Canadian Peregrine Foundation -- Etobicoke Archives: May 2000

The Canadian Peregrine Foundation

ETOBICOKE HOME PAGE ARCHIVES

May 2000

Tuesday May 30, 2000
Tom Moreau reports: At 1625, I dropped by the Falcon Watch Centre to find Angel and the three boys. There was also a whole dead pigeon in the nest box and one of the chicks was pecking at it. It appears that just about all of the baby fuzz has gone. Diane and Joan report that the chcicks have been running up and down all afternoon, flapping their wings.

Tuesday May 30, 2000
Tom Moreau et al. report: The babies were banded today. We were fortunate to have good weather as well as a good turnout. The babies were all determined to be males and weighed in at 683g, 694g and 677g. Joan Boardman and I were lucky to have been allowed to hold them and present them to the crowd. Many photos were taken of the little guys. Joan's was the feistiest of the bunch. During the banding, Angel buzzed the swing stage, vocalizing profusely (and profanely?). We had a report from 50 Cordova ( 0.5 km away) of her shrieking in that area. At 13:10, I heard an adult peregrine near the condominiums. Also during the banding, we had a report that Toby was ensconced on the sign on the adjacent building and appeared to be quite disinterested in the whole proceedings.

Our educational bird - Pablo - put in two appearances and impressed the admiring onlookers.

The babies had not been fed since 0700 but were fed by Angel at 1440, about 1.5 hrs after the banding. (Note: two photos from the banding have been posted in the Etobicoke Photo Gallery).

Wednesday May 17, 2000
Marcel Gahbauer reports: The unhatched egg remains in the nest, but keeps being moved around. I haven't seen who is moving it, but assume it is Angel and/or Toby. The three chicks are growing rapidly, and are already beginning to move about the nest box a bit.

The banding of the three chicks has been scheduled for Tuesday May 30 (weather permitting), at which time they will be almost four weeks old. As in previous years, the banding will take place in the north lobby of the Clarica Centre's East Tower (i.e. just outside the Falcon Watch Centre). Everyone is welcome to attend and take advantage of this rare opportunity to see peregrine falcon chicks up close. The banding is tentatively scheduled to take place around 11:30 am; check for details as the time draws closer.

Wednesday May 10, 2000
Tom Moreau and Joan Boardman report: There have been a number of feedings today. This morning, Toby did the unthinkable and brought in a Robin, which the babies consumed with gratitude. In the afternoon, we were shocked to see Angel bring in a mouse! The babies got some and Mother gobbled up the rest. We have not previously observed any food source other than birds being brought to the nest. The mouse was brought in about an hour after Toby dropped off the lower half of a small bird, likely a sparrow or starling.

Marcel Gahbauer reports: At long last, we have a photo of one of Etobicoke's chicks all grown up as an adult. Click here to visit the Toronto Photo Gallery, where two recent pictures of Windwhistler have been posted (and visit the Etobicoke 1998 gallery to see him as a juvenile).

Tuesday May 9, 2000
Marcel Gahbauer reports: It seems that the fourth egg is not going to hatch. Both adults have continued to incubate it while brooding the three chicks, but given that the other three hatched so close together, it is very improbable that the last one would be delayed by this long. This afternoon Joan Boardman reported that Angel was beginning to pick at the shell of the remaining egg, and a white spot could be seen on it when she left it alone.

Feedings continue to be quite regular - every three hours on average. Unlike Alberta, Angel seems to prefer leaving a store of excess food right on the nest ledge (it can sometimes be seen against the far wall, when watching through the webcam). Toby too has been feeding the chicks at times. Banding of these chicks has tentatively been set for the last week of May - details will be posted here when the date has been confirmed.

Friday May 5, 2000
Tom Moreau reports: Yesterday there was a feeding within about 1.5 hr after the third hatching, although chick #3 was not lucky enough to receive food. It was not for a lack of trying, though. He tilted his head back and craned his neck. The effort exhausted him and he collapsed, picked himself up and tried again. He was still wet and pinkish at the time. He was able to get food at the 14:45 feeding, however.

Thursday May 4, 2000
Tom Moreau, Diane Brockman, and Joan Boardman report: The Falcon Watch Centre was alive with excitement this morning. Last night, at 7:00PM, the first chick hatched. Today, we watched the monitor to see how he was doing and found (at 7:38AM) that one of the eggs had a white spot, indicating that another chick was about to hatch. Angel was keeping very low on the eggs and chick, so it was difficult to follow the action. At one point, it looked like there were two chicks. At 7:53, the chick that had started to hatch was exposed when Angel stood briefly. Later, she stood up enough to reveal that a second chick had hatched overnight and the new hatchling was actually the third one. Within an hour of the hatching, the baby showed signs of drying out and the white, fluffy feathers were in evidence. Mother and babies are doing well. Falcon watchers are recovering.

Wednesday May 3, 2000
Marcel Gahbauer reports: I visited the Etobicoke Falcon Watch Centre today, and noticed that Angel was very restless on the eggs, often standing up and looking down at them before settling in again. This behaviour has in the past been a good indication of an impending hatch, and sure enough, by the evening, the first chick had emerged from its egg. We expect the other chicks to follow in the next two to three days.

Tuesday May 2, 2000
Marcel Gahbauer reports: Incubation continues unchanged in Etobicoke, and surely by now Angel and Toby must be eagerly awaiting the hatch of their chicks. We expect that the first hatch will occur some time later this week - keep your eyes on the Etobicoke Webcam, and you may well be among the first to see the chicks hatch.

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