A Box Full of Monkeys!
June 15, 2010 - Mississauga - Executive Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
I arrived at the site later this evening ( around 7:00pm ) to find the three little boys all bee-bopping around the nest ledge. There was no hint of down left on their heads but a few plumes still poked out here and there. Our oldest chick as of today is 39 days so a fledge should take place any minute now… …and not a minute too soon for the juvenile female still hanging out in the box! I can certainly empathise with this young female having 3 older brothers in her face all day!
Wing stretches, preening and head flipping filled up the evening activities at home for the juveniles until 8:01pm when the adult female arrived with a late night snack. A small package, it was definately from one of the many stash sites that the adults use for caching food. The adult female then took the meal to the dip in the window ledge just south of the nest box. No more than two seconds later appears the “three little monkey boys”, sitting shoulder to shoulder and screaming in unison, looking to cash in on the delivery.
“Not so fast”, says Mom. “You come to me or I’ll just have to eat it myself! Spoon feeding time is over!!” So each boy in turn mustered up the courage to make the two inch jump to the ledge and then down into the ledge itself. A few minutes in the feed trough and the first male juvenile emerges looking triumphantly at his sister, still sitting on the landing platform of the box. This little male was so excited he ran across the lip of the nest ledge straight to the box, only stopping briefly to wipe his dirty little face all over his sibling! She was not amused!! By 8:17pm another package arrived with the adult female but this time it was the full monty, fresh and unplucked. The juvenile female snatched it and before I could blink, plowed through the boys with pigeon in hand to the back of the nest box to dine. Fair treatment after using her as a napkin!! As the sun finally faded away, 4 “chunky monkey” juvenile peregrines crept into bed and zonked out for the night.