August 13, 2013 - International, National and Local News
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Over the past week, Bruce, Cathy, myself and a few others have popped in to check up on Chester and his family. I was fortunately enough to catch sight of Lucky at home and Bruce has seen AM-E stopping in to occasionally harass the parents in the hopes of a tidbit. It’s been great to see the family doing so well and it is in part thanks to the exceptional watchers out there.
With so many concurrent watches happening this year, we were certainly short staffed for some of the sites around Toronto. As with several other sites, there was a small crew at ICICI that held the fort and kept the kids safe from danger on their first flights. Cathy and Irma were the mainstays at the site this year and were instrumental in helping to run this watch. With help from Mark, Marion, Bruce and a few others both Lucky and AM-E are flying high. As with many of our other sites where we have an unbanded female, we will often give them names and at this site we wanted to give that opportunity to a watcher that was the mainstay of this year’s Fledge Watch team. Cathy was asked to submit a name for the unbanded resident female and has decided on Jenna as her new moniker.
Thank you Cathy, Irma, Marion, Mark and Bruce for all of your efforts this year on the watch and the many others that stopped in to help. We look forward to Chester and Jenna having another successful season next year.
Posted on August 13, 2013 11:18 am
August 12, 2013 - International, National and Local News
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Well. On Friday he had two girls arguing over him. On Saturday he had one girl hanging out with him. Yesterday little Ossie was alone at the Revenue Canada building and seemed to be enjoying time to himself to sleep and do some feather maintenance.
Watching him I was feeling a little nostalgic and thinking about the fledge watch at William Osler last year with him and his sister. When he was just a juvenile at William Osler, he and his sister Tobi spent much of their time teasing one another. He being the older of the two would often take advantage of his sister’s wobbly growth period, sneaking up on her and plucking down off of her rump after which he would happily bounce down the ledge before she could catch him. He thought that it was just a gas! As flighted juveniles, the games between the two would get rather racous and it was always tit for tat. His sister would fly by him roosting on the H sign at the hospital and bonk him on the head with her foot as she flew through and in return he would fly into the ledge while she was sleeping and grab her by the tail with both feet, hanging on while she wailed and dragged him down the ledge. All of these games along with the training by his father, Hurricane, set him on a course to be ready for days like these. He has shown us over the past few days that he has the potential to be a great territorial male and boy does he ever look like Hurricane!
Yesterday he was quite happy for the break though, resting on the northeast corner of the Revenue Canada building on his own. As I watched, his head was swivelling north, then east and finally south towards the MEC complex that he could see quite clearly several kilometres south. He has learned well by the experience of his father that when the girls get into it, you just simply get out of the way. On this day he was doing just that. Out of the fray but keeping his eye on everybody around him. The MEC territory is the closest to Mississauga North whereas George St. in Brampton is almost 10km away. We still have migration and a whole lot of activity to come but we do hope that Ossie is successful in setting up a territory of his own.
I was able to get some pictures of this handsome young man that I do hope you enjoy.
Posted on August 12, 2013 1:17 pm
August 11, 2013 - International, National and Local News
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Well… …um… Ok. That’s how we are all feeling these days about the Hurontario corridor. While right now we can expect that migrating adults, subadults and juveniles will be moving through shortly and that things won’t settle until next spring we are determined to at least try and understand who the local players in the game are. Note that I said TRY!!
