Midnight and Milton at George St; Almost Positively With Eggs!
April 01, 2013 - Brampton - Courthouse
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Bruce and I were in Brampton on Monday to try and sort out just who is where and with whom. As you know, Milton is the territorial male and seems to be running two areas; the Courthouse and a condo on George St. Here is what we were able to ascertain.
Bruce and I went to the courthouse first. We found Milton on the backside of the courthouse on the ledge that he prefers. He had flown in with food, disappeared to the back of the ledge, vocalized and then reappeared. He wiped his beak off and then remained roosting for about 30 minutes. He preened and occasionally vocalized but other than that, he was alone. He took off to the east and then swung back around to the west side of the building. We went looking for him but couldn’t find him. We went over to Second Cup and watched from the windows there and after 10 minutes, he returned to the south ledge of the courthouse, again alone. He stayed 5 minutes and then flew west over the parking lot of Second Cup but I lost him as he banked around back behind the courthouse. Looked like he was hunting or chasing. He returned to the same south ledge briefly and then flew back around the courthouse and off in a stoop to the north. We left the courthouse for George St. and when I got there, I circled John St, east to the BDC, around the Rose Theatre and then to the George St. parking lot. No sign of Milton or Midnight. When I got to George St., Milton flew in and landed on the overhang of the condo on the south end and roosted. He was there for a good 10 minutes staring at the centre pillars. He flew off, circled and then came flying in to the pillar area of the overhang. That’s when Midnight waddled out from between the south and centre pillars and they mated. Milton then took off on a hunt and Midnight remained on the overhang edge watching. He must have been successful as she became very animated and excited. She finally took off east over downtown in pursuit of him and I lost sight of the pair. A few minutes later, they both came bombing back to George St; her in the lead with prey and Milton following. She tried for the overhang but fell short by a full storey. She had to circle around and then back up to try again. She has never had trouble flying to that ledge with prey before and makes me think she’s heavy with eggs. Both birds ended up disappearing between the south and centre pillars with much vocalization.
I would be willing to bet she has eggs already. I had that ledge in my sights for a full 30 minutes with no sign of her at all. She might have been lying down. When she did emerge, she looked a little dirty lending more credence to the idea that she might have an egg or more. So without seeing eggs firsthand, I would say with 99% surety that Midnight is with eggs on the George St. condo east overhang between the south and centre pillars with Milton. They are still copulating and she is still willing to leave the ledge for short periods and therefore the clutch is in the early stages and is not complete as of yet. Milton seems to be going down to the courthouse to hunt and roost away from the nest site and has attracted other females who he might be nesting with as well. I think this is an area for more observation. At George St., I didn’t get band numbers but can confirm the colour configurations as those of Milton ( black over green, silver USFW ) and Midnight ( black over red, purple USFW ). I have confirmed their numbers recently when they were low on the BDC. At the courthouse, I did confirm that it is Milton for sure. Winston and Toivo, our Brampton watch team members, have also confirmed the presence of an unbanded adult female and a sub adult female who was nosing in on the territory at the Courthouse. Is one of these females on eggs or in the old nest ledge scrape? Something worthy of investigation. I think the courthouse is the place to watch now and sort out whether we have a second nest on the go.