U of Alberta - 2009 / Damon & Radisson

[Elaine L]

I know that there are people who don't care about wildlife or birds, or the peregrines, despite the presence of a camera and nest box, but in the defence of those who do, they are desperate to do something to help in a bad situation - like last June - and what they do is not done out of malice, but concern.  I guess politicians know more about this than I do, but where there is great concern, there is going to be a reaction.

[dodobird]

Thanks Tracy - love your soapbox - it is always so firmly on the ground.

[The Peregrine Chick]

I am home and I went to the nest site before I came home. I did not see any peregrines or trace of.  the way the pigeons were all lined up in the peregrines favorite places , I would say that they have not arrived yet. I also saw no Ravens but did see the nest form the roof top
I am very upset and am presently e-mailing my friends, the biologists.   the U Of A is not a good place to ask . Many found that out last year. 

When I spoke with the folks at the U of A, they were very helpful and they too were going to contact the biologists about evicting the ravens prior to the peregrines returning. 

I wouldn't be too hard on the U of A folks, keep in mind all you have learned from me over the last year.  Running this kind of project, even more so when there is a webcam involved, is a 24/7 kind of thing, that if you have a day job means you work 48/14.  You all here on the Forum are very well behaved, and that is not the case in most projects.  Before the Forum and the blog, it was very easy to be overwhelmed by phone calls, emails etc to/from everyone.  There was a reason I was very specific about folks not calling the Hotel, Conservation, the police etc on June 6th, I wasn't being dramatic, its happened before and the mess and fall-out is horrendous.  And none of it helps anyone.  The Forum and Blog etc may all be extra work, but it does help in the long-run.  Also keep in mind that just because the peregrines are nesting on campus, that many people may not really care either way and that can make the job of the peregrine folks on campus that much more difficult, they still have to work there after the peregrines have left. 

My suggestion (and this applies to everyone wanting to help anywhere) would be to contact the campus and ask what, if anything, you could do to help them - not the peregrines.  If they know that they have a person on the ground who will contact them if there are real safety concerns (get work-hours & after work-hours  contacts & phone numbers), it may be a great relief for them.  If they suggest you talk to the biologists, offer the same services. 

In lots of cases, volunteers can only help so much in urban settings and its a question of safety and security.  It's one of the reasons we have spotters rather than a corps of volunteers.  The birds are a protected species everywhere, which means that all activities near/with them are restricted by law and are covered by a permit.  It's also a security issue for the building owner/management, particularly in these days.  It's also a safety issue for the birds, the buildings, the projects and the volunteers - these birds do not nest in safe locations.  So the majority of volunteers are on the ground and every project has to assess what it needs and what it can offer its volunteers - volunteers want to help, not be doorstops, that's why they volunteer!

Okay, getting off my soapbox now   

[bev.]

Hello from the the den of the raven

I am home and I went to the nest site before I came home. I did not see any peregrines or trace of.  the way the pigeons were all lined up in the peregrines favorite places , I would say that they have not arrived yet. I also saw no Ravens but did see the nest form the roof top
I am very upset and am presently e-mailing my friends, the biologists.   the U Of A is not a good place to ask . Many found that out last year. 

 I usually hear back quite soon . so hopefully tomorrow.
 and by the way, I hope this is done soon.  there are areas in the states where ravens have chased the peregrines out and I do not want another nasty fight here. I have been a party to too many already in the last few years , just between peregrines. I do not need ravens also.
 

A  reply to a few things here.

Tracy, I feed my birds in the winter , right up  until nesting time and then I stop except for a few suet.  I was told to leave the suet's   so the females could get their strength back quicker after they have the young.

About the crows and ravens.  We also have magpies here so if everything nested in my neighborhood it would not be pretty. I prefer the magpies to the crows and ravens. 

the crows here migrate and so they are just back.  they are nasty. I know they are intelligent but I do not want hem in my backyard. I would never physically hurt anything, I just spray water or clap my hands.

But if a young one somehow comes to my area , I do not chase them. I f you have ever been around the young of crows or magpies you know they are very docile. You could pick them up if the parents did not get you first
One July long weekend it was so hot that an adult magpie brought 2 young to my backyard becasue I have a  pond.  Because they do not bother anything for a bit I let them stay . they just wanted to laze in the shade and drink from the pond.

I have blue jays and robins and wrens that nest in my area so I do not want the crows.
the magpies I can control.
some of you are lucky and just have crows , so to just try and control one species is fine but 2 is a different matter.
I know all about the balance of nature etc, but it took a long time for the robins and songbirds to reappear in this area and i would like to keep it that way.  they have enough predators in the area. 

we also have rabbits and partridges(they spent the winter around our neighborhood.)

by the way on our way home , we saw 2 beautiful eagles, which we never see where they were and some hawks and lots of crows and ravens. Their numbers have increased drastically.

[allikat]

Dido...Carly!!!

Especially after what I wrote yesterday 

Wow...birds do work extremely hard to make a nest!!! 

I'm not writing anymore about you know what....just want to think happy thoughts and hope all will work out!!!