Yesterday, Bruce arrived at the Mississauga North location and did a full walk of the territory to little avail. Sue and Bill joined him in the morning for some observation and there was one thing that they could positively ascertain and that was that the female roosting on the Revenue Canada building was confirmed again as Black 98 over Red E who is Midnight from the Brampton North territory. There was no sign of the male during their visit and he did not make an appearance until about 1pm in the afternoon. I started around the lunch hour at MEC, checking all of the buildings, rooftops, antennas and hideaways that I could and found no peregrines whatsoever. I headed north and continued to scan the buildings for signs of a peregrine and continued to come up empty. When I reached Bruce’s location on Avebury, he had Midnight now sitting on the Oracle building on the north side. We bundled into my car and did a serious drive about of the territory to the east and although we found some interesting high points where these birds could be sitting, we didn’t find a single peregrine. Back to Revenue Canada we went. When we arrived the female, Midnight, came in and landed on the southeast corner of the building where she roosted and preened for a while. The male came in shortly thereafter and the pair then took off around the building and north out of view. We walked aroud the building and found the female on the northeast corner but the male’s whereabouts were unknown. He came in shortly thereafter from the southeast to the northeast corner and landed about 15 feet away from Midnight. It was then that I was able to get a view of both his band and his tracking tape and identify this male. The band number on this bird is confirmed as solid black O over 8 and is a three character band. These bands that have a line dividing the upper and lower characters have not been used in a long time but last year, 2012, one was applied to a male chick at the William Osler Hospital and yellow tape was placed over the USFW band. This is Ossie from the 2012 nesting season of Hurricane and Chessie at William Osler!
He sat on the corner for a few minutes and then excitedly ran down the ledge towards Midnight who currently had her back to him. Her reaction was not “happiness to see you” as she raised her hackles and mantled. Ossie slowed his approach and stopped about 5 feet from her. Good choice. Midnight was very uneasy and unsure what Ossie’s intentions were and she turned to place herself in a launch position should things get serious. With Ossie now relaxed, preening and nodding off to sleep Midnight also relaxed and dozed a bit herself. These were the only two birds to be seen and the elusive Black over Green female was not sighted.
At this point, Bruce headed up to Midnight’s old territory at George Street in Brampton to see whether we now had a void there. Oh no we don’t!! Bruce found a male roosting on the overhang of the George Street condo and could confirm a silver USFW band on his right leg. Moments after our phone conversation, both Midnight and Ossie took off and I left to join Bruce in Brampton. Both Bruce and I scoured the downtown Brampton area and the only located peregrine was at George Street. We set up to watch the male on the overhang in the hopes of a peek at the recovery band. He was so high up and completely unwilling to share his identity but we maintained our position regardless. All of a sudden he began to bow and vocalize and in plops a female to the ledge!! She disappeared into the “cavity” on the ledge that was used this year to lay eggs (they failed to hatch) and out of view. After about 15 minutes of on and off vocalization by the male, he took off of the ledge and was soaring in lazy circles high above the territory. The female walked forward and I was able to get band colours only. Black over Red on her left and purple USFW on her right. ?????????? She was way too high up for a read of the numbers and so I cannot confirm who this was. I would just have to wait until she came down lower. The male joined her once again for another raucous chit chat before stooping off to the east and swooping up to the low BDC sign. Gotcha, I thought. I thought.
I grabbed my gear and scrambled over to the Market Square in the hopes of identifying the male. Nope. He was sitting too far back on the sign to see his leg. Grrrrr. I waited him out and got one fast look at his legs during a stretch. He definitely has a silver USFW on his right leg and a solid black band on his left with the lower letter being a Y. Is this Striker? I couldn’t say for sure.
So… here is what we know for sure… …Ossie and Midnight were seen at the Mississauga North location and both ID’s are confirmed. A black over red banded female and a solid black banded male were seen at George Street in downtown Brampton almost 10km away to the north. The black over green female was not seen today at either location.
While this will most definately settle out next spring but it is an interesting mystery in front of us nonetheless . It will be very interesting to see who sticks around after migration is over and the winter settles in. Those will be our early spring contenders!!
