No Visual On the Waterloo Sun Life Juvenile Yet But We’re Close!!
July 09, 2012 - Kitchener - CTV-Bell Media Tower
Tracy Simpson Reports:
This afternoon, Marion and I joined Mark at just after 2:00pm and found that the female had been pretty stationary all day on top of the northern retaining walls that surround the roof. It wasn’t long after we arrived that the adults started to become more active with the male arriving shortly after 2:15pm to his favorite perch on the east side of the nest building. He didn’t stay more than 10 minutes before launching off to the east on a serious hunt. Just before 3:30pm, Tony Bergauer from Bentall Kennedy called Mark to let us know that the female had swung into the west side of the building and looked to be prepping lunch. I grabbed the scope and camera and headed around the building to the west side on John St and found Statler, the resident female, on top of one of the parapets and indeed she was handling a rather robust pigeon. After a good half an hour of prepping with some bites for herself in between, she came around the building, circled twice and then took food into the ledge but this time entering from the King St. side of the concrete column. Five minutes later, she exited the roof from the east side and hadn’t any food with her. She took to the air and headed due west out of the territory flying high. By this time the resident male had returned and was perched once again in his favorite spot on the east wall.
All of a sudden, at 4:40pm, the adult male wakes up from napping and bolts down the ledge several feet before dropping in onto the roof out of sight. Two minutes later, the female flew in and took up position in the spot the resident male had just left. Approximately 10 minutes later, the adult male came up off of the roof and was now roosting on the northern side of the building facing King St. It looked as though they had the juvenile corralled with one adult to the right of him and one adult to the left. Both adults were looking down at the roof into the corner of the concrete column that runs up the height of the building with a look that said, “Whatever you are doing, just cut it out!!” The adults remained in their positions for the next hour with one eye closed and one eye always on the roof!!
Just after 6pm, both adults took to the air. The female left the east face and the male quickly filled in that position. The female took her flight around the building and landed right on the east side near to the concrete column before dropping down onto the roof. After a good half an hour on the rooftop, the female left and flew up to the north facing Sun Life Financial sign and found a good roosting spot on one of the girders that holds the sign. After another hour of roosting and preening, the adult male took off on another serious hunt to the east and the female flew around to the top of the concrete column. The resident male returned shortly but without any food and landed on the top of the east facing section of louvers; a ledge that is just too perfect! There the adults remained as I headed out of Waterloo. Given the interest by the adults today in the rooftop area and their actions around it, I believe it won’t be long now before the juvenile male makes his first appearance!!
