March 25, 2012 - Mississauga - Holcim
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Frank, Bruce and I all met down at Holcim today to follow up on my observations yesterday of a potential egg at the site. While we do not have a sight line into the nest ledge itself, we knew that we could ascertain whether the female did lay an egg based on the adults behaviour… …and so we watched. For 5 or more hours. It was the best show on earth!Â
Our first sighting of either adult was of the male as he came in to the nest ledge. His stay was short as he moved to a lower roof close to where we were standing. We were able to read his band number right away and he is none other than Storm wearing a Black recovery band with 94 over D clearly legible. He was hatched in 2004 at the Etobicoke Sun Life building to Marco and Angel and were it not for the community stewardship and the CPF voluteers he would not be the success that he is today. His fledge was daring and dangerous as recounted here in a post made 8 years ago..
Posted by Mark Nash in 2004 - “Storm” as he has been named, was the first to fledge this evening. After coming almost directly to the ground, Storm spent much of his time running around the south side of Bloor Street causing a huge disruption of the local traffic and causing quite a scene on the neighbouring side streets. After receiving a telephone call from a patron in the Pub, we were dispatched and on the run once again to respond to a downed peregrine. Upon our arrival, we witnessed the community in action with close to a dozen concerned citizens surrounding Storm to prevent him from wandering once again out into the traffic on Bloor Street. Apparently Storm crossed Bloor Street at least twice not more than three feet off the ground in low flight on one occasion and walking on the ground in between the moving cars on Bloor Street on the second occasion. The group quickly moved into action stopping traffic while Storm crossed Bloor Street to the north side. He was then detained by the surrounding crowd until we arrived several minutes later.
Now a “man” and resident male at Holcim, he is a thrill to watch. He left his perch near Avonhead Road to hunt and minutes later brought in a small bird to the nest ledge. He took the food into the ledge and disappeared but we could hear him calling. He called to the female to coax her in and when she didn’t respond, he flew into the property and found a building to stash his package. He then flew up to a tall stack to preen. Shortly thereafter, the female appeared landing on the nest ledge. There she stayed for awhile but was too far away for a really good look. Storm left his perch on the stack and joined her for an opportunity to mate. He then took off and not 20 feet away from us, snatched a pigeon right out of mid air. No stoop, just a snatch. He took the meal to a low roof near the nest ledge where the female joined him, they exchanged the food and she set in to eat. Not 5 minutes into her meal, Storm was on the nest ledge and a third male interloper was in the air above the pair. The two resident adults quickly escorted the rogue out of their air space sending the bird west. The pair then returned to the nest ledge, checked in the back on something and flew to the center of the plant to mate. Things calmed down for a spell and the female returned to the ledge for a nap. It wasn’t long before the local Red Tailed made an appearance which drew the female off of her perch right over our heads where she grounded the hawk with a warning stoop. More food exchanges and more mating capped off the afternoon adventures with several visits to the nest ledge for brief disappearances into the corner. We are fairly certain that the first egg has arrived.
Just as we were packing up to go, the female came in on the low roof right beside Avonhead Road. We were able to set the scope up again and get a look at our girl and she wears a Black over Green band with S over 40 clearly marked. She was named Caspian and was hatched in 2008 at the Bank One nest site in Canton, Ohio to the infamous Maverick and Priscilla. Although she originally was given a USFW band, it is clearly no longer there leaving her right leg bare.
Phew!! A fantastic day of watching peregrines! Bruce, Frank and I all agree that based on behaviour, the first egg did arrive last night. While we can’t visually confirm this, all three of us are confident of our conclusions. Way to go Storm and Caspian and congratulations Holcim!!!