Posted on August 11, 2013 1:17 pm
August 10, 2013 - International, National and Local News
Tracy Simpson Reports:
With the possibility of a new pairing shaping up, Bruce made his way out this afternoon for a check of the Hurontario corridor beginning with a quick sweep of downtown Brampton. On the condo overhang he was able to confirm a single peregrine on the ledge that he believes, based on size, was female. He then headed down to the Mississauga North territory at Hurontario and Hwy. 401 to check on the pair hanging out there. Rob was fortunate earlier to get a photo of a falcon on the Revenue Canada building with what appeared to be bright red on its left leg. While this could be tape on a bird banded with the USFW on the left instead of the right leg, Bruce aimed to find and confirm by scope who this was and confirm the second bird as well. When he arrived, he walked the entire territory in search of the birds and none were to be found. I decided to meet up with him and help locate and identify the birds and we also planned to travel further south to MEC where we are now void a resident female due to the loss of Cass a few weeks ago. Well, the best laid plans went quite whacky after I arrived.
I met up with Bruce as a bird had just arrived on the southeast corner of the Revenue Canada building and was perched looking southeast. The bird sat almost motionless for quite some time and I was able, when it turned, to get an absolute positive look at the band and read it without any doubt. The band was Black 98 over Red E with a purple USFW on the right leg. This was Midnight from downtown Brampton???!!!! There was no sign of the female we believe could possibly be Alfrieda based on a partial reading of her Black over Green band two days ago. What on earth was this now???
After 15 minutes or so, in came another falcon and landed on the upper retaining wall of the Revenue Canada building on the south side. I heard him come in and vocalize and Bruce watched him land. What made this interesting is that at the time Midnight was preening and his vocalization actually caused her to flinch. She was on edge. We spun that scope around to get a look at the bird that we knew to be the male and could only see his back and right leg as he perched. We both confirmed that he had a USFW band on the right leg with yellow tape and that he appeared to be a subadult. The left leg was hidden and with it, so was his identification. The pair stayed on the building for almost 2 hours during which the male went in onto the sub-roof area for almost 15 minutes out of view and Midnight remained on the southeast corner. Midnight finally took flight and made a straight shot out of view. The male appeared on the retaining wall edge but stayed back just enough to keep his left leg hidden. I had him right in the scope view when all of a sudden he bowed. The female had returned. She landed just to his right and looked furious. Her hackles were up, wings held out and neck stretched out towards him. He took off like a shot and was out of view for a good 5 minutes before returning to the northwest corner of the building. He then took off again, circled back and landed on the southeast rooftop. At this point the female, still puffed up and aggressive looking, stepped forward and I was able to clearly see a Black over Green band but no digits were clear. What????!!!! In the space of three hours we now had two completely different females on the same face of the same building after the same male. The male took another flight off of the corner around to the female and this time she pursued. They both flew south and she took a shallow run at him that was not bonding but slightly aggressive. The Black over Green banded female continued south and the male circled back alone to the southeast corner. There he sat alone as the sun was setting looking off to the southeast with eyes as round as pie plates. He was so on edge that he was flinching at passing insects!!
This whole experience this evening has completely reshuffled my mental deck and so I will attempt to summarize for you.
Last year between Bruce, myself and Rob we were sporadically catching sight of a juvenile peregrine female. She was confirmed in the territory in May of this year and we were only able to confirm a silver USFW. The past few months the sightings of her on the Revenue Canada building have increased and she was now being seen much more frequently by Rob who was keeping an eye on her. I was lucky enough to catch her two days ago on the building and get a partial look at her band in the scope. Black 73 over Green ?? is what I believe her to be. Yesterday Rob had a second peregrine on the building with her and we set our minds to confirming who this pair is. Today, not one female but two were in the territory, one confirmed as Midnight from Brampton North and the other confirmed as having a Black over Green band that came from the south. It was very apparent by their behaviour that they are arguing over the dashing little male who’s identity remains a mystery for now. Given that we are coming into migration soon things will be unsettled as birds move through but you can bet that we will be staying on it and will keep you updated. Phew!!
