The Canadian Peregrine Foundation

Niagara Falls

Daily Updates - June 1998

Monday, June 1
Bob Chambers reports: Bright, sunny, cool.
-- 9:05am babies were fed - Amelia on nest - Henny at observation point.
-- 9:09 Henny left observation point perch - returned at 9:47.
-- 10:15 Henny started a 10 to 15 minute aerial show.
-- 11:55 Henny approached nest with a kill and feed Amelia and then she fed her chicks. All doing fine.
-- Note: I'm asking a question here. Does Amelia already train her chicks before 1 week old?? I actually witnessed one of the chicks putting his little back side close to the edge of the nest and "poop" out over the rim of the nest - to keep the nest clean.
-- I left at 12:30pm.

Tuesday, June 2
Bob Chambers reports: Arrived late. Bright, sunny, warm. Amelia on the nest 3:14pm. Henny at table rock about 50'-0 down cliff.
-- 3:19 Henny came to nest with a kill, Amelia left nest, Henny left nest, chicks exposed about 2 minutes.
-- Henny is staying close to observation point perch.
-- 3:22 Amelia returned to nest and chicks. Kill brought back to nest - chicks fed. Chicks look like they are doubled in size since they were hatched.
-- 3:38 lightning and rain started, Amelia *didn't* finish feeding the chicks, she immediately sheltered her babies to keep them warm and dry. She settled in with her tail toward the oncoming storm. I left at 3:40pm.

Wednesday, June 3
Bob Chambers reports: 9:00am Bright, sunny, warm. Amelia on nest. Henny staying close to perch at observation point. Rest period. Met 6 people from west of London, Ontario, they were glad to see Amelia.
-- 10:01 Henny started aerial display and hunting.
-- 10:18 Amelia fed chicks. Left nest at 10:29. The chicks were left unattended until Henny returned. He is smaller than Amelia so he more or less sheltered the babies rather than trying to cover all three. Amelia brought kill to nest at 11:24 to feed chicks. She left and returned at noon.
-- 12:18 Henny to nest with kill, Amelia fed them again.
-- 2:37pm chicks resting under Amelia. I left.

Thursday, June 4
Bob Chambers reports: 9:00am Bright, sunny, cool. Amelia at the nest - babies have already been fed, warming themselves along the concrete wall on the ledge. The chicks are getting air and sunshine under the watchful eye of mom. Noticed the babies are getting darker above their eyes.
-- Approximately 10:00am 24 kids from Pt. Colborne viewed nest site.
-- 10:28 Henny to nest, Amelia left. She returned to eat and feed chicks.
-- 10:34 settled down with chicks. Met Roy Vassallo (Niagara Parks Police), Irene Bowman (Ministry official, Peterborough), Pud Hunter (Ministry of Natural Resources, Aylmer), Anne Yagi (Ministry of Natural Resources, Vineland). Discussed the building setup for banding on June 22
-- Returned and observed chicks for approximately one hour. I noticed that the chicks are looking around and noticing objects outside of the nest area. I believe that this holds true for most young birds around 9 or 10 days. I left around noon.

Friday, June 5
Bob Chambers reports: 8:07am Bright, sunshine, cold. Worried about the chicks and hypothermia because of last night's temperatures. Amelia on the nest. Chicks are fine. Gord Lightfoot (filming for Niagara Parks Commission) saw chicks being fed at approximately 7:30am. Henny not in sight yet. An interesting note: when Amelia moved about on the nest her feet were clinched so she wouldn't hurt her babies with the talons.
-- 9:51 noticed the chicks were erect (standing but still on their knees) and the little heads were still bobbing side to side.
-- 10:01 Henny returned and started his aerial display - didn't bring any kills home. I left for coffee and returned at 10:31.
-- 11:09 chicks are wandering from original nest. Henny sitting on two - the third chick is about 2 feet away - alone on the ledge.
-- 11:26 Henny is getting a little frustrated, the chicks are all separated now. Henny is running between them to sit on each one for a few minutes to warm them before running to the next one. Amelia is still hunting
-- 11;46 Henny has blood on his breast - needs a bath.
-- 11:54 Henny is again sitting on two. Single chick exposed, trying to stand - maybe cold.
-- 12:25 Henny gone to 3rd chick, the other two are now exposed.
-- 12:27 Henny left - Amelia at the nest with kill feeding single chick, the other two chicks are walking towards the nest to get food. Amelia left then quickly returned. Chicks are now about 2 feet apart.
-- 1:09 two chicks waddled back to the nest. Amelia on 3rd beyond the nest, Henny still hunting.
-- Henny under the ledge below the observation point with a kill. Feathers are flying up and over the handrail and into the crowd. He must be plucking a bird.
-- 1:12 Henny flew to nest with a kill, Amelia came off the nest, took it from Henny and flew toward table rock to stash the meat for a later meal.
-- 1:44 Amelia left nest - flew to ledge below observation point - flew to table rock - picked up previously killed bird - returned to feed chicks. Finally got all three together to feed them.
-- 1:55 she covered them for a sleep. All is quiet. I left at 2:30pm.

