Erin Still Resident Female while Ivy Making Appearances in the Area.
December 13, 2015 - Toronto - King Street
Tracy Simpson Reports:
The observations made both in the field and through the web camera since mid-October at the 18 King Street East nest site have lead us all to believe that something was not quite the norm there. Starting back in October, there was an increase in visits to the nest ledge by both a male and female adult with serious conversations between the two dominating their time on the ledge. They would both arrive and engage in intense bowing sessions behind the pillar where the traditional nest bowl is located as well as at the far end of the ledge. The courtship/bonding sessions would go on for several minutes at a time and when one bird would leave the other would quickly follow. This had us wondering whether a new adult was present in the territory which incited the frequent activity we were witnessing.
Attempts at capturing an ID image of bands often eluded us as the adults would be facing the wrong way, they were too far down the ledge or the bands were covered by feathers. The images were wonderful and perfectly clear, if only the birds would turn just a little more towards us. In a few of the screen captures taken, the solid black on the left and silver on the right of the male coupled with the very distinct head markings made us all feel rather confident that this was still Stormin. That has since been confirmed through field observations of his band. The female on the other hand still remained elusive.
A few screen captures of the female on the ledge appeared to have dark bands on both legs but this in no way was a certainty. It did prompt us to get down to the site and attempt to make a visual confirmation of bands through our scopes. On Sept 8th we have a screen capture of Erin’s band colors and on Sept 9th I photographed her at the site confirming her presence then. On Sept 22nd she was seen on camera at night sleeping behind the pillar and as late as Oct 14th was laying down in the sun during the day in her scrape. The last confirmation I had of Erin on the nest ledge was on Nov 15th when I photographed her on the nest ledge sunning. In between all of these captures, photos and observations, we have had a very different bird stopping in periodically and briefly. We can’t confirm who this was but we believe this was Ivy.
After Ivy’s spotting in Downsview Park on Nov 19th it appears that she made her way back down to the Toronto lakeshore area and is sticking around. Last Saturday Dec 5th, Bruce spent the day at King Street with his scope and was able to partially identify a female banded black over green with a dark USFW on the King Edward Hotel on the east side. The bird was not interacting with any other, male or female, but rather just roosting. On Saturday Dec 12th, yesterday, Bruce again attended the site and spent the day observing the resident pair. He located a female on the northeast corner of a building at King and Jarvis eating a pigeon at around 10am. I checked the web camera and we had a bird at the end of the ledge at the same time. I called Linda and she was now observing a bird on a condo to the north. Three birds in view, all at the same time. Bruce was then able to confirm through scope observation the black 79 over green AN band that belongs to Ivy. She did not move from the building on which she sat for the entire 6 hours that Bruce attended. Bruce is there again as I write this and has observed two birds on the west side of 18 King Street East and is now attempting to confirm the band numbers of the female on that west ledge.
So. It would seem that Ivy has selected a potential site for herself. Erin will not give it up. It’s hers and has been hers since 2003. Erin’s intimate knowledge of the territory gives her a distinct advantage in defending it. She is seasoned. She is a wise one. She is a very big girl. Ivy’s age, a one year old sub-adult, gives her an edge that Erin, at 17 years old, may not have. Ivy is a brave competitor. There has not been a quick and decisive turnover here, Erin appears to still be in charge, but it seems we may have reached a stalemate at the moment. Two incredible females both powerful in their own rights. Stormin has wisely opted to stay out of it.
We will keep you up to date as this story unfolds.