Posted on August 10, 2013 2:17 am
August 09, 2013 - International, National and Local News
Tracy Simpson Reports:
I just heard news from Rob that the female we believe to be Alfrieda is still active around the Mississauga North buildings with a male yet to be identified. While on lunch break, Rob took a peak to see if they were there and the pair came bombing in with much chit chat. They definately seem to be courting and beginning to bond! We will be working hard to discover who the male is and confirm without a doubt that this female is Alfrieda. Don’t touch that dial there is so much more to come!!
Posted on August 9, 2013 12:32 pm
August 09, 2013 - International, National and Local News
Tracy Simpson Reports:
From the visit by Bruce and I at ICICI on Sunday, some photos of little Lucky showing off his blue tape!
Posted on August 9, 2013 12:05 pm
August 08, 2013 - International, National and Local News
Tracy Simpson Reports:
On Sunday Bruce and I also made a stop in at the ICICI nest site to check in on Chester and the family. It was fairly quiet when we arrived but after a bit of scanning, we found Lucky perched on the north side of the nest building on one of the I’s. He sat there roosting and preening quite relaxed and enjoying the cool afternoon. After about 15 minutes, another falcon did a quick fly by of Lucky and then disappeared off to the west. We located the bird on the Forester building on one of the letters. We couldn’t tell for certain who it was other than it was definately an adult and we believe it to be the resident female. A great visit at ICICI and really nice to see Lucky home! I will post some pictures tomorrow as they need resizing. Check back tomorrow for pics of Lucky!!
Posted on August 8, 2013 11:53 pm
August 08, 2013 - International, National and Local News
Tracy Simpson Reports:
For almost a year now Rob, Bruce and I have been chasing a juvenile peregrine female around the Mississauga North area attempting to identify her. A really big, dark and heavily streaked female, she has challenged and frustrated us by always sitting so high up our scopes were useless or turning her recovery band in towards the Revenue Canada building that she roosts on. Yesterday while in Mississauga, I was fortunate enough to have her roosting on the building, left leg in, and I was determined to wait her out. I got out the scope, camera and any other tool I could find to try and identify her. I got lucky.
She made a short flight from one corner of the building to another and was flipping her head like a little kid at something. I was able to capture band colours and the top digits only in the scope view and on the camera. Given that I knew her banding year to be 2012, last year as she is just now moulting into her subadult phase, and the colours and top digits, I took a chance and contacted the New York DEC for a bit of a scavenger hunt. I sent off an email with the information I had. How many females in 2012 could have that top digit combination? Well, just one.
The female at the Revenue Canada building in north Mississauga is Alfrieda, banded Black 73 over Green AW and she was hatched at the Central Terminal nest site in 2012. She is daughter to Gleig from the Hamilton Sheraton Hotel and Diamante from Rochester.
Now I must warn you that this ID is preliminary and MUST be confirmed by a full reading of the band but the chances that this is Alfrieda are very high. The DEC shared with me that Alfrieda struggled in her fledgling phase and was rescued from the ground twice before really getting her wings. Not only is she now in Ontario but as of today, our watcher Rob Mueller found her with a male!! I knew yesterday when she was flipping her head and being somewhat silly that it had to be another falcon that I couldn’t see. You don’t flip your head at food or predators if you want to succeed!! He made his first appearance today and we will be working very hard to confirm Alfrieda as the female and discover who her mate is.
Pictures will be posted shortly so please check back.
Posted on August 8, 2013 11:20 pm
August 07, 2013 - International, National and Local News
CPF Postmaster Reports:
Aug 7th - 2013
With thanks to Anne Turcotte for sending in her photo of a peregrine that she photographed on Aug 7th - 2013.
Nice shot, thanks Anne!
Anne writes:
Lake Superior, on Palette Island, Shuniah Township, Canada (30k East of Thunder Bay). Photo below taken from our bedroom window on the Island.
