Radisson - 2013 / Ivy & Princess

[The Peregrine Chick]

Oh, and the cams will go live on May 15th at the latest.  Earlier if the birds get down to business earlier.  As per usual, last week or 10 days of incubation of our first nest is when both cams will go live.

This is barring any unanticipated technical difficulties of course!

[The Peregrine Chick]

As I've said in previous years, birds have individual personalities and pairs have personalities. Princess, Trey, Ivy and Joli are all very different birds.  Princess and Trey were very different from their individual personalities and likewise different from Princess and Ivy and perhaps now Ivy and Joli.  The female was definitely in evidence and defending when I was cleaning out the nestbox but she may not be a big box visitors until it is time to actually lay eggs.  Or perhaps Joli has been supplanted and Princess is newly arrived home and not as hopped-up on happy hormones yet so not ready to even pretend to play "house" yet.

Unfortunately with the snow, I don't suspect that I will get much of a look at anyone today.  Usually Ivy visits the nestbox early in the mornings, but nothing at so far today.  But we will find out eventually ...

[The Peregrine Chick]

Apparently it is some kind of kite to scare away Geese from nesting on top of the Hydro building.  I am hopeful it will not scare away our Radisson residents though.

It's not actually on the top-top, that roof is not vegetated.  The rooftops they are talking about are only a few storeys off the ground and have seating areas and gardens.  The kite itself is not visible with the skycam but might be from the nestbox as it is further north on the building.  Being so low, it should be no more disturbing than firetrucks or people working on rooftops.

Of more interest will be the new apartment/hotel going in across the street from the MTS Centre and MEC.  Princess and Trey did not like the work on the MTS Centre but the Hydro Building (one block further away but much higher) didn't seem to phase anyone at all. 

[newchick]

Anybody know anything about the falcon-looking kite-like thing that has been "flying" at the Hydro building? I'm guessing it is something that Hydro is using to dissuade the geese from nesting on the lower roof area. I just about had a fit when I saw the what looked to be a giant falcon flying reflected in the windows. It looked like a monster falcon! When I got closer I saw it was tethered by a wire and so couldn't be a live bird. But for a minute there...   

Apparently it is some kind of kite to scare away Geese from nesting on top of the Hydro building.  I am hopeful it will not scare away our Radisson residents though.

[The Peregrine Chick]

So sad for this Coopers Hawk. I thought they nested in trees. Not where this happened. I wish windows could be covered in a coating that birds would stop thinking they could fly straight through. We have a large picture window and in our DR, another window. Many sparrows have tried to fly through and either died or have been stunned. This year, with vertical blinds, we hope to prevent this from happening. Still hoping that Princess will come home.

Coopers do nest in trees and it is probable that this hawk was just flying through downtown.  From the report from our two eye-witnesses, it sounds like the bird was being chased by another raptor and considering the Trizec Building is two blocks from the Radisson, it was likely one of the peregrines.  And given it was likely trying to get away and that Portage & Main has whirlpool-like winds at time, it wouldn't have mattered what was on the window in this particular case.  And the Trizec windows are not reflective, they are dark tinted, so no reflection of sky rather a big dark object.

[The Peregrine Chick]

So sad for this Coopers Hawk. I thought they nested in trees. Not where this happened. I wish windows could be covered in a coating that birds would stop thinking they could fly straight through. We have a large picture window and in our DR, another window. Many sparrows have tried to fly through and either died or have been stunned. This year, with vertical blinds, we hope to prevent this from happening. Still hoping that Princess will come home.

  Gem City Gemini, they sell clear stickers that one can put on the outside of the window, it is coated with a reflective thing that birds can see and it scares them away from the window surface.  Available at Shelmerdine's or Fort Whyte Centre.  Maybe Google if you don't live in the city for where you can purchase near by.

Also available from the Project from our Online Store - our silhouettes tend to be larger than many - 8.5in by 11in

[photosbydennis]

Anywho, nestbox has had most of the large debris removed, lots of small feathers and smaller bones

I can only assume that you kept all bit's and parts for me so that I can sell to the Peregrine Folks on ebay 

[newchick]

So sad for this Coopers Hawk. I thought they nested in trees. Not where this happened. I wish windows could be covered in a coating that birds would stop thinking they could fly straight through. We have a large picture window and in our DR, another window. Many sparrows have tried to fly through and either died or have been stunned. This year, with vertical blinds, we hope to prevent this from happening. Still hoping that Princess will come home.