Posted on March 25, 2012 11:35 pm
March 24, 2012 - Mississauga - Holcim
Tracy Simpson Reports:
On site yesterday at Holcim I immediately found the female on the lip of the ledge that the pair have traditionally nested on for the past several years. She was napping away and so I set my sights on trying to locate the male. He was on a higher elevation just out of her sight relaxing. He took to the air and came around to see her which started her whining for him. He flew up to an overhang and I wasn’t quite sure what he was doing until he appeared with food. He flew onto the ledge ee-chupping his little heart out and they exchanged the food and she was off. She didn’t go far with it, ending up on a low elevation with a direct line of sight to the nest ledge. After finishing off his gift, she remained where she was and started to drift off to sleep despite the winds that were challenging her balance on the small rail that she stood on. Within 10 minutes, he flew in and the pair mated. She stayed right where she was only moving slightly to get out of the gusty winds. Talk about egg lethargy!! She appears as though she is ready to lay and egg this weekend and I suspect that this will be the pairs first. With the winds and light rain yesterday, any egg previous to this would be covered by an adult. This was not the case as both adults were in my view for over an hour and at no time did one of the pair enter the ledge and disappear. Also of note, at no time did the female roost and her body posture told me that she is heavy with eggs. Great news for Holcim!! I will be back on site today to check in and see whether her behaviour has changed indicating that she has released the first egg of the season.
Posted on March 25, 2012 9:25 am
March 11, 2012 - Mississauga - Holcim
Tracy Simpson Reports:
A beautiful day in southern Ontario so Frank and I decided to get out and about to visit some local peregrines. We headed down to visit the pair at Holcim that have still eluded us in identifying them with the hope that we might get lucky today. As we arrived, the female flew in and landed low on the Avonhead Road side of the plant and we were able to get great looks at her, but she kept her band well hidden from us as we snapped pictures and observed her from the road. The male flew in from out of nowhere and got straight to the business at hand of mating. He left and landed on another low roof further away with his back to us, keeping HIS band well hidden also. Frank and I stayed for over an hour and watched as the two preened and roosted the evening away and after one more mating, the male took of on a serious hunt for food as the female sat and roosted. It was wonderful to see the activity of this pair and get good looks at them as they are a very handsome couple. One thing we can confirm without a doubt is that the male is a local Canadian with a solid black recovery band on his left leg and the female is wearing a black over green recovery band on her left. After looking through our pictures until the wee hours of the morning, we did get a shot of her band but it is not clearly legible. Drat! We will be back to Holcim as soon as we can to visit once again before the pair begins the process of laying eggs. Looks like Holcim is set for another successful year!! Congratulations to the folks at Holcim!!
Posted on March 12, 2012 10:32 am
January 29, 2012 - Mississauga - Holcim
Tracy Simpson Reports:
After the weekend we had last weekend, we decided to try our luck again with the Holcim pair. When we arrived, the female was on one of the buildings right in the centre of the property. Within a couple of minutes, the starlings that were lounging along the east side took to the air and we looked for a potential culprit. Next thing we see is the male perched above the female in the same area of the plant. After a few fairly good looks, I can say for sure that he is a Canadian born and bred boy as his solid black band was clearly visible. We went down to a local park to check out some of the offshore wildlife, figuring that the pair might move in our absence. By the time we returned, they were still sitting in the same spot as we left them looking like a pair of gargoyles.Â
Posted on January 30, 2012 9:26 am
January 21, 2012 - Mississauga - Holcim
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Frank and I travelled out to Holcim to visit with the resident pair there and had quite an adventure. We spent approximately one hour before the pair appeared but when they did, the male flew up to the south corner of the eastern building to sit in the sun while the female made short work of what looked to be a gull. She took her time filling her crop and it was a treat to watch her. She is quite a large female and has a very impressive girth.