Saturday, June 6
Bob Chambers reports: 11:40am Bright, sunny, warm.
-- 8:30 breakfast.
-- Henny came to nest at 10:29, came in with a kill, then left with same.
-- 12:39 one chick wandering. Amelia actually got hold of the baby, bill to bill, and pulled it back toward the nest. Amelia also herded the chicks between her "fist" and pointed the chick in the direction of the wall.
-- 12:50 Amelia left the nest - chicks alone.
-- 12:52 Amelia back with brunch. Henny flew to ledge under observation point at 1:04
-- 2:08 Amelia and Henny hunting together.
-- 2:26 both birds are doing aerial displays - brought kill home and fed chicks.
-- 4:20 I left for home.

Monday, June 8
Bob Chambers reports: 7:45am Cloudy, cool.
-- 6:15 Amelia fed chicks - doing fine this morning. A couple of days ago the chicks really only saw mom, the food and maybe some things in the nest area. This morning I noticed that they were looking beyond the nest. Their heads were waving from side to side and bobbing up and down but they were realizing for the first time that there is a big world out there.
-- Henny on perch at observation point. Amelia to perch under observation Point.
-- 8:15 noticed gull dive at Henny; he was unconcerned. Babies are still uncovered.
-- 8:43 Amelia flew to nest to be with chicks. Also noticed babies are moving about on their elbows or knees.
-- 8:38 feeding time. Empty crops are now filling and bulging out.
-- 8:56 sunning and getting air with Amelia.
-- 9:40 Henny went hunting.
-- Note: Ross Klager and I heard the baby chicks twice, chirping for the first time.
-- 1:15 both parents are hunting. Chicks resting.
-- 2:30 Amelia back with kill - snack time.
-- Note: One of the chicks is trying to scratch the back of its head, really wobbly but trying. I didn't think it would be trying that so soon. I left at 3:00pm.

Wednesday, June 10
Bob Chambers reports: "HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY AMELIA"
-- 6:46am Bright, warm. Chicks were probably fed around 6:00am. Mom and "kids" are doing well, they are about 3 times their hatching weight, really growing. Henny near nest at perch below south concrete blocks.
-- 7:03 chicks are dry and warm, soaking up the morning rays of sun reflecting off the concrete wall behind them. Amelia is still drying out her feathers from a very wet night of mist.
-- 7:42 Amelia had food at the nest sight (I didn't notice it before). She is starting to feed her little ones again. More like a snack.
-- 7:45 Amelia left the nest for a few moments, then returned with more food and continued to feed the chicks a regular meal. Henny flew to perch at observation point.
-- 7:54 babies are alone - parents are perched on the concrete blocks - one on each end.
-- 8:00am I left for a meeting.