[carly]

The Dutch site also has an interesting crow/raven situation going on. The Torenvalk cam showed the falcons losing their nest to a dove early this month. (go figure). The dove has been incubating for a few weeks now but for the last few days, some crows (I think) have decided to build a nest in the nest box. They are dragging in sticks just like in Edmonton. There have been a few interesting standoffs but for the most part, they stay away from each other. The falcons have also been on the scene at the nest box entrance chasing the crows away.

What if we put another nestbox right next door?  Like a 'duplex'?  Kind of feel bad now that I see all those branches they've brought in and seeing how hard they are working - *sigh* so hard for all birds, so much of their natural habitat being destroyed and they are all just trying to survive.  Maybe they will surprise us all and work it out.

[allikat]

Oh no...Our thoughts and prayers are with you Froona!!
I log on to her blog daily...I thought that maybe she was on a vacation or something as the last blog is from March 23...
Get well Froona !!

[birdcamfan]

I thought something strange was going on. What bad news. I don't know her but follow her blog as much as my translator will allow. She's in my prayers.

[maggieblue]

The peregrine tab on this site states that Froona will not be blogging for a while because of health reasons. Someone else is taking up that task. I don't know what the problem is as I am just using my computer to translate the blog from Dutch. If someone else out there speaks Dutch maybe they could glean a little more information from blog.

I think that some of us are very familiar with Froona both from the S2 site and from her own blog which is normally updated on a daily basis.  Neither has been updated since March 23rd and there is news that Froona was admitted to hospital in the Netherlands on March 24th with a serious respiratory condition.  She has been in intensive care and on a respirator for the past week.    Please get better Froona. 

[birdcamfan]

The Dutch site also has an interesting crow/raven situation going on. The Torenvalk cam showed the falcons losing their nest to a dove early this month. (go figure). The dove has been incubating for a few weeks now but for the last few days, some crows (I think) have decided to build a nest in the nest box. They are dragging in sticks just like in Edmonton. There have been a few interesting standoffs but for the most part, they stay away from each other. The falcons have also been on the scene at the nest box entrance chasing the crows away.
The peregrine tab on this site states that Froona will not be blogging for a while because of health reasons. Someone else is taking up that task. I don't know what the problem is as I am just using my computer to translate the blog from Dutch. If someone else out there speaks Dutch maybe they could glean a little more information from blog.

[carly]

I know you all have the watching part down pat, now you will just have to work on those waiting skills. 

Thanks TPC!  But you want to rethink this comment ... you're talking to a girl who was running across 4 lanes of traffic today because she couldnt' see her falcon on the nestbox.  I actually went into 2 people's front yards once I lived through that so I could get a better view of the ledge...

[The Peregrine Chick]

Just heard back from U of A and they are talking with the biologists about the best way to deal effectively with the ravens in the nestbox. 

The only thing to do now is just wait and watch.  I know you all have the watching part down pat, now you will just have to work on those waiting skills.  It will be good practice for when the falcons get down to the business of nesting 

[Elaine L]

I agree with Alison about how intelligent ravens and crows are - you can add magpies, too, I think.  Magpies, from what I have observed, are very family-oriented, alert, and I dare say, funny birds.  Unfortunately, in my part of town, they are always having gang wars with the crows, and both are fierce defenders of their territory.  Meanwhile, at the nest-site here with the ravens, how soon before an egg is laid?  If it is really soon, then I hate to see the Edmonton group destroy the nest with eggs in it; on the other hand, if they can remove the nesting material before egg-laying, and the ravens give up the nest before the peregrines return, then all is well.  But there are alot of "ifs' here.

[Alison]

I don't know what is going to happen at this nest. The ravens seem to be really serious about building their nest in the box. Personally, I like ravens and crows - they are such intelligent birds. I just don't want to see any battles for territory between the ravens and the peregrines. This has always been such a hotly contested nest site, with at least two fatal territorial battles in the past. I had hoped this year would be somewhat more peaceful. I think the peregrines should be back any time now; last year I first saw a peregrine at this nest on April 7, but they could well have returned before then.

[maggieblue]

Look for the silver linings ... actually, having birds at all is a silver lining, so enjoy them.  Oh, and baby crows and ravens are so brutally ugly they are adorable and like most younglings, their first flights are usually a comedy of errors.  Silver linings folks 

I am lucky enough to live in part of the urban forest where there are many mature trees, elms, oaks, spruce, maples, pines, etc.  There are crows nesting in a nearby spruce tree.  I have to admit that most years I haven't been to happy to see them, especially when they are flying by with baby bunnies in the spring or ripping open garbage bags.  My attitude changed last summer when I saw what must have been a fledge and it was a comedy of errors on junior's part.  S/he was in a large tree flapping away, only about 6 feet off the ground and barely able to make it from branch to branch.  It looked like junior was being accompanied and encouraged by mom and dad.  One behind (riding shotgun perhaps?) and one in front encouraging, flying to the next tree, circling back and making encouraging noises, like, see you can do it, it's easy, come on.