It has been pretty quiet around the Burlington Lift Bridge lately. Last week while we were looking for some Peregrine action, the Bridge went up and when it came down, this is what we saw. Mom must definitely be on vacation as she would never have allowed this is she was in town. We couldn’t believe our eyes.
If the person who saw and reported a downed Peregrine on the Skyway Bridge on Monday afternoon should read this, would you please contact Mark Nash of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation. Thank you.
A call was received yesterday that there was a downed peregrine on the Skyway Bridge. Watchers have completed a full search of the area and the Skyway both Toronto Bound and Niagara Bound. Animal Control reported that the only downed birds they located were a pigeon and a gull. Saying that, the last account of all 4 birds was on Sunday. As of last evening and early this morning, our head count was of 3 birds only. Please be on the lookout for a juvenile peregrine (Yellow and Blue Band on the right leg) that may be grounded somewhere within the vicinity of the Burlington Skyway.
This evening out of nowhere, we spotted Brant trying to land on the cable wires. To our surprise, he was carrying a bird in his talons. Was this the first successful catch? I think so, because there was absolutely no sign of Mom and Dad nor the typical screaming when Mom or Dad deliver dinner. As a matter of fact, Mom and Dad had not been seen for most of the day. Sister Diana rushed out to meet Brant screaming but she soon realized that he was not sharing.
When we arrived at the Lift Bridge this morning, we found 2 Juvies and Mom on the Hamilton Hydro Tower. Dad was nowhere to be seen. Everyone was just sitting around. It was quite foggy so I put the scope up to see if I could identify who was who. In a flash, Mom was off the Tower and heading towards Stoney Creek. We watched as she went into a dive and plucked a pigeon out of the air with no problem whatsoever. She brought it back to the bridge abutment over the Marina Parking Lot and before she had a chance to set it down, both juvies were off the hydro tower and screaming towards her. Diana won, and she certainly is not very good at sharing with her brother. He tried to get close but she would have none of it.
Tonight we were entertained almost non stop from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. The “Falcon Follies” started well before 8:00pm. Lots of tag, lots of talon touching and lots of screaming for food. At times there were 4 birds in the air doing aerobatics. Mom was hunting. Dad brought in what appeared to be an American Gold Finch. Everything was happening so fast, that we were uncertain as to who got the meal. Great to watch this stage of learning to hunt and chase prey.
As I stated earlier, it has been a busy couple of weeks. With the rain yesterday, Bill was finally been able to process his photos from the last couple of weeks. Enjoy.
While the “kids” maybe away from the house (or should I say the nest ledge) throughout the day, it may only for a short time depending on the nest site. Now that the juveniles are flighted, they are investigating their new world and they will be honing their new flight skills. While they will be difficult to see them for the most parts throughout the day, they are still very dependant on their parents for food and protection for many weeks to follow.
Remember that the resident adults still have the hardest part of their job still to come. Protection, feeding and training the “teenagers” to hunt and fend for themselves.
For the next 30 to 90 days - (depending on the advancement of each individual fledgling), the juveniles may still be utilizing the nest ledge and still sleeping there at nights, as this is still the only home that they have ever known. Also, remember that this still remains the occupied territory of the resident adults, and these territories (and the nest ledge itself) are still very much under the resident adults control. It is their territory and it will still be protected from all intruders!
Unlike the “non-urban” nesting falcons, most of the urban nesting adult pairs remain on territory all year long and continue to defend the nest ledge and territory throughout the entire year, even during non nesting times.
A far as the juveniles are concerned, their adult parents still have to teach them all of the life skills that the they will have to learn to survive to adulthood, (or should I say, just to survive another day)!!
By mid September, thousands of years of hard wired instincts will have the young juveniles head south on a migration and with upwards of an 80% mortality and many perils and risks ahead of them, the youngsters will need all of the help that they can just to survive their first year. The adult parents have their job cut out for them trying to teach the juveniles how, what and where to hunt food, and how to recognize and escape from all of the “bad guys” out there.
Stay tuned, and keep your eyes to the skies over the next few weeks in and around the nest sites as the best viewing is yet to come!
Linda Cherriere Reports:
Barry and I arrived sometime before noon hour and were not sure if both juv’s were present. I’d see one then see maybe another in a different location but not both at the same time. So I had a very uneasy feeling for the next few hours until later in the day when Mom caught a pigeon and took it up to the playpen. A Juv popped up and then I checked on the other spot where I new Dianna flew to and she was still there. Yyyyyeeeeeeeeeess! Both accounted for. We left around seven and there wasn’t much flying going on. Perhaps the higher temperature had something to do with it. An Osprey flew by on the lakeside and got dive bombed shortly after we arrived this morning.
When we arrived around 9AM, we were able to locate Brant sitting tall on the “Man Cave” otherwise known as the Old Nest Ledge. Dad has obviously taught him well. We searched everywhere for Diana and were unable to find her. So we just waited her out. Barry and Linda Cherriere arrived a short time later and Barry focused his scope on the “Man Cave” watching Brant. A short time later, a second head appeared from down in the Old Nest Ledge and all of a sudden the “Man Cave” became the “Co-Ed Cave” as Brant and Diana hung our there for most of the day. Dad took one of the juveniles so high this afternoon that you almost needed binoculars to see them. This evening, there was a lot of flying and talon touching going on. All seems to be well. Brant and Diana are flying well and the landings are amazing. Hopefully, we will see more lessons in the next few day.