Thursday, June 11
Bob Chambers reports: 7:32am Dull, cool. Amelia is *very* wet but remained on nest to keep chicks dry and warm. Henny on perch below Amelia. At 8:19 Amelia started flying, her flight looked laboured because of the excess of water. She shook herself several times in flight to get rid of the excess water and weight. She returned to concrete block perch, continuing to shake off water and start preening her feathers.
-- Henny took flight but returned immediately to the observation point.
-- 8:21 Amelia returned to nest.
-- 9:10 we had 89 kids from Rochester NY and several adults visit the observation point, arranged through Tim Seaburn (Immigration Department). All the kids got to view the chicks through the scope.
-- 9:18 Henny flew off to go hunting.
-- 9:59 Amelia left the nest and flew to the observation point perch.
-- 10:24 Henny and Amelia continued to dry out.
-- 10:29 Amelia flew to table rock to retrieve food from food cache, returned to nest, started feeding her chicks. I noticed *no* regurgitated food, fed the chicks directly, I could see their crops filling as they were fed.
-- Note: At 10:39 a man went over the railing to install cables for the TV cameras. All hell broke loose. Henny became more aggressive flying by every few minutes, sometimes close to the worker. Henny was *very* vocal and his chirping call was almost constant. He was very disturbed about the change occurring in "his territory". He settled down and perched on the concrete block for the rest of the afternoon, he would not leave the nest site, he played his role as a guardian very well. Amelia continued to feed her chicks and do her motherly "chores".
-- 10:48 Amelia left nest - returned to concrete block at opposite end from Henny (north end). Chicks are exercising their wings and legs, probably more for learning "balance" first, but never the less they are flapping their "stubs". Henny is still squawking - worried about workers on ledge below observation point.
-- 11:19 Amelia is feeding her chicks again.
-- 11:21 Amelia left nest to dispose of remains. Henny swooping and diving at workers again.
-- 1:00 when workers returned from lunch they went over the railing, Henny left his perch and again dove at the worker but no physical contact was made, he also started his chirping warming.
-- 3:48 Amelia brought a pigeon to the nest and fed the chicks. I left about 4:00pm.

Saturday, June 13
Bob Chambers reports: 6:36am Cloudy, warm. Henny and Amelia hunting - chicks exposed but resting. Both adult birds are doing aerial displays of graceful turns and headlong dives - amazing.
-- 11:02 Amelia arrived back at the nest with a kill - a small unidentified bird.
-- 11:14 Amelia left nest, chicks are starting to walk although not on their feet yet! Amelia arrived back at the south concrete block.
-- Note: A very sudden rain started falling at about 7:30. I left, had coffee, discovered I had water inside scope. Folks at Hakims dried out lens for me. Left for home at about 12:00pm.

Sunday, June 14
Bob Chambers reports: The chicks are 19, 18, and 18 days old.
--6:09am Light cloud, pleasant morning.
--5:30 chicks fed (eye witness).
--6:12 three chicks are awake with heads up, seem to have steadier necks, looking around, one snapped at an annoying fly. Amelia on north concrete blocks.
--Note: the black colouring around the eyes is starting to show more clearly; also noticed a darkness at the base of the tail, primaries and secondary feathers.
--6:28 Henny diving at hydro worker walking on road behind power house. Became quite verbal until worker went into door on power house roof. Henny returned to perch at observation point 8 feet down from handrail.
--6:50 Amelia sleeping - head under wing- catching 40 winks.

Monday, June 15
Bob Chambers reports: The chicks are 20, 19, and 19 days old.
-- 6:10am Misty, bright, sunny, warm. Chicks alone on nest, Henny on ledge at observation point. I can't see all 3 chicks yet. Amelia nowhere in sight.
-- 6:55 Amelia came to ledge, looks like they are talking to each other. Maybe she asked him how many strips of bacon he would like for breakfast! Both parents flew from the ledge. Henny did some aerial displays and also flew over to observe us. Amelia returned with a starling.
-- 7:05 chicks "walked" on their "feet", wobbly but standing and with outstretched wings for balance, what a sight. Amelia fed them, then flew to north concrete blocks. I'm amazed at the size of the chicks - must be reaching 60-65% of their adult size and weight (hatch weight x 5).
-- 4:10pm. Breezy with mist in face. Chicks resting - Amelia at table rock perch - Henny up flying and hunting.
-- 4:16 Amelia left table rock perch.
-- 4:29 Amelia returned to nest with small kill. The "kids" walked at least two steps out from the wall to line up for supper. --Note: I'm noticing that the parents are leaving the chicks alone more and more. Not only are they getting too big to cover at night but the parents are getting the chicks climatized with their surroundings. As the chicks grow their permanent feathers, it appears the fluffy or insulating ends of the feathers are developing quickly to guard them against the cool nights.

