Ninja Trapped Behind a Glass Balcony and Released
July 14, 2015 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Another one of the new challenges that fledglings face is the glass balconies we see now commonly in use on condominiums. They get in behind the glass and cannot figure out how to get out. They try to fly through the glass and bump up against it not realizing that they need to go up and over. So was the case with Mel last week but he managed to free himself through a small opening between the panels. Not so for Ninja.
The CPF head office received a call that one of our juveniles was stuck behind a glass balcony at Kipling and Bloor on the 27th floor of one of the newer condos in the area. Once the kids at the Islington Bloor Centre learn to fly, they often go and play with the pigeons at Kipling subway station so the location was not a big surprise. Marion Nash contacted me and I was the closest so I headed out from MEC over to Viking Lane to help Ninja out.
I met the concierge and headed up to the tenants suite. The gentleman had been away for the weekend and on Sunday night when he went out to water his plants at 9:30pm, he was driven back into his unit by an angry peregrine juvenile. He contacted the concierge and started to make plans for contacting someone in the morning as it was late and he was sure no one was available. He called around in the morning and was redirected a few times before reaching our head office at the end of the day yesterday. When I arrived, Ninja was sitting in the gentleman’s tomato plant inside the circular tomato cage that helps the plant to stand up. Great. Can’t get a towel on that!! So I went out to the balcony, slowly approached from behind and put my hands around his back and wings. No problem, gotcha!!
What a nasty little attitude!! This was one angry little man!! I checked out his wings, his keel, his feet and his mouth. All clear. I hydrated him while he lashed out at me and the water bottle and he took the drinks with hiss and snap!! I looked around the balcony and when standing at the end of it, there was a clear line of sight to the nest building. I could see one of the parents on the ADP sign from where I stood and so could Ninja. This was a perfect opportunity to let a completely healthy and furious juvenile go back home. So I did. I launched him off of the balcony and he flew straight home.
I checked out the balcony for signs of Ninja’s time there. He had obviously been sitting initially on the small planter with jalapenos growing in it and shredded the entire thing. Peppers all over the place, plant stems shredded and poop in a row beneath where he sat. The droppings looked fantastic in that when he landed he had food in him and there was no sign of discoloration at all. The poops got smaller as the bird processed his food and moved on to trash the thyme planter. Shredded thyme leaves and stems all over the balcony where Ninja exercised his wrath on the poor unsuspecting plant. Finally he moved to the tomatoes. Oh dear, the poor tomatoes. The tenant informed me that between my calling him and letting him know I was on my way, up until the time I arrived, Ninja went rip and tear crazy on the tomatoes destroying the plants completely. I thanked the gentleman for calling and helping Ninja make his way home and headed down to the concierge. I left the CPF head office number, my number and Bruce’s number should there ever be a problem in the future and headed off to the nest building to check on Ninja’s return.
Well, what a homecoming! Lucky was sitting on the top of the apartment building on the Aberfoyle side looking totally confused as to where this little guy came from. O’Connor was out on a hunt and so Lucky was left to decide how to handle this juveniles return to the nest site. He kept calling OC but she was out of earshot. Lucky decided to sit tight and let this play out. Ferris on the other hand was overjoyed with the return of his brother. I had both juveniles chasing each other around excitedly and finally landing together on the Centre tower for a rest. They sat beside each other flipping heads and beak tapping in celebration of Ninja’s return. Then Ninja turned his sights on Dad. He was hungry. Feed me now!!! Ninja spent the next 10 minutes pursuing, harrassing, knocking off and screaming at Lucky for food. By the time I left Lucky had gone out on a hunt to try and calm Ninja down as his pursuit was relentless.
I was so pleased to see the two boys together once again and that this story ended with a happy conclusion. We will continue to check in on the two boys and their progress and hopefully glass balcony garden ripping is off the agenda for Ninja. Welcome home little man.