that is not something they court willingly.

So we keep watching on-site and on-camera (and running through the recordings) so if there is something we need/can do, we do it.

Does that answer your question?

[The Peregrine Chick]

Does Princess spend any time at the nestbox, defending or otherwise? 

Or, are her maternal instincts narrowing her focus to protect only the current nesting site?

If I've made it sound like the Radisson eggs/chicks are in imminent danger, sorry about that, so far as we can tell, the nest is safe.  And life on the nestledge seems to be proceeding as per normal.  Princess has always done most of the incubating/brooding and that seems to be the case again this year.   Because Cowboy and Joli look to want to nest this year (unlike last year) and HSC is within the Radisson territory and because there is/was another pair hanging out from time to time near Pam's place, Ivy is spending more time this year making sure his nestsite remains his and Princess'.   Part of doing that we've been watching at the west-side nestbox.  As soon as Cowboy and Joli get on eggs or abandon the idea of nesting this year, it should get a little quieter because they will be focussed on a smaller area around the nest and if the timing works out, the Radisson chicks will be fledging about the time any Cowboy/Joli eggs would be hatching and that might keep tensions lower ....

... but we will have to wait and see what happens ...

[moka]

TPC, so many details to be taken care of. Second guessing these birds seems to be getting more complex rather than easier.

[Rose]

Has the blocking off happened, TPC?  

.  At the moment we are watching the cameras (3 on the west side, 2 on the east) and constantly checking the recordings to make sure we know what (if anything) is going on where.

If anything untoward was going on, is there anything you could do to intervene or would you just have to stand by and watch and leave nature to take its course (in spite of having 5 cameras)?

[bcbird]

Does Princess spend any time at the nestbox, defending or otherwise? 

Or, are her maternal instincts narrowing her focus to protect only the current nesting site?

[The Peregrine Chick]

Has the blocking off happened, TPC? 

Not quite yet, we are a bit leery of disturbing Ivy so close to hatching since he spends much of hist time keeping an eye on the Princess, the nestledge, the nestbox and the rest of the immediate territory around the nestsite.  At the moment we are watching the cameras (3 on the west side, 2 on the east) and constantly checking the recordings to make sure we know what (if anything) is going on where.

[ballywing]

Too bad, it's a waste of the best nesting site in town - but not much else TPC can do I guess, we don't want a war going on!  - Hope Cowboy & Joli find a good site for themselves! 

[bcbird]

Okay, we had an interloper in the west side nestbox yesterday ... Joli was in make a scrape inside right at the back of the box.  Early this morning, two birds on the box for only a minute and then gone.  It really could only be Joli and Cowboy but no way to tell in the gloom pre-dawn. 

We are likely going to block off the nestbox to prevent Cowboy and Joli from seriously considering this site ...

Has the blocking off happened, TPC?

[The Peregrine Chick]

Very short shift for Ivy, he took over at 1011h and then left abruptly (but not in a mad dash) at 1024h and Princess returned at 1025h.  Maybe the rain is closer than we think?  Or Ivy is making sure his territory is "his" ... hard to know if anything is going on or whether he was responding to Princess' orders.  We are getting closer to hatching but it is still a bit early for her to not want to leave the eggs - usually these two hatch out at about 30 days and that would be 25th.  Either way, Princess is back on the eggs, settled and has her head in the gravel fitfully napping ...

[The Peregrine Chick]

1022h

Shift change at 1011h - Ivy is on-duty.  If it rains I expect Princess to push him off and take over mumbrella duties ... not raining here yet and less rain possible here than in Brandon according to the forecast.  Air temperature isn't bad, 14C.  Bit of a breeze at the moment at the nestledge but not bothering the birds too much.


Forecast for today (from the U of Wpg weather station)

Day - Overcast with rain in the afternoon. High of 19C. Winds from the ESE at 10 to 15 km/h. Chance of rain 60%.
Night - Overcast with thunderstorms. Fog overnight. Low of 10C. Breezy. Winds from the East at 10 to 20 km/h shifting to the NNE after midnight. Chance of rain 90% with rainfall amounts near 12.7 mm possible.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Ivy's been hanging out on the nestbox on and off through the night and this morning ... Princess has been on morning egg duty ...

[Eye-spy]

Hee hee hee hee hee.   

[The Peregrine Chick]

Yup, Ivy was just at the nestbox and Princess was on the eggs ...