Tuesday, June 16
Bob Chambers reports: The chicks are 21, 20, and 20 days old.
-- 6:24am Foggy, cloudy, little sun. Chicks growing like "bad weeds". Henny on guard about 3 feet from nest. Amelia not in sight. All is quiet. This morning Henny or Amelia has killed a gull - must have gotten too close to the nest area. The body is on the roof of the power house uneaten. I've wondered about this, is the meat of a gull too fishy for them?
-- 8:04 both birds on nearby perches - no activity, chicks resting.
-- 8:28 both parents hunting.
-- 9:24 Amelia flew to Minolta Tower.
-- 9:47 after returning to the observation point perch Henny now in flight to Minolta Tower - I think I'll try to get to the tower in the next couple of days to see if there is any evidence of activity.
-- 10:04 Henny returned to hunt in gorge area, returned to observation point without kill.
-- 5:18. Bright. All is quiet with chicks resting and parents nearby.
-- 6:35 Henny returned to feed chicks a blue jay.
-- 6:48 Amelia fed chicks again. All are resting again.

Wednesday, June 17
Bob Chambers reports: The chicks are 22, 21, and 21 days old.
--6:09 Misty, dull. Chicks at nest - wet but fine - must have grown overnight, I can't believe their size. Henny on perch below nest sight.
--6:47 chicks alert - heads up, crops look small in size, maybe a feeding will be soon. Chicks are walking on their "yellow" feet now, balancing with outstretched wings.
--7:00 Amelia is here finally - perched near nest.

Thursday, June 18
Bob Chambers reports: The chicks are 23, 22, and 22 days old.
-- 1:47pm Bright, sunny.
-- 1:50 Amelia resting on north concrete blocks - one chick is on the nest but the other two "walked" toward the south blocks - all are sleeping now. The furthest chick from the nest is about 20 feet away. Henny is not in sight.
-- 2:59 Amelia flew to table rock, she picked up some "stored" meat and returned to the nest and fed chick no.1 - the second chick started walking back about 10 feet to get in on the goodies, the third one was on its way. Real cute to see them carefully stepping one foot in front of the other. I've noticed the down on the chicks is thickening up and the legs are becoming more yellow each day.
-- 3:24 The beautiful aerial display of the peregrine falcon has started. Both birds are hunting. Amelia went into a stoop on my left and hurtled past me with tucked in wings just twenty feet out past the handrail to a point under the nest ledge - struck and killed a blue jay. She flew in an arc, returning to the nest to feed her chicks. Henny still hunting gracefully overhead.
-- 3:52 chicks resting. The aerial ballet continues with the turns, dives and recoveries.
-- 4:20 saw Amelia roll over on her back in flight and take a kill from Henny with her talons, unbelievable!

Friday, June 19
Kenn Chapman reports: Reports from various sources indicate that the chicks are growing well and are encountering little or no interference from the crowds of people, many of whom are coming to the Falls specifically to see the birds. Preparations are compete for the banding of the chicks next Monday, June 22, by OMNR personnel.
-- Experiments have been ongoing with the fireworks. Each week, fireworks are set off upstream from the nest, with an increased "bang" factor. The effect is carefully studied with regard to the reaction by the adults and chicks. Evidently, each evening a display is set off, Amelia perks up and takes notice, then procedes with whatever she was doing as if nothing were happening. The chicks also seem to adjust to the display in the same manner. According to all observers, there should be no problem by July 1 with having a full-scale, full-"bang" fireworks display.

Bob Chambers reports: The chicks are 24, 23, and 23 days old.
-- 6:12am Bright, sunny, warm. The last few days have been nothing but exciting but first I would like to enter a correction. I had stated on Friday June 5 that "Gordon Lightfoot" saw the chicks being fed at approximately 7:30am. It should have read Norm Lightfoot. Sorry Norm. I might add that Norm is filming several shots around Niagara for the Niagara Parks Commission.
-- Today the chicks are alert and appear to have been fed earlier. The sign I look for is the swelling of the crop below their tiny bills. Both Amelia and Henny were *not* visible until 8:20 when I noticed Amelia fly to the top handrail and look at the tourists and traffic. It's the first time I've seen her perch this high.
-- I have been watching these birds closely and have an inner feeling that they are adjusting nicely and do not feel threatened. As I said earlier in my writing, they are being "people-ized". They continue to preen feathers only 10 feet away from one of the busiest locations in North America.
-- The chicks on the other hand are getting so ugly that they are cute. At this stage only a mother and bird lovers could love them! --This morning I noticed at about 9:15 Amelia flying to a cache on a grassy slope at table rock a few hundred feet from the mighty cataract. She returned with a previously killed pigeon. Kind of like a peregrine falcon's convenience store. When she alighted on the ledge I saw the "kids" literally run to mom for breakfast. They were wobbly and still learning to navigate in a somewhat straight line.
-- Around 10:01am Amelia fed her flock again. We all have to remember that the progress of these little ones is measured by the days where eagles and hawks are measured by the weeks. Falcon chicks have a phenomenal growth rate; they must attain the weight, strength and size of the adult bird in 6 weeks before their maiden or first flight. That is almost an unbelievable rate of growth.
-- On this day the chicks have started to show their black spots on top of their heads.
-- I left at 11:00 and returned at 1:20. My stay this afternoon will be shorter. I saw one of the chicks walking on its feet *without* using its wings for balance.
-- Amelia stayed near her nest and did some house cleaning, picking up little scraps of feathers and meat and placing them away from the nest site. Henny appeared at the ledge with a kill which was quickly snatched up by Amelia as she flew to her cache site at table rock.
-- She returned to her nest and sleeping babies.
-- I left for home at 2:00pm.

