ON / Hamilton - Sheraton Hotel - 2008-21

[Jazzerkins]

RIP Surge.  May your off spring have long, healthy lives the way you did.  I hope Madame X finds a suitable suitor for this year and continues with this nest site.

[Kinderchick]

Sadly I would like to report that our resident male, Surge, has passed away.  Here is the article.

R.I.P. SURGE (2002-2015)

So sorry to hear the sad news that your resident male, Surge has passed away, gran. 

[Moonstar]

   Always sad when a falcon dies.

[gran2496]

Sadly I would like to report that our resident male, Surge, has passed away.  Here is the article.

R.I.P. SURGE (2002-2015)


Thursday, March 5, 2015 - The Hamilton Community Peregrine Project regrets to advise all Falconwatchers that Surge has died. Although apparently well when first seen at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) this morning, while being examined he suddenly expired. A post-mortem examination will be conducted to see if it is possible to learn what caused his death.

On 24 January 2015 Surge was found injured on the ground near the HMCS Haida National Historic Site at Hamilton Harbour. He was taken in by Animal Control and then transferred to the Owl Foundation in Vineland for care. It appeared he had been in a fight with another bird. His right nostril was punctured, there was damage to his right cere (the skin between beak and head), and he had a scratch on his cornea. He remained under the care of experts at the Foundation as they monitored how his injuries could affect his eating. Surge weighed in at a very healthy 781 grams when he was being assessed. They thought he was a female at first he was so big! Subsequently Surge was taken to OVC for an eye exam, which showed that any damage incurred in the fight had healed well. Until two days ago he remained under care at the Owl Foundation while the damage to his beak healed. (2006 photo of Surge courtesy of Ryan Laird Iverson)

Hatched and banded in Etobicoke in 2002, Surge spent at least part of the 2004-2005 seasons trying to establish a nest at the Burlington Lift Bridge. In 2006 he replaced the male Newbie at the Sheraton Hamilton nest. He and Madame X fledged three healthy chicks that year, and 22 more in the years up to and including 2013. In 2014 two eggs were laid but failed. A second laying of a single egg also failed. Many of the chicks fledged by Surge and Madame X have settled and successfully nested in or near other cites in Ontario, upper New York state, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

[Kinderchick]

Thanks gran.

[gran2496]

If anyone is interested in the history of the Hamilton Peregrines, you can find it here under the History tab in the top right beside the news button.

[The Peregrine Chick]

It doesn't look like we will have any chicks in Hamilton this year.  Madame X and Surge seem to have abandoned the second nest just before we thought we might get a hatch.  Considering Madame X is 15 years old this summer, it looks like she is at the end of her reproductive life.  Madame X has raised and fledged 40 chicks since 2001, we should celebrate all her successes.

Could be.  Might just be that she wasn't up for a re-nest this year, eggs are a huge expenditure of personal resources once a year, let alone twice.  The fact that these two gave it another go is quite a feat in and of itself.

[MayShowers]

15 years old and 40 chicks - congratulations for Madame X

[Kinderchick]

Sorry to hear that there won't be any chicks for Madame X & Surge this year, gran. But Madame X's feat of raising 40 chicks to see them all fledge is certainly worth celebrating.

[gran2496]

It doesn't look like we will have any chicks in Hamilton this year.  Madame X and Surge seem to have abandoned the second nest just before we thought we might get a hatch.  Considering Madame X is 15 years old this summer, it looks like she is at the end of her reproductive life.  Madame X has raised and fledged 40 chicks since 2001, we should celebrate all her successes.

[gran2496]

We've had confirmation of at least on egg in the new scrape.  We got a glimpse of it on the cam while Madame X was turning it on the afternoon of Mother's Day.  Here's hoping that there are more out of sight of the cam and we'll have chicks around the end of May.

[Kinderchick]

Interesting update, gran. Thanks!

[MayShowers]

Thanks for keeping us updated gran2496

[gran2496]

2014 NESTING SEASON

Madame X and Surge mated and nested at the usual time this year.  At least 2 eggs were laid, but the scrape was so deep this year that it was impossible to tell if there were more.  About 2 weeks after laying, Madame X abandoned the scrape so we assume that the eggs weren't viable.  Madame X and Surge continued to mate and Madame X created a new scrape at the other end of the nest ledge.  The new scrape is situated so that the camera location makes it impossible to see into the scrape.  Madame X is showing brooding behavior so now it's a waiting game to see if we have a hatch this year.  ETA is around the end of May so stayed tuned!

[gran2496]

Official Falconwatch Report for Thursday, July 25, 2013 - Falconwatch Coordinator Cheryl Dobell reports: When I arrived at 14:00 there were no birds in sight and I thought it might be a quiet day, but only half an hour later the youngsters proved me wrong! Laura came into view south of Stelco and was shortly joined by Brock. They demonstrated beautiful technique as they flew close together, riding thermals and touching talons. Although there were a handful of very short breaks on top of Stelco this flying session lasted approximately 12 minutes. To date this is by far the longest flight I have seen Brock take! (The photo shows Brock almost fully recovered from her window collision on Tuesday. Obviously there were no after effects!) The pair finally landed, first Brock on Standard Life, then a few minutes later Laura on the north BDC logo. Brock then did a couple of victory laps around Sheraton and settled on the lower roof. At 15:35 the siblings went for a shorter tandem flight; eventually they perched together on the Sheraton. Laura took to the air again at 16:00, first hovering above Brock before soaring high on thermals to the west of downtown and eventually out of sight. She joined Brock atop Sheraton 50 minutes later. Was she off hunting that entire time, or was she hiding somewhere out of sight?

Throughout the early evening Laura and Brock took more short flights, some together, some apart. Around 19:00 there was a food transfer between Laura and an adult on the CIBC logo. Brock was a little bit slow figuring out what had happened, but promptly started circling above her sister screaming out her hunger too! Laura took the meal back to Sheraton where she started to dig in. After a little bit of squabbling, Brock also got a share. Then, only five minutes after Brock finished eating the first meal, Surge came in to Thomson with a second! Laura, who was already in the air, did a fancy back-flip-like manoeuvre to get to the food quickly and finished the whole meal in 20 minutes. The pair then joined up on the Sheraton. They did a lot of beak touching but also appeared to be jostling each other like siblings do. Around 20:40 Surge delivered yet another meal, this time to Brock. She started eating, but it wasn’t long before Laura dropped in, grabbed the food and took it to Standard Life for herself. We left them at 21:00 with Laura still eating on Standard Life and Brock on Sheraton. Even with the sun already set, I’m sure their evening activities were not over yet!