McKenzie Seeds - 2013 / Brooklyn & Hurricane

[The Peregrine Chick]

Nice looking photo RCF - very clear!  You had better skies than we did I think

[RCF]

I was in Brandon today and I got all excited because there was a birdie sitting on the very top of the lightning rod/flag pole on the McKenzie building.  Well, it wasn't a peregrine but a Merlin.  I also saw a hawk fly over the building with a couple of crows dive bombing it.   Anyway seeing these birds is a good sign that our falcons should be home soon. 

[RCF]

I checked here yesterday......no falcons yet.  It appears that someone has opened the door to the fire escape and pushed the ravens nest over to the far edge.  I didn't see any ravens around, so they may have abandoned the nest.

[The Peregrine Chick]

I have seen them perch under the black /green ledge on windy, snowy days, the same place where the peregrines cache their food.  

This sounds familiar there have been ravens visiting the Radisson nestbox this winter to pick through the remains of meals in the back of the nestbox.  Bet the McKenzie cache sites are pretty clean at this point.

[RCF]

   The ravens have been hanging around the McKenzie building all winter.  I have seen them perch under the black /green ledge on windy, snowy days, the same place where the peregrines cache their food.  They also sit on the beacon lights on the very top of the roof. I haven't seen the pigeons on the McKenzie building very much but they seem to roost more on the Scotia building.  The other day I watched the two ravens swoop over to the Scotia bldg and make the pigeons scatter in panic mode.....not sure if they would try and catch one or not.    

[The Peregrine Chick]

That will hopefully make it easier to spot the peregrines when they do return!

Last year there were 6 or 8 eggs in that nest as I recall, but they seemed too small and white for ravens (or crows for that matter) but I honestly don't see that many corvid eggs, parents are too protective and appear to prefer spots I would rather not try to reach 

There should also not be anything nesting in the rooftop nestbox here or at the Tower site - Dennis and I put screening across the openings to keep the pigeons from taking up residence in the "off" season.  Cleaning up after the winged KD is not a pleasant experience, particularly not in the hot summer sun! 

[RCF]

No peregrines as of yet, but the Ravens have started to build a nest on the fire escape on the west side of the McKenzie building.........same spot as last year.      There is no doubt in my mind that when the falcons return from their winter holiday they will definitely harass the ravens until they leave.