!!! Another day to remember. Some sad news and some good news! A very long day again for all!
June 22, 2014 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:
June 22rnd - 2014
Just when you though it was safe to come out of the house!! Well, during the fledge watch times, its usually not!
My day started teamed up Marion down at the Canada Square fledge watch to fill in for Lyn while she had to attended to other commitments. Remembering that both Marion and Lyn have been typically doing the entire Canada Square fledge watch by themselves over the years, spending 12 to 16 hours a day in the streets, 7 days a week all by themselves for the most parts. There was no way that Marion could deal with this situation by herself this morning with two of the three young hatchlings revved up and ready to go.
We set up at the usual place on Duplex street just south of Eglinton down the street form the Metro police station where Marion and Lyn usually man the fledge watch. Finding parking is always a challenge (and very costly) and its always both a very frustrating time consuming stressful experience.
Oh god, I don’t how Marion and Lyn have been dealing with this fledge watch alone all of these years, as it became very evident as to how lucky I have been on fledge watches in suburbia!!! I have to admit, the stress was almost overwhelming, with the traffic, smog, volume of people, and the noise!!! The diesel fumes and exhausts coming out of the busses constantly coming and going from the bus terminal across the street was terrible!
The stress was all compounded by the fact that when we arrived, one young hatchling has already fledged - (and already missing), and the second chick took its first flight only minutes after we got set up!!
By the time Lyn arrived, I must admit, my nerves were fried, I was soaked with perspiration after doing 3 - 2 kms - 10 block radius walk-arounds while trying to avoid all of the traffic and volume of people while searching for one of the missing fledglings.
My stress was further compounded as I was absolutely horrified to see their resident adult female hunting pigeons a waist level in the centre of all this congestion right in the middle of Yonge Street as she weaved in and out of traffic chasing pigeons. On two occasions, I thought she was going to fly right into pedestrians walking on the side walk as she chased three groups of pigeons!!!
And this was after I had already witnessed their resident adult female fly straight into the windows of the RioCan building, bounce off the glass, lose a floor of elevation, recover, and fly back to the land on the north west corner of the Canada Square nest building across the street!!! What’s up with this??????
Marion simply fluffed this event off, siting that their resident adult female (named Haven) often flies into the windows!!!! No big deal!! She has a very hard head!
Well, I know that kids will make most parents crazzzzy nuts, but holy-cow batman, this is almost unbelievable!!! This type of event is usually followed by a not so good outcome, especially with a large heavy adult hitting windows!! I gotta get out here!!!! This watch is simply not for me!!!
Sadly, just before I left, I received a telephone call from Bruce with some bad news, in that he received a call from security at the Amexon nest site - (Don Mills and Eglinton), that there was a banded peregrine down at 150 Ferrand Drive. Unable to do much from this location, I called Kathy Kerr who was able to get down to the other Don Mills nest site much quicker than I given that she was at the Duncan Mills fledge watch and much closer. Cathy called me back after arriving at the Don Mills nest site to report that one of the young fledglings named Zeballos (nick-named Zee by the fledge watch team) was found dead on the ground below the office tower by security doing their rounds earlier. Cathy was able to recover the Zee we will be sending her off to the MNR along with the other deceased later. Very sad news indeed. See Cathy’s report on the Amexon Don Mills nest site page.
Back at Duncan Mills nest site, the fledge watch team really rallied together as they once again were on site throughout the day to be therefor their peregrines. With Bob arriving around 5:30am in the morning to focus his attention on little Stormy who was left the night before perched very low on a lower ledge elevation just over the entrance of 255 Duncan Mill. He found the fledgling lower yet again, on the lip of the glass overhead canopy only several feet from the front ground at the front entrance.
Over the course of the early part of the morning, he was joined by Sally, Cathy, Luci and Richard and Debbie, followed by Tracy and I think Bonny and her husband. When I arrived, they were all poised out on Duncan Mill waiting to spring in action for little Stormy to come to the ground. By the time I arrived in the later afternoon, there was a full fledge watch team pretty much prepared to deal with anything!!!
