The new family!
June 08, 2009 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
The drive to the site was the longest I have ever taken anywhere. I was so excited to see how the new peregrine family was doing and it seemed to take forever to get there! I arrived just after 6:00pm and met up with Mark Nash from the CPF who had been there since 3PM to do the foster. What a wonderful sight to behold. Two very elated parents were attending to their three new chicks. The resident adult female was all over the site ( get more food, get that gull, watch the babies, more food!). She tended to the chicks every demand and watched their every move. The resident adult male was busily hunting non-stop to keep up with the new family demands bringing in 4 meals, one as large as a pigeon, over the next three hours. Both of the adults did such an amazing job.
The juveniles were equally excited about their new home. They spent time exploring both the nest tray and the ledge, often running along up to their new parents. Playtime was also on the bill for this evening as the chicks took turns inverting their heads at one another and pouncing on any inanimate object they could find. One of the juveniles ( I’ll bet it was Apollo the little male!) discovered that the ledge actually continues around the side of the building. He didn’t get more than a couple of steps down the southern ledge before Mom flew over and herded him back to the tray vocalizing at him the whole way back. By nightfall, all three chicks had incredibly full crops and after a bit of direction from Mom, headed off into the nest tray for bed.
Congratulations to dad Hurricane and mom O’Connor for a job well done. A huge success and certainly now one of my fondest peregrine memories!