!!! Some very sad news to report. Erin has been found, and Stormin is watching over her and guarding her body.
May 07, 2015 - Toronto - King Street
Mark Nash Reports:
May 7th - 2015
I have some very sad news to report after my site visit today in downtown Toronto today. A huge thank you to the Dream management group and security for allowing me access to the 8 King Street facilities. This viewing perspective from this building gives us an opportunity to get a detailed look of the upper west ledge elevations of the 18 King street nest building, one that is virtually impossible to see from the west from any other location, (other than the # 8 King street building) given that the entire west view is blocked by the close proximity of the other buildings to the west.
While there are still just as many questions that remain, we do although have answers to several of the most important questions that everyone has been asking.
Today, I spent close to an hour watching Stormin (the resident adult male at the Toronto Downtown King street nest site) guarding, protecting and watching over Erin’s partial remains on one of the upper west ledge elevations of the 18 King Street nest building. A very sad event to watch, one that actually brought tears to my eyes. I must admit, that I couldn’t help feel the lose myself. A truly heartbreaking observation.
At my arrival, I quickly spotted an adult peregrine on one of the upper west elevation ledges of the nest building in what appeared to be involved in brooding activities, as the adult peregrine was incredibly unsettled, standing, laying down, standing, turning, laying down, wings partially opened, then closed, then open again, turning around and laying back down. This carried on for close to 15 minutes,, (and the peregrine did an excellent job concealing what ever it was protecting / covering) as we didn’t get a decent view of what it was concealing until much later.
The sun was high in the sky, slightly to the west, and shining directly on the upper ledges where the peregrine was observed. The bird was panting heavily and was obviously very very hot as a result of the sunlight that was flooding the west elevations and ledges.
Bingo! I thought I had finally been able to answer at one of the most often asked questions these days with regards to Erin’s whereabouts. We highly suspected that she maybe have moved to the west side upper elevations of the nest building and either incubating egg(s), or at this late stage of the breeding season, brooding recent young hatchlings!
The longer that I watched, it became more obvious that the peregrine I was watching was much smaller than a female peregrine, and looked like a male!! After closer examination with the binoculars, it became quite apparent that the peregrine I was watching was in fact a male, (not a female), and non-other than the resident adult male- Stormin,, (now clearly identified by his Solid Black band number 30 over Y),, as it became visible during one of the many twists and turns.
It had also become quite obvious that this peregrine was brooding something with a real determined effort to conceal it from both our view, and protect it from the hot blazing sun that was flooding the upper ledges. For more than 20 minutes we watched Stormin attempt to cover-up a sizable gray object that lay underneath it.
I was fortunate in that we were able to utilize a vacant office suite and simply look out through the suite windows just slightly above the ledge level over on the King street nest building. (This as opposed to having to go to the upper roof elevation to make my observations).
It wasn’t long after my arrival, and after witnessing the above events, that I realized that not only was the peregrine that we were watching not a female, but actually Stormin (the resident adult male), and too my horror, that Stormin was actually protecting the partial remains of another adult coloured peregrine,, (likely the remains of his female mate - Erin) given his overall determination throughout my hour long visit.
It was also quite apparent that the deceased peregrine he was protecting and attempting to shield from the hot sun had been plundered and partially eaten as there was a large percentage of its body missing, with hundreds of smaller feathers spread out all over the ledge - (end to end).
For close to an hour, I watched and photographed Stormin move around and overtop the deceased peregrines body, with his back to us and his wings spread open in an effort to cover it from both us and the scorching hot sun.
On two different occasions, he laid down beside the body, with his beak resting on its back while he remained motionless for several minutes at a time.
On several other occasions we watched Stormin gingerly stumbled and move around the body with closed fists so as to not to cause any damage to the carcass with his sharp talons,, (very similar to the way that incubating and brooding adults move around when they are on eggs and / or have young hatchlings). On several occasions, while he was laying down beside the carcass, he vocalized at its lifeless body.
Again, I must admit, the entire event was truly heartbreaking to watch and I couldn’t help feel Stormin’s distress and really couldn’t watch any more. It was during the third time as I watched Stormin laid down beside the carcass and rested his beak on the head of the remains that I had enough and I packed up and left for the day.
I have refrained from posting the more graphic photos and photo-shopped out some of the more gory part of the images and hoping that my observation report will suffice to explain (in-part) what has taken place.
It is worth noting that the “bright red flesh” that we observed on the carcass - (as opposed to a dark red or black coloured flesh that is consistent to long exposures to the sun and air), tells yet another part of the story and some evidence of the timelines, in that the peregrine carcass was very fresh.
After speaking with Linda later this evening, it would appear that she saw both Erin and Stormin this past weekend. While the cause of her demise will likely forever remain a mystery, there is some comfort knowing that she was obviously still with Stormin on site at a familiar place, one that she has called her home for the past 14 plus years.
