affordwatches

Battle for the Territory at William Osler

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Tracy Simpson Reports:

This past weekend I was out at the William Osler nest site to check in on Chessie and see who the resident male is at this time.  Last year Hurricane went on vacation for the winter and in his stead, Casper from the Viscount Road territory spent the winter with Chessie as his mate Claire had also left.  This past winter was a repeat of the previous season with Hurricane gone at William Osler, Claire gone at Viscount Road and the remaining adults, Casper and Chessie, keeping company.

When I arrived I didn’t have a bird in sight and then bombing in from the southeast came a male and female.  The two went directly to the nest ledge and tray and were vocalizing wildly!  A minute or two later, the male came whipping out of the tray and was off to the east in pursuit of something.  Off in the distance he met his quarry and it was in fact another male peregrine.  I could see that they were locked in battle over the residential neighborhood, grabbing each other and tumbling in the air.  They disappeared below the horizon and a minute later, a bird came flying back to the site and the ledge.  It took me about 20 minutes to get a look at the band and it was indeed Casper.

Who was this challenger?  Is Hurricane back and looking to re-claim his site?  I will be out there this weekend to check on just who is who and whether eggs have arrived yet.