affordwatches

Two at Home

August 19, 2013 - North York - Nest

Harry Crawford Reports:

At 9:45am, I was showing Peter from Australia a few of our peregrine locations.  We found the male on the north logo of the RBC building on the east side of Yonge.  The female was on the north side of the Transamerica building just across the street.

North York Adults Active in the Cooler Weather

July 24, 2013 - North York - Nest

Bruce Massey Reports:

Given that the storm front that moved through on Friday affected adults and juveniles alike, I made a point of checking up on the territorial adults in North York with the hopes of a re-sighting.  I was fortunate to find the female, an unnamed banded girl from Buffalo, up on a tower near Mel Lastman square and her mate, the territorial un-banded male, moving through and using the RBC building signs, the Trans America roof and the bell tower as stopovers.  Both birds have been sighted and are doing well.  It is unfortunate that they were not successful in producing young this year but we will continue to keep an eye on them and keep you up to date on their activities.

Resident Pair at Trans America Still Thinking Spring

May 10, 2013 - North York - Nest

Bruce Massey Reports:

This post is a few weeks late but an important one none the less.  First off, I greatly appreciate the time that Intercon Security spared for Tracy and I on April 30th to visit the 21st floor and investigate the potential nesting pair of peregrine falcons at the TransAmerica Tower.  While we did observe that the female was staying close to the light on the ledge at the north side of the building, a spot that she had disappeared into many times over the past few weeks, and the male was keeping a close watch on her, it was clear that there were no eggs present at that time. 

I continue to maintain a watch on this pair every chance that I get and what we are watching for is the repeated use of that particular area by the resident adult peregrines and the presence of only one bird at a time.  This would tell us that the other adult is occupied with the care of an egg or eggs.  Most recently we have been able to observe that pattern of behaviour and we will therefore most likely return to confirm or deny the presence of eggs on the ledge.   

The resident adult pair has been present in the area of Yonge and Elmwood for several years now.  Initially the male and female were not bearing the recovery band that is common on most peregrine falcons hatched in an urban environment in North America.  Last year, the resident female changed and the new resident is banded.  We were able to trace her origins to the Statler Tower nest site in Buffalo, New York where she hatched in 2008.  The resident male remains un-banded and we presume that he is still the original resident adult that colonized the area in 2007. 

I have posted pictures taken by Tracy Simpson taken on the day of our visit through the windows on the 21st floor. We again would like to thank Intercon Security and the building management at the Trans America Tower for their time and will certainly return in the coming weeks to check once more for the presence of eggs. 


North York Female Statler Tower Produced Female Unbanded Resident Male North York Male

North York Pair Still Going Strong

December 31, 1969 - North York - Nest

Tracy Simpson Reports:

On Friday after I finished spending time with the Canada Square folks, I made my way north on Yonge St to see if I could locate the unbanded male and unnamed Buffalo female at the Trans America building at Elmwood.  When I arrived I found the male at the very top of the building on the east side.  He was perched on the edge of an area that Bruce calls “the prow” as it really is shaped similarly to the prow of a ship.  The female was on the north side of the building on an upper ledge perch on a potlight.  The male took off of his perch and made a spectacular flight northeast on a hunt that brought him at one point low over Mel Lastman Sq.  He was back in a few minutes but without the prize he was seeking.  Within 5 minutes he was off again in the same direction and this time was away for almost 15 minutes before returning empty taloned.  The female remained on her perch throughout his flights and watched to see if he was successful.  The female finally took off on a foray of her own, circled back and landed on the RBC building across the street.  There she checked all of the cache spots for food on the signs, the corners and the roof but none was to be found.  She flew off of the RBC and circled over Mel Lastman Sq. before flying to the north ledge of the Trans America and disappearing into the ledge.  She remained tucked in and out of view for over 40 minutes while the male made another attempt at a hunt.  He was much more successful this time and landed on the north RBC sign calling her.  She didn’t emerge from the spot on the ledge that I had witnessed her entering and so he cached the prey and flew over to the northeast corner of the overhang above the ledge where she was located.  She waddled out from behind a large potlight, looked up at him and started to wail!!  “Dinner!!  Now!!”  She was relentless in her calling of him and when he didn’t move, she flew over to the Invesco building and waited, whining high and loud over the rush hour traffic.  He flew in and mated with her but that didn’t stop her demanding.  The male returned to his high perch on the “prow” of Trans America and she followed.  She physically knocked him off of his perch, all the time whining and begging, and so he circled around and mated with her a second time.  The male now flew down to RBC and showed her where the food was if she wanted it and took off to the northeast.  She finally came down off of the “prow” of Trans America and ate before returning to the same spot on the north side of their building of interest.