Sunday, June 21
Bob Chambers reports: The chicks are 26, 25, and 25 days old.
-- 5:35am Clear, sunny. Amelia is serving up breakfast when I arrive. The chicks are alert and healthy. The advancement of the colourization of the birds is rapid, a lot of dark areas are forming on the pinions and secondary feathers.
-- Amelia is with her babies at the far southern end of the ledge against the concrete blocks. They have found a spot for protection against the mist and wind. It is rather cozy.
-- Around 6:00am Amelia is feeding her growing "machines". I noticed with the chicks approximately 20 feet south of the gate in the fence it is going to be interesting how the chicks are going to be banded tomorrow.
-- I looked closely and noticed the beautiful yellowish copper colouring starting to form around eye and bill area.
-- Henny is doing his magnificent aerial display. He is a real sight in the early morning blue sky. The sun still in a low position was lighting up the underside of his wings. After his stoops, swoops and swooshes Henny went to perch on the Minolta Tower.
-- What a sight to see the chicks starting to preen their new wing feathers; stretching and exercising also promotes the growth. --I left for a meeting that we are setting up for the dawn to dusk peregrine watch. Cathy Giancarlo is our fearless leader with John Ancio, Milt Van Horn and myself as sub-coordinators.

Monday, June 22
Bob Chambers reports: The chicks are 27, 26, and 26 days old.
-- 5:03am Warm, light cloud, sun rising. This will be a milestone day for our chicks in Niagara. They will be banded and checked over by our own Anne Yagi from Vineland and Pud Hunter from Aylmer, Ontario, two excellent biologists from Ontario Ministry of Natural resources as well as Mark Kandel from the US. Mark, a wildlife biologist, is with the New York State Department of Environment Conservation. Hands across the border and all that stuff, Mark! This turned out to be an excellent team effort.
-- Well, first we must consider the well-being of our chicks. They started the day with a hearty meal flown in by dad Henny. But I must mention that Amelia took the kill from Henny and she proceeded with her motherly duties to feed her brood. I could not see what type of bird she was giving the chicks.
-- Henny started to harass the gulls and put on his usual high speed aerial display.
-- Aproximately 6:00am Amelia flew to the highest section of the roof at the Casino Tower.
-- At 7:15am Amelia returned to feed her babies again before the big event.
-- At 8:00am the people who were involved in the banding met in the small hydro building south of the Illumination Battery (high powered lights to illuminate the falls at night) and across the road from the nest site. Pud Hunter coached us as to what to expect in the upcoming hour. Meanwhile preparations were going on to retrieve the chicks from the ledge 12 feet down the west wall of the gorge.
-- Rick Folkes from Ancaster, Ontario, and a member of the Hamilton Naturalists' Club, was our man who would descend the gorge wall with ladder, harness, ropes and other safety equipment. Rick's partner was John Millar. John taught Rick "the ropes" more than a decade ago. John would remain as his backup and lookout during the half hour ordeal. Rick and John turned out to be regular "Joes" who took their work in their stride. After the trio of chicks was fetched off the ledge, hauled carefully upward into the waiting hands of biologist Anne Yagi (not to worry, Anne is the motherly type). Across the road to the banding building, about 200 feet, Pud Hunter (the fatherly type) was waiting where he carefully inspected each squawking chick. Pud weighed each chick. Next the sex was determined by size. While Anne continued to hold each chick Pud placed the bands on the legs as Mark Kandel recorded the vital information. The weights recorded are as follows: one female at 940 g (2.07 lbs), one female at 895 g (1.97lbs) and one male at 682 g (1.50lbs).
-- With all the excitement the little hearts were speeding up so Pud gently squirted a fine stream of water in their mouths which settled them down unbelievably fast. They were ready for a 5-minute media gathering session. The media deserves a hearty "atta boy" pat on the back. Their stories and pictures will go down in history and also be a tribute to the people who gathered this day to help to preserve and protect "our" Peregrine Falcons at Niagara. Thank you media people one and all. Well done!
-- I was one of the lucky people to hold a chick. Along with Anne Yagi and Brian Merrett, chairman of the Niagara Parks Commission. I was amazed at the strength of the 2-lb falcon chick I had in my hands. I was thrilled to no end as I looked down at this endangered species. I felt privileged to do so as I am sure Brian and Anne also did.
-- At approximately 9:50 the chicks were sent across the road and carefully lowered and placed back in the nest by Rick Folkes.
-- Amelia and Henny were very worried and were quite vocal during the absence of their chicks, but settled in very quickly once the chicks were returned.
-- After the birds had settled and interviews with different TV and radio stations had subsided I want to take a moment to thank all the wonderful people of Canada's Niagara Parks Commission, people who have done a yeoman's job in helping to preserve these precious living gems. The impact will be felt around the world on the website. I also want to thank the grandfathers who stopped their parks vehicles to see how mom and kids were doing each day, yes all 15 or 16 of you!
-- Later in the day things calmed down and at 5:03 Amelia was feeding her trio. All is well. I'll see you in the morning, babies.