  Gem City Gemini, they sell clear stickers that one can put on the outside of the window, it is coated with a reflective thing that birds can see and it scares them away from the window surface.  Available at Shelmerdine's or Fort Whyte Centre.  Maybe Google if you don't live in the city for where you can purchase near by.

[birdcamfan]

Hopefully after watching your careful housekeeping, they will now deem it suitable for the move in and make nookie part of the relationship.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Figures that today, after days of not seeing the female at all downtown (HSC but not at the Radisson), the stupid bird is in the nestbox with Ivy not twenty minutes before I arrive to clean the darn thing out.  I'm on the road when I could have gotten a really, really good look at her with the webcam!!! 

Anywho, nestbox has had most of the large debris removed, lots of small feathers and smaller bones in the box but I've managed to loosen up the gravel so it will be easier for the birds to a) make a scrape (Ivy had one already but it was pretty small) and b) give them more room undercover to actually scrape now that the bodies are gone.  Hopefully with the windy/snowy weather on its way, the wind will help to blow more of the small feathers out of the box.  I think we will replace the gravel at the end of the nesting season, it is started to get very concrete-like with all the remains and poop-art material.

The male gave me grief big-time when I arrived then he just glared at me from low up the communications tower.  Female arrive shortly thereafter, but parked herself up high - too high for me to see her band or photograph her well - I'm afraid no Dennis, Wowzer or Wannabe-Wowzer today and no spotting scope either - didn't want to hang out for too long if we still do have Joli as the de facto resident female, she's not used to what we do and I didn't want to stress/distress her more than I had to.

Nothing since my visit, but this isn't the time of day when they normally visit the box or ledge, so will keep an eye on the webcam and we'll see if we can confirm again who's our female at the Radisson.

[allikat]

Hi JP.
The ledge on the east side of the Radisson is a nesting site for the peregrines. Most don't like the site as there is no human access to it other than by window washer swing stage. So banding the chicks is quite a prodution. And expensive.
It's great for watching from the ground because it is so close.
But I think all would agree that wherever they choose to nest is great - another generation of Peregrines. And we get to be spectators of something remarkable and rare.

Great explanation bccs.  Yes, the East nest ledge is a wonderful way to view the falcons activity. I believe they also use that ledge for roosting as well...  However, yes, as bccs wrote, that location, although great for viewing for us humans, is, not so great for humans to access. However, when driving or walking by, seeing a Peregrine watching over it's territory from the East Ledge, (which I call, "the lookout"), is quite exhilarating. 

[Kinderchick]

... We have a large picture window and in our DR, another window. Many sparrows have tried to fly through and either died or have been stunned. This year, with vertical blinds, we hope to prevent this from happening...

Yes, Jazzerkins is right, gemcity. We have some of these raptor silhouettes stuck to our living room picture window and they do seem to act as deterrent, preventing birds from flying into the window. I would recommend them too.

[Jazzerkins]

gemcitygemini, the falcon on-line store has falcon silhouettes for sale.  I bought several of them and put them on my windows.  Since then, I have not had any bird(s) flying into the glass and hurting themselves.  The silhouettes are heavy plastic that cling to the window but can be removed and replaced at any time since they are not in any way glued to the window.  I would highly recommend these to anyone worried about birds flying into their windows.

[bccs]

Hi JP.
The ledge on the east side of the Radisson is a nesting site for the peregrines. Most don't like the site as there is no human access to it other than by window washer swing stage. So banding the chicks is quite a prodution. And expensive.
It's great for watching from the ground because it is so close.
But I think all would agree that wherever they choose to nest is great - another generation of Peregrines. And we get to be spectators of something remarkable and rare.

[JP]

I'm so excited I can hardly type. We seen our first Peregrine on that pointy out thing on the east side of the Radisson Hotel downtown this after noon. The time was around 5:30 pm. Do they sit their more often when it starts to warm up ? Sorry if this is a silly question, I'm just so excited.