Radisson - 2013 / Ivy & Princess

[The Peregrine Chick]

The Radisson chicks look like they've just crawled through a mine field ...

[The Peregrine Chick]

It's not the height of the building they are leaping from it's the height of all the other buildings around them that can be problematic.  We have had birds nest much closer to the ground with nary a problem because all the buildings around are pretty much the same with the odd building or structure being higher.  In Brandon, McKenzie Seeds despite being much lower than the Radisson and lower even than the Radisson ledge is surrounded by lower buildings with the exception of the Scotia Bank building to the west.  In downtown Winnipeg, the only lower buildings are immediately across from the nestledge - getting from there to the much higher buildings has proved to be the problem.  And that is assuming the birds land close to the Radisson, the last few years, fledges from the west side have gone at least two blocks before going down, 2 blocks east from the Radisson is Portage & Main.  Unlike lower buildings or to a lesser degree, the tall buildings in downtown Winnipeg modify the wind patterns so winds are often stronger downtown than they are elsewhere in the City which for a young bird who has no idea how to fly is a problem.  We used to have a nestbox on the roof on the east side of the building but because of the number of fatalities and injuries during fledges, we removed that box.  The nest ledge has been used more often but it too has a similar record.

east side box

• 1990-1992 - I think was used once but don't know for sure what year or what the outcomes were ...
• 1994 - Madame & Pop - 3 chicks, 1 foster chick - 1 crashed in to the Richardson Building, another into the Trizec Building, 3rd died of a toe injury in the nestbox
• 1995 - east side box removed

east side ledge

• 1996 - Madame & T-Rex - 3 eggs; 1 chick known to have survived, other 2 have never seen/found/reported after they fledged (pre-cameras)
• 2000 - Madame & Trey - 2 eggs, 1 egg didn't hatch; 1 chick died of exposure
• 2006 - Princess & Trey - 4 eggs, 1 egg didn't hatch; 1 chick died immediately after fledging, 1 injured after fledging but recovered and was re-released from the nestbox - no further problems, 3rd chick was not observed/found after fledging but is known to be alive
• 2008 - Princess & Trey - 4 eggs, 1 egg didn't hatch; 3 chicks died of exposure
• 2009 - Princess & Trey - 4 eggs, 1 egg didn't hatch, 1 chick injured but recovered & was re-released from the nestbox - no further problems, 1 of the other 2 came very close to crashing a couple of times but was a very clever bird! - 1 of these birds is known to be alive, 1 we know has died
• 2013 - Princess & Ivy - 4 eggs, 1 egg did not hatch, 1 chick died of exposure, the surviving 2 we hope will do better fledging higher up

[Rose]

Rose, I think height might be an issue.  They are currently only 13 stories high up, and most buildings surrounding the area are higher, and if they need to do short flights from one building to the next, I think height might be and advantage.  And thinking as a glider pilot, the thermals, (warm air lift) and updrafts for picking up a fledging bird might be better at the higher height.

Just a little info here, the McKenzie chicks have fledged from a 9 story nest box to 4 and 5 story buildings with great success for the last 20 years and the last 2 years they had to fledge from 2 stories lower. The next day they can be found on the MTs tower and even on the Scotia towers which is 13 stories, they seem to manage this with no difficulty.
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[newchick]

Looks like our Radisson babies are starting to change to more adult plumage.  I see a lot of darker grey coming under that white fuzz.   

[newchick]

Rose, I think height might be an issue.  They are currently only 13 stories high up, and most buildings surrounding the area are higher, and if they need to do short flights from one building to the next, I think height might be an advantage.  And thinking as a glider pilot, the thermals, (warm air lift) and updrafts for picking up a fledging bird might be better at the higher height.

[Rose]

We are still trying to work out some technical planning details but yes, we have been considering a move "upstairs

I'm wondering about this. The east side has more and better buildings to fledge to. And it is easier for the juvies to get back to the nest site as it is lower and requires less finesse. It has a larger landing space and the wind would not play as important factor.

Has there ever been a fledge problem from this ledge?

[irenekl]

This is all very fascinating. I'm very curious how/if this move upstairs plays out.

[bccs]

We are still trying to work out some technical planning details but yes, we have been considering a move "upstairs

I'm wondering about this. The east side has more and better buildings to fledge to. And it is easier for the juvies to get back to the nest site as it is lower and requires less finesse. It has a larger landing space and the wind would not play as important factor.

[GCG]

Yes. Now I remember, no canopy. for sure, I had a senior moment. Thank you for this info. What would I/we do without the knowledge we learn from the forum? 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Watching Ivy feed the chicks. Princess is spead into her mumbrella pose. I have never seen this before. She has been sprawled out for some time. TPC, has this happened in the past. Hope all is well.. This ledge needs a canopy. 

No canopy - flying hazard remember? 

As for Princess' pose, it is a common pose for peregrines in the sun - you can see the chicks after they fledge doing it alot if you can see them from above.  Ivy has done it too but not for long and usually not as effectively.  She's using her wings to catch breezes and cool her breast.  In the nestbox she used to do it alot but she could keep her head out of the sun by sticking it under the roof.  She hates having her head inside because heat rises in the box but the sun wouldn't be beating on her head like it is now.  She's in protect my chicks from the sun mode but the chicks aren't cooperating - in the nestbox they mostly do cooperate until they are a bit older and spend more time in the outer part of the nestbox, that's when Princess (and Ivy) stopped doing that.  She needs to come to grips with the fact that the kids prefer the concrete and the wall to a mumbrella and gravel ...

[GCG]

  Watching Ivy feed the chicks. Princess is spead into her mumbrella pose. I have never seen this before. She has been sprawled out for some time. TPC, has this happened in the past. Hope all is well.. This ledge needs a canopy. 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Poor Princess (don't hear me saying that everyday!!)

Kid came over to her and she tried to tuck him/her under her and out of the sun but then kid crawled out and began begging halfheartedly for food.  Princess chased the kid around a bit trying to tuck under again and finally the little terror waddled its way back to its sibling against the wall and Princess is back to playing mumbrella to no-one.  Don't those kids understand what she has done for them!!! 

[ballywing]

Wow! - West Nest - Here's hoping!!!! 

[GCG]

  Thanks to all for considering a move to the Penthouse. 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Chronology for this morning ...

0805h - breakfast
since then - hanging out in the shade ... kids against the outside wall (as per usual) Princess doing her best to keep a patch of gravel cool (as per usual) - hopefully she will stop doing this in the next couple of days when she realizes the kids aren't taking her up on her offer ... we'll see though ...

Weather for the day ...

Day - Clear in the morning, then partly cloudy with a chance of a thunderstorm and rain. High of 28C. Winds less than 5 km/h.
Night - Clear in the evening, then partly cloudy with a chance of rain. Low of 15C. Winds from the East at 5 to 10 km/h. Chance of rain 40%.

Currently - 25C downtown, winds such that they aren't are < 5km/h from the west, so no wind on the nestledge