Anne Turcotte
Posted on August 7, 2013 3:05 pm
July 23, 2013 - International, National and Local News
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Ok. So here’s the story. Back in 2012, a pair of peregrines were hanging around at the Alt Hotel near Viscount Rd which is on the north side of Pearson International Airport. We were alerted to their presence as the hotel had called for assistance regarding these birds on their building. Not knowing what they were, they reported two loud grayish birds with one louder brown one dropping prey remains around the grounds. After investigating the site, Bruce and I were able to confirm the pair of peregrines and identify them as Claire banded Black *S over Green *B hatched in 2009 at the Blue Water Bridge in Michigan and Casper banded solid Black 35 over Y hatched in 2009 at a residential nest site in southern Ontario. They had produced at least one male offspring that we were able to photograph and we were able to determine that their buildings of interest were the Hilton Garden Inn and the Alt Hotel. We continued to check in on the pair and by early December, Claire was no longer present. This prompted Casper to incur on a neighboring territory, the William Osler Hospital, and oust the resident male Hurricane who was missing and replaced sometime after Dec. 22, 2012. We continued to monitor both territories and by mid January Chessie, the resident female at William Osler, was now following her new mate Casper down to the Hilton. In Feb. 2013, they were photographed in the Hilton territory and were also seen roosting at the Osler territory. Casper was forcing a decision by Chessie; which site dear? In March they were copulating in both territories but Chessie finally settled on the Osler site which Casper was bound to follow. Just prior to egg laying in late March, I attended the site and found the male sitting calmly in Hurricane’s usual roost spot mimicking his behaviour. No imitation here, it was indeed Hurricane back on the site. We checked the Hilton territory off and on for weeks thereafter with no sign of any adults whatsoever. No white wash on the buildings. No presence at all. We deemed the territory now void and moved on to the nest sites that were now hatching eggs and in need of our attention.
As reported by Mark Nash earlier, on July 4th a juvenile peregrine falcon female was rescued from the ground in the Hilton Garden Inn territory at 427 and Dixon Road. She was turned over to Mark Heaton that day, was banded and then released on the roof of the neighboring Hilton hotel (there are two). Bruce and I were determined to check this out once watches were concluded.
On Sunday, we attended the territory and were on a mission. We started at the Alt Hotel and made the rounds. Bruce was at the Alt Hotel with no birds in sight and I was at the Hilton Garden Inn. I had located an adult male roosting on the light above the sign. Casper’s favorite hang out. I sat and waited for the look I needed at the band and was able to clearly photograph the 35 over Y on his solid black band. This was confirmed Casper. We continued our search and I located a second peregrine on the office towers one block south. I raced over to find a juvenile female on the edge of the roof. I was able to photograph, and Bruce confirmed this by scope view, that this female was unbanded making her a second surviving produced offspring by Casper and his unknown mate. We left the territory for another site with intentions of returning in the evening for the late day roost. I found the adult female on the sign of the Alt Hotel and had already had the adult male on the Hilton Garden Inn sign. I waited her out and was able to confirm by scope view that this is in fact Claire banded Black *S over Green *B. She’s back!
Our theory is this. Claire partially migrated in the late fall of 2012 prompting Casper to seek partnership elsewhere. He invaded the Osler territory and wounded Hurricane in battle. Casper won the day , the site and Chessie. At breeding season in March 2013, Chessie decided on the Osler site as her nest site of choice and Hurricane, watching from afar, was determined, now stronger and wiser, to get her and his territory back. Hurricane engaged Casper and won this round and was back at Osler with Chessie. Casper had now disappeared and was healing up from battle. Claire returns to the Hilton Garden Inn territory. Her and Casper reunite and produce a late clutch resulting in the July 4th fledge and rescue. This juvenile female had obviously not been on the wing long. If we estimate her age as around 45 to 50 days, that would put her hatch date as late June. Tracks with all that’s happened. By that time we were all engaged in dawn to dusk watches and this pair slipped two girls in right past us.
Congratulations Casper and Claire on another successful year. We are determined to confirm just which building the nest site is on although we suspect the Alt Hotel or the Hilton Garden Inn. We will keep you updated as we learn more.
Pictures to follow.
Posted on July 23, 2013 11:49 am