As we were leaving, we headed up the road to the stop sign and caught sight of a whirling flock of about 700 or more starlings. Frank encouraged me to stop and get a picture of the massive flock that represents such a target rich environment for the peregrines. I backed up from the stop sign 10 feet, got out, got the camera, took a picture and then was ready to go. I pulled up to the stop sign and to our right, a beautiful male kestrel.   I backed up from the stop sign 10 feet, got out, got the camera, took a picture and then was ready to go. We pulled up to the stop sign to make a right turn, and out of the corner of my eye I catch movement. At the same time, I hear an alarm call. Across four lanes of traffic in front of me flies a Merlin with a starling in its talons. So…  I backed up from the stop sign 10 feet, got out, got the camera, took a picture and then was ready to go.  As we were ready to leave, a Red Tailed hawk flew into the tree above the Merlin, causing him to drop his prey and he flew up to the hydro wire where he stayed until the hawk left. It was only then that he went down to retrieve the starling and take off to safety to eat. A target rich environment indeed; three falcon species in 10 minutes in one square block!! What a day! And I can say without a doubt, if Frank wasn’t with me to witness it all, no one would have ever believed me!!
Posted on January 22, 2012 11:18 pm
January 15, 2012 - Mississauga - Holcim
Tracy Simpson Reports:
The third and final stop that Frank and I made on the west end peregrine tour was at the Holcim plant. In the past week, we were treated to a sighting of a single adult on one of the taller buildings of the plant. We returned today in the hopes of finding a pair and were delighted to see that both adults were there sunning themselves on the nest building.  The sun at this point was not in our favor for the best viewing but we still managed to watch the pair for 45 minutes as they preened the day away. It looks like Holcim is on track for another successful nesting season!!!
Posted on January 16, 2012 10:57 am
January 10, 2012 - Mississauga - Holcim
Tracy Simpson Reports:
Frank and I went down to the Holcim plant to check in on the resident adults and see whether we could locate either of them. After a few passes along the Lakeshore, we were able to spot an adult roosting on one of the structures on the Holcim plant itself. It was wonderful to see the adult holding the territory and we look forward to another successful nesting season this year!
Posted on January 13, 2012 1:40 am
November 11, 2011 - Mississauga - Holcim
Frank Butson Reports:
While poking around the internet,I found this article posted at e! Science News. So all will see it,it is being posted on each of our nestsite pages. This is too important to miss.
The original article can be seen here: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2011/04/18/new.pollutants.detected.peregrine.falcon.eggsÂ
Here is what it says:
New pollutants detected in peregrine falcon eggs
Flame retardants are chemical compounds added to fabrics and plastics to keep them from burning easily, but these can be toxic. Now a team of researchers from Spain and Canada has detected some of these emerging pollutants for the first time in peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) eggs in both countries. “The presence of ‘dechlorane plus’ and other related, chlorinated compounds used as flame retardants have been detected for the first time in the European biota (flora and fauna of the region)”, explains Ethel Eljarrat, co-author of the study and scientist at the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Studies (IDAEA-CSIC, Spain).
The researchers have found these substances in peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) eggs in both Spain and Canada. The flame retardants are often added to textiles, electronic circuits and other products to inhibit or resist the spread of fire, but can be transferred to the environment.
In nature these compounds are “bioaccumulating and bioconcentrating” all along the food chain, as evidenced by the research published in the Environmental Science & Technology journal. The international research team for this study was led by Begoña Jiménez of the Institute of Organic Chemistry (CSIC, Spain), and Environment Canada researchers, Kim Fernie and Mehran Alaee.
Having received the relevant permits, eggs that had failed to hatch from various active falcon nests in Canada and Spain, were collected. The collection involved 13 eggs from Spain (five in Guadalajara – a territory representative of an inland habitat of the Iberian Peninsula - and eight in Bilbao - representing a coastal environment), and 12 eggs from Canada (Great Lakes Region and Eastern provinces).
The levels of some of the measured contaminants have been found to be somewhat higher in Bilbao than in Guadalajara, and the authors believe this may be due partially to the difference in the falcons’ diet: more aquatic in the former and more terrestrial in the latter. In fact, if fish is highly contaminated, peregrines would accumulate more of the harmful substances. While peregrine falcons do not eat fish, they prey upon other birds, some of which may eat fish.