Tuesday, June 23
Bob Chambers reports: Chicks 28, 27, and 27 days old.
-- 6:30 am Overcast. Not a real nice day but lots of mist blowing in our faces at the observation point.
-- About 7:45 Amelia flew to the nest with a kill and fed her threesome. Henny roared off to the Minolta Tower at 8:25. We didn't see him for quite a while. A strange structural object was placed near the north blocks about 30 feet from the nest. The lower section houses a TV camera and the upper section houses the transmitting device pointed at the table rock house where the tourists will be able to view the chicks live at the information centre. I understand the signal may be placed on the world wide web. If this is true, it willl mean another feather in the hat for the Niagara Parks Commission, and tourism in Niagara in general.
-- Getting back to my charges, I noticed that the babies were separated, 2 at the south blocks and one at the north. They were all fine.
-- I'm back at 1:45 to find the trio of chicks asleep. Amelia came in with a kill and fed the "kids" at 3:20. The parents both perched at the observation point, one about 8 feet down, the other under a ledge while the chicks slept.
-- I couldn't help noticing one of the chicks placing his feet on the kill with its mother and practising pulling up on the meat. My, how quick they learn their skills.
-- I also noted the size of the female chicks. They appear to be the same weight as Henny, if not a little heavier. It's hard to tell.

Wednesday, June 24
Bob Chambers reports:- Chicks 29, 28, and 28 days old.
-- 6:20am Foggy. My, the birds are completely "socked in" this morning. The air is so foggy you could cut it with a knife. The nest site is obscured. I can see one of the parents under the observation point ledge but cannot tell which one.
-- I left about 8:00am - returning at 12:40 the sun was out and the spread-out chicks were sunning and preening. Amelia was perched on the far south "concrete blocks" carefully eyeing each movement of her babies. I watched intently as walking chicks started to trot or run, sloppy but an honest start.
-- Henny flew in at 12:55pm with a kill, which was skilfully snatched up by Amelia who flew to the green area at table rock to hide her food for a later meal.
-- I stood at the observation point and spent a few minutes amusing myself at the antics going on below me in the chicks' new "gymnasium". The trio was starting to raise a little "hell".