Throughout the morning and afternoon, the other three fledglings were observed in several short flights from various roof tops to roof tops doing not too bad. Although terrible landings for the most parts, they all were holding their altitudes and staying off the ground!
By 7pm, it was quite evident that little Stormy was simply not motivated to take flight and both Quest and Sky were not giving her any incentive to get back to a safe altitude. Given the deadness of the traffic and the available fledge watch volunteers on hand, the decision was made to capture Stormy up while we had opportunity. Knowing that the automobile traffic will be back to the usually road-rally race status tomorrow morning as everyone rushes into work Monday morning, and the huge volume of people that will be coming into this building, this was an ideal safe time to capture her-up and get her back to a safe elevation on top of the nest building roof. Bob went home to get a step ladder and an incredible long extendable painters pole, and Tracy went to her vehicle to get one of the rescue nets. With the net attached to the painters pole and the fledge watch team positioned on both sides of the street to the east and west of the front entrance in anticipation that we may not be able to get her in the net and she if she came to the ground, we were all ready.
With the ladder in position only feet below her, and the super-doper net in hand, I took the first step onto the ladder, and before I cold even look up, she took flight. We watcher fly low around the west site of 255, into the back parking lot of 225 where she was able to get enough air and altitude to make a landing on the top elevation of the above ground parking lot at the rear of 225 Duncan Mill road lot. Yaaah!! At least now she has some elevation and away from traffic!
Less than 30 minutes later, and with Quest and Sky (her parents) in flight offering some motivation, Stormy flew again, this time catching some moving air and gained enough altitude to eventually land on the upper rooftop of 240 Duncan Mill road where she joined her siblings! A very good long flight indeed!!!
You could have probably heard the cheering from all of us several blocks away!
By 8:30 pm, the falcon follies were in full swing with both resident adults flying around teasing the fledglings with food and it was chaos in the streets again trying to keep track of the four, no, six peregrines bolting and flying all over the place from rooftop to rooftop, with fledglings chasing the adults, the adults teasing with food, it was incredible.
By 9:10pm all had settled, several fledglings had been fed and darkness was closing in and pretty much everyone settled down for the evening and everything got really quiet. Most of the fledge watch team departed for home after a very long day in the streets. By 9:20pm, with Sally, Don, Sue and myself saying our good-byes, there was one last flight.
Suddenly, the quiet silence was disrupted with a loud thump and our attention and eyes were each drawn overhead to the 7th floor window of 225 directly above our heads. A spread-eagle like peregrine falcon juvenile floated spiraling down thumping on the concrete literally three feet from where we all sitting. At this very same time, Sue yelled out, oh my god, it just hit the window!
It was non-other than Cosmo, the little super-star flyer! I had only to stand up, grab my towel and walk less than four feet to pick him up. Cosmo was completely unconscious, dead looking, wings spread out, legs stiff, eyes completely closed and no movement at all. I gently wrapped him in my towel, and immediately started to massage his chest with my thumbs while I held him in my lap. What seemed to be an eternity, Cosmo finally started to breath and eventually there was movement! Minutes later, there was hissing fighting ball of fire in my hands!!!
Cosmo was later examined for other injuries and other than a small minor laceration that he sustained as a result of biting his tong as a result of his impact with the window, he checked out ok. To be safer than sorry, Cosmo spent the night in the rescue carrier, in a quiet cool environment so he cold be observed and monitored more closely. He will be released tomorrow in the daylight once he has had a final examination and cleared to be released.
A huge thank you to everyone who spent a good portion of their day out in the streets on the watch,,, (when I’m sure that most everyone would have rather been with friends and family BBQ’ing somewhere enjoying this fantastic sunny day)!!!!!! What a great team!!
By 10:00pm, I must admit, I was spent, and finally departed the Duncan Mills nest site and proceeded to the Canada Square at Yonge and Eglinton nest site to pick Marion up from her watch.
Stay tuned………..
