Non-Resident Sightings - 2020

[Cammie]

Thanks TPC.  I appreciate the info.

[birdcamfan]

Great questions. Thanks for the ever informative explanations.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Sorry BCBird, the "good" was in reference to overwintering, don't know if they are particularly good or not in locations other than Scotland/Spain where they evolved ... 

[bcbird]

Madame had Spanish & Scots subspecies in her genetic grabbag...however...none of those really good genes were passed along to her kids...

TPC, why are Scots and Spanish subspecies genes especially good?

[The Peregrine Chick]

When do the peregrines typically leave Winnipeg? 

I wish there was a typical date ... but there really isn't.  Depends on the bird, the pair, the location, the weather, what else is migrating and when, etc.

I remember reading somewhere on one of the threads that sometimes they stay all winter (maybe Trey's mother did?). 

Madame is to our knowledge the only one of "our" birds that overwintered.  I should say that she originated in Cedar Rapids, Iowa but turned up here the following year (1990) and was last seen in the West Winnipeg territory in 2005, the year after Princess took over the Radisson territory.

While I'm wondering - does something trigger the urge to leave?  I'm thinking night-time temps or fewer hours of daylight.

Food.  All the good stuff heads south.  Alternative is Kraft-Dinner-with-Wings for 6 months.  Wouldn't you leave?  Seriously, our subspecies (anatum) is hardwired to migrate though some in recent years haven't - but whether that is because they have some non-migrating subspecies genes in their makeup, I couldn't say.  Madame had Spanish & Scots subspecies in her genetic grab-bag, neither of which migrate but whether that's what made her stay here all alone, I have no idea.  I would appear however that none of those really good genes were passed along to her kids however as none of them seem to want to hang around downtown past about early November ...

[Cammie]

When do the peregrines typically leave Winnipeg? 

I remember reading somewhere on one of the threads that sometimes they stay all winter (maybe Trey's mother did?). 

While I'm wondering - does something trigger the urge to leave?  I'm thinking night-time temps or fewer hours of daylight.

[carly]

This time of year is bitter sweet, you are thrilled to see all the birds migrating and hoping to catch a glimpse of the ones you followed but also sad to know they are leaving. 

I wonder if that was our P&T's kids they saw in the bundle of three 

[Saoirse]

What a great report to get! Given the way our chicks tended to hang together a lot, maybe they were the 3 that Al and Dorothy saw in the space of one minute. At any rate, they certainly had an eventful couple of hours.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Just read a report posted by Paul G through the Manitoba Bird Loop ....

Al & Dorothy S were at Windygates (south of the City) yesterday making raptor observations for about two hours.  During that time they saw (in his words): "we saw 8 Red-Tail, 2 Osprey, 5 Vulture, 2 Harrier, 1 Merlin, 1 Sharpie, 1 Bald Eagle imm., 2 Broadwing, and 9 Peregrine Falcon!!! In one minute and in view of each other, we saw 3 Peregrines. During a different minute, we had the eagle, the sharpie, and a broadwing. "

Thanks Al & Dorothy for spotting and letting Paul know about the peregrines in particular!  Thanks too to Paul for posting the sighting.

... makes me wonder if that's all the kids and a couple of adults or if 7 of those 9 birds were the ones that hung out one night all together in Riverwood ...

(note: last names not reprinted for privacy's sake)

[The Peregrine Chick]

Question for TPC, My friend in Sandy Hook was telling me a couple of weeks back that she had read in the local area paper, could be Gimili, that a pair of peregrine falcons were released in the area. Have you heard anything about this?

No, and I'm pretty sure I would have been notified.  There is a hawk watch in Sandy Hook so maybe it was just a sighting?  Any chance you could ask your friend for more details?  Even just information on where/when s/he read it?  If there was a release, I need to track down band numbers ....

[Linder]

Question for TPC, My friend in Sandy Hook was telling me a couple of weeks back that she had read in the local area paper, could be Gimili, that a pair of peregrine falcons were released in the area. Have you heard anything about this?

[dupre501]

I think it was in the Brandon thread, but didn't TPC mention that word from Dan was there was possibly another nesting pair in rural Manitoba?

Is there any futher news/confirmation on this? Are the falcons banded? ....

[willmax11]

Thanks to your links and the sound clips I was able to eliminate all but 2 of the Raptors from that day. Merlin and Peregrine.
Whichever it was can only be a good thing.

I regret even mentioning OHMarsh as I don't live anywhere near there. It was just a nice place to visit at the end of that day. Whichever Raptor I saw was probably from around here and gives me a reason for exploring my area along the Red river and keeping my eyes and ears tuned to the sounds around me.

[The Peregrine Chick]

There are always "other" peregrines around the province Willmax because of the amount of water and food, but from your description you were describing a bird in very juvenile plumage and the birds around here (Sask, Manitoba, North Dakota, Minnesota) just aren't old enough to be that far away from their nest sites.  Its a question of the timing that's all.  By the time the birds return next spring (so March) our chicks won't look like your description, they will look like adults, perhaps not entirely like Trey and Princess, but close enough that they won't look like your description.  And yes, peregrines nest right into the high arctic and are circumpolar, however they nest later than ours so definitely not the tundrius subspecies chick at this early date.

Hence the suggestion that it was one of our other "brown" raptor species - merlin or perhaps prairie falcon though that would be a very rare sighting I think.  The others, Coopers, Swainsons, Broad-winged have definitely been seen near OHM in the last little while.  The one I didn't mention and I should have was Northern Harrier - the females are brown and they live at the Marsh and will perch on anything.  They are also very sleek, gracile birds, so easy to think they are perhaps peregrines.

Northern Harrier - www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Harrier/id


(and your video link from yesterday @ 0744 just leads to a search page and there are a number of videos there - best probably to let folks know which video you were watching - and yes, all those videos are of peregrines ...)

[willmax11]

In watching the Radisson clan we have all become more "tuned in" to our other feathered friends. Amazing how our minds/ears tune out in our noisy world.

Isn't Merlin showing in town? And can he change shape? LOL

Now that TPC showed me what Merlins sound like I am not sure what I saw.
The raptor I saw was just looking for a high point to rest from the brutal
wind that day.