Thursday, June 25
Bob Chambers reports:-- Chicks 30, 29, and 29 days old.
-- 6:02am Overcast in east. The chicks are preening themselves this morning after a soggy night in the mist. These little guys are now picking at pieces of meat around the nest site. I wonder where Henny and Amelia have gotten to - they have been away from the nest more and more. I don't think for one moment that they are very far from their trio. I still kept my eye skyward.
-- The babies are exercising and stretching their outward extended wings, a quick shake which almost results in a "fallover".
-- At 6:35 Henny has come to the nest with a kill - I think a catbird, all grey with a rust-coloured rump. He left it and the two young females are plucking the feathers - well, sort of. Interesting to see them holding the prey with their talons and starting to pull upward in the motion that they will need later to feed themselves.
-- The colours are rapidly changing especially the young male; he has a white bib with what appears to be vertical brown stripes.
-- Henny has just now arrived at the observation point and at 7:40 went into one of his high speed stoops and wounded a pigeon before my eyes. I was watching with awe as the event unfolded before my eyes without the aid of binoculars, The pigeon managed to escape but I could not see whether it died or not.
-- Amelia arrived at the nest at about 7:15 with a kill for the two female chicks. The male is sitting behind and not eating this time. As the biologists Anne Yagi and Pud Hunter told our group the males reach their maximum size and weight at about 19 or 20 days, so now I know why he was not eating heavily for the last few days. The females in the meantime continued to eat and increase in weight and size. Their metabolism is set up as such.
-- This afternoon I called Bill Burch of the Buffalo Ornithological Society (Bill is on vacation). I also called Dianne Obusek of the town of Tonowanda SPCA, but I could not raise her on the phone. Will try again. These people are going to help on the Peregrine Watch but from the American side, Goat Island.
-- I also called the New York State biologist Mark Kandel but he was on a call at their own peregrine site because two chicks had fledged and fell from the roof. I hope they are ok.
-- Later Mark called - he explained that the chick went to the ground unhurt and had to be returned to the rooftop nest.

Friday, June 26
Bob Chambers reports:-- Chicks are 31, 30, and 30 days old.
-- 5:51am Overcast, windy but calming, lightning storm during night. Trees with broken branches. Our little babes came through the night of high winds, lightning, thunder and extremely heavy rain. Their first encounter with severe weather. The threesome is soaked.
-- Henny went aloft at 6:15 to hunt but I couldn't locate Amelia yet.
-- The plumage appeared quite dark but it could be that the feathers are flat and wet.
-- Amelia just arrived at 7:14 with a kill, fed her babies breakfast.
-- I also noticed a gull on the roof of the powerhouse with a broken wing. Did Henny strike out at this one, maybe too close to the nest site?
-- Henny was at the observation point perch - soaking wet but ok. Chicks remaining huddled, resting near the centre of the nest area.
-- It is 10:57 and I don't believe my eyes. The Parks Commission "Cherry Picker" or top mounted hydraulic bucket is here and the electronics technician is going over the fence, handrail and wall. Immediately Amelia became stressed and excited. She was also very vocal as the first trip down was *very* slow and without fast movements.
-- A blower had to be changed. This continued until almost noon when they agreed to break off for lunch. Amelia put up with this for more than an hour. The chicks were huddled at the south end near the concrete blocks.
-- The crew agreed to meet with the Parks officials at 1:30. Well, it wasn't until after 2 o'clock that they started, but what was interesting at 1:30 when only the Parks Commission's workers showed up first, one of the operators of the hydraulic bucket decided to take the bucket down. He went too fast, which upset Amelia and again stressed and worried her. He did not do anything other than go for a ride! To me he deliberately harassed Amelia for no reason. At a few minutes after 2 o'clock the rest of the crew and Parks people arrived to start working. I had to ask the technician to hold off work until Amelia could feed her chicks, They had not been fed for over 5 to 6 hours. She managed this at 2:25.
-- Henny now arrived overhead.
-- The bucket went down for the third time and so did Henny. The technician in the bucket was down deep as Henny became extremely vocal and stressed.
-- I had to leave at 4:00pm - the workers were still there. I don't know what time they left.
-- Returning at around 9:00pm I spotted Amelia at the observation point perch, was she worried? I noticed she was constantly looking at the tourists and people directly above her. Are we crossing that fine line of trust? She keeps changing her perches every few minutes, can't settle down. I'm concerned about the Friday night fireworks scheduled to start at 10:00pm.
-- At 9:15pm Amelia has not really settled down. She is flying from her perches and back to her babies, then back to another perch, unsettled. Flash units on cameras are also frightening to her. At 10:04pm the first fireworks is going off. She is startled and leaps into darkness from her concrete block perch. Is this normal? I think not. I don't know where she went.