Selecting the peregrine falcon was no accident. This species was endangered in many areas of the northern hemisphere due to the use of organochlorinated pesticides, particularly DDT, though when this was prohibited in the 1970s the populations recovered. Furthermore, falcons are at the top end of the food chain and accumulate substances carried by their prey.
Highest levels in the Canadian samples
The results reveal that the concentrations of ‘dechlorane plus’ and some of the other chlorinated halogens were “significantly higher” in the Canadian falcons’ eggs than in those of Spain. The reason for this could be that the industry that has manufactured these compounds for decades (although they are now also produced in China) is located in New York State close to the area where samples were collected. In addition, the use of these compounds has generally been higher in North America than Europe.
The researcher acknowledges that the effects that these flame retardants may have on the falcons’ eggs or on their development are still unknown, “but their detection is a first step”. These are emerging pollutants, which comprise both those which have appeared more recently and those that have been used for a long time but are just lately the subject of environmental interest.
Other flame retardants, including some brominated flame retardants, have already been confirmed as toxic endocrine disruptors, and their use has been prohibited in some of the commercial mixes in Europe and America. Furthermore, they are candidates for inclusion on a list of Persistent Organic Pollutants to be eliminated, a list compiled by the Stockholm Convention which includes other pollutants such as DDT or dioxins.
This study forms part of the doctoral thesis submitted this month by the researcher Paula Guerra from IDAEA on “The analysis of emerging halogenated flame retardants and their impact on the environment and on humans”. All of the eggs were analyzed by her during her exchange studies at Environment Canada.
A research group at IDAEA led by Damià Barceló has also confirmed the presence of these compounds in sediment and fish in the rivers of the Ebro basin (Spain). Source:FECYT-Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
Posted on November 11, 2011 5:56 am
July 16, 2011 - Mississauga - Holcim
Bruce Massey Reports:
Saturday July 16th - 2011
Holcim
Arrived @ 0500 Hrs. Found 1 Adult (M) on South End of Smaller Silos on East Side of Holcim property. The Bird eventually flew North & then West into the Centre of the Plant. I started walking West on Lakeshore and as I was even with the Front Gate I saw a bird fly out over the Middle of the Plant and land on the West Side of the Tall Silos. It was hard to tell with my 10X Bins whether it was an adult or juvie.
Bruce M
Posted on July 18, 2011 12:37 pm
May 27, 2011 - Mississauga - Holcim
CPF Postmaster Reports:
We have only just yesterday received news from Holcim that there has been a photo confirmation of a hatch. .
The second last photo that we received shows the resident adult female in a “brooding posture” as opposed to an incubation posture, as she is covering something under her, with a hunched back and cupped wings. This combined with her lack of interest in the two eggs to the right of her suggests that she is already brooding a hatchling (if not two hatchlings). Subtle differences in the body posturing of the adult female as she was photographed and the event captured in the first photo tell a story of a hatch.
This most recent photo tells the complete story indeed as there are clearly four chicks. Given what we know in that the eggs hatch approx. every other day, the presence of 4 hatchlings, in addition to the first photo of the resident adult female believed to be actually brooding something, and now seeing a photo taken on May 24th of all of the hatchlings, the oldest two chicks are at least 15 days to 17 days old as of yesterday - (May 26th).
Sadly, this news may have come too us far too late in the game to be able to schedule a banding with all of the other bandings already scheduled. Remembering that this site also needs the support of a rock climber and support personal outside of the nest site hosts that also have to be booked and scheduled to pull off a banding. This is one of the reasons that we need updated accurate logistics on territorial activity, egg production, the start of full time incubation and a hatch date as it happens so we can log these events in anticipation of expected hatch dates for banding schedules.
Sadly, it will be left up to the Ministry of Natural Resources scrambling to band the fledglings if and when they come to ground. We can only hope that someone from the MNR will be around when the fledge happens.
Posted on May 27, 2011 2:24 pm