Saturday, June 27
Bob Chambers reports:-- Chicks are 32, 31, and 31 days old.
-- 5:36am Overcast, warm. Amelia is at her south concrete block spot watching her trio. I have no idea where she spent the night after her ordeal with loud bangs from the previous night's fireworks. I can't help thinking about her leap into darkness the night before. I sensed that she was *most* aggravated by man's light and sounds.
-- Henny appeared with a kill, landing at the observation point perch. Amelia came onto the perch taking the kill from Henny, dropped the morsel off at the nest for the chicks. These little, fast-growing, meat-eating machines are getting pretty efficient at plucking and serving themselves a snack!
-- The preening by the male chick is almost constant as the white baby down flies upward in the constant winds from the gorge.
-- At about 9:15 Amelia arrived with breakfast. She feeds her trio and sets an example as she preens herself. The little ones are and exercising.

Sunday, June 28
Bob Chambers reports:-- Chicks are 33, 32, and 32 days old.
-- 6:09am Sunny, warm. I arrived as Amelia was feeding her trio. After a short rest on the usual perches near the observation point Henny and Amelia started their usual beautiful aerial display. I never tire of watching with awe as they rise effortlessly on outstretched wings on the slightest breeze.
-- Back at the nest the chicks are getting darker slate grey on their backs (about 90% for the male and 75% for the females) with the white baby down, which will diminish each day as the birds become juveniles. still in between the grey feathers.
-- At 7:19 Henny arrived with a Rough-winged Swallow at the nest site to feed the chicks.
-- I don't believe my eyes as a hot air balloon moves silently above the falls and over the Park in a south east direction. That we welcomed, but the rasping of rotors from the helicopter that flew with it was loud indeed. The birds are fine.
-- My visit was short today as a milestone in their lives past. They are a month old. Amelia was dishing up lunch. I wonder how many candles she stuck in the meat!

Monday, June 29
Bob Chambers reports:-- Chicks are 34, 33, and 33 days old.
-- 6:40am Light cloud, sun, misty. Today I visited the birds briefly just to check their progress, growing in leaps and bounds. Henny and Amelia are nowhere in sight, probably perched under the ledge.
-- I did a bit of scouting this morning. I went to the information centre to check out the TV monitor. It had no picture even though the transmitter was on. What's happening here, I was under the impression that the pictures were going onto the world wide web?
-- It is now 8:14 and I'm at the top of the Minolta Tower. I want to see and identify the duck that is on top of the letter "T". The slender bill, small webbed feet, greyish side feathers and dark back pretty well describes a grebe.
-- I called Dr. Ron Murgl to see if he would be our veterinarian in case the birds were injured during their maiden flights. Dr. Murgl made arrangements with our coordinator Cathy Giancarlo to use his assistant and office if the need arose to stabilize a bird. This was arranged on a 24-hour basis.
-- I called Dianne Obusek of the Erie County SPCA in New York State to set up a date for a get-together to discuss a viewing platform from the American side. We agreed to meet July 2/98.
-- Note: I felt this last weekend's fireworks were *too* close. The flashing was very bright. The "bangers" were kept to a minimum but were louder simply because the fireworks were closer.

Tuesday, June 30
Bob Chambers reports:-- Chicks are 35, 34, and 34 days old.
-- 5:39am Lightning, rain, windy, overcast, misty. Chicks are rapidly reaching adult weight and size, feather length is increasing.
-- The strength of the wind along the gorge almost blows a chick off the ledge as they try to exercise. I think it must be something they must learn, not to exercise or flap their wings during high winds.
-- At 6:30 the trio of chicks is snacking on a morsel left at the nest site.
-- Both adult birds are "socked in" this morning. They are wet and just staying quiet.
-- The chicks are learning how to use their talons, jumping on and using a clump of weeds to grasp onto.
-- All of the volunteers being organized for the upcoming watch are being asked to meet starting on Wednesday July 1. This is an interesting undertaking as we have had meetings with Anne Yagi our local biologist, Bob McIlveen our Parks Commission coordinator, along with Mark Nash, Bill Green and Nadine Litwin of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation. This natural location is a first for everyone. Good luck organizers and the 60-some volunteers.
-- As we arrange for the upcoming fledging event I look down and see the little path the chicks have created between the weeds that was once a nest site.

|Niagara Falls Archive Index | Previous month | Next month |

RETURN TO COMPLETE SITE INDEX
(or choose from selected popular links below)

� Canadian Peregrine Foundation