While there has not been any signs off eggs yet it would seem that the pair have not given up.  Bruce will be checking out the ledges this week to see if they have indeed picked a spot and whether any eggs are being laid.


Unnamed Female Unbanded Male Still Working on It

North York Pair Update; No Eggs Yet

April 16, 2013 - North York - Nest

Bruce Massey Reports:

I have been watching this pair for the past week very closely and it is clear that they have not laid eggs as of yet.  While they continue to use the Trans America, RBC and Invesco buildings regularly and are present daily in the territory, I am seeing both birds at the same time for extended periods.  I will keep a watch on these two for signs of nesting and which building they choose should eggs begin to be produced.

North York Pair Showing Interest in the TransAmerica Building

April 05, 2013 - North York - Nest

Bruce Massey Reports:

I have been watching this pair closely this spring as it would appear that they have changed their site of interest.  Usually by this time, the pair are further north near Finch and using the Xerox and other buildings with great frequency.  This year, they are focussing on the Trans America building at Yonge and Elmwood on the west side of the intersection.  The ledge they are showing the greatest interest in is facing east ( Yonge St. ) and runs the length of the east side of the building.  I am now seeing more often only one of the adults at a time which might indicate that there are eggs.  I will keep you updated on the progress of this pair as this may be the year that they successfully hatch eggs!

North York Pair Still Present and Active

March 30, 2013 - North York - Nest

Bruce Massey Reports:

Over the past several years the pair that has been hanging around Mel Lastman Square has appeared to have made several nesting attempts that did not end up in hatchlings for them.  This year the pair are back trying and are now focussing their attention on the Invesco buidling at the northeast corner of Mel Lastman Sq.  The female spends much of her time at the top of the bell tower and the male prefers to roost on a tall building across the street.  As I watched the pair last weekend, the male flew off on a hunt and returned with a prize for his lady.  She flew up to the north side of the RBC building and perched on the sign eating away.  Both birds appear to have an interest in the Invesco building on the south face where a few ledges might be available for this year’s eggs.  Copulation is happening several times a day and so eggs will soon follow.  Last year the pair was an unbanded male and an unnamed female banded black 75 over green U from Buffalo, New York.  I will continue to try and confirm their identities and keep you updated on their progress.

Update on the North York Peregrines!!

May 18, 2012 - North York - Nest

Tracy Simpson Reports:

Bruce Massey has been watching a pair of peregrines in the Yonge and Finch area for the past several years but they have not raised any young nor settled on a territory.  It would seem that things may have changed for the pair as they have been sighted now using the Trans America building at Yonge and Sheppard with great interest as well as the North American Xerox building at Yonge and Finch.  What makes this new development so interesting is that there appears to be a change in the bonded pair as the female has been identified as a banded yet unnamed 2008 hatch from the Statler Tower building in Buffalo, New York and a full sister to the female who last winter lost her territory at MEC known as Infinity.  She is currently bonded to an unbanded adult male and is seen most often in the Yonge and Sheppard area. 

To this point, the female has always been an unbanded adult and this change may herald a new interest in nesting.  Bruce believes that the pair did make an attempt this spring at the North American Xerox building but it failed to produce any young.  Right now Bruce is seeing only one adult at a time and will continue to work on pinning down just where the pair is showing interest.

What’s Going On??

May 27, 2010 - North York - Nest

Bruce Massey Reports:

     Who knows whats going on In North York.  For the second week the Birds have moved South, now down in the Old (2008) Nesting Area, centering around North York  City Center.

     In the middle of last Week, I was seeing them in the Finch/Yonge area, Male or female and occasionally Both.  This week I am only seeing one at a time again.

     As with last week, I was seeing predominately the Male

!!! Some Interesting News From North York

May 06, 2010 - North York - Nest

Bruce Massey Reports:

Over  the Winter and Spring I have been monitoring the North York Birds.   During the Winter they were seen individually but not together until around the first of April.   Since the beginning of May the Birds have been concentrating in the Yonge & Finch area, predominately on the North American Center.  As I work in the area I usually see one or the other first thing  in the Morning and again in the early PM (1230-1300 Hrs). 

      Since a pair of peregrines nested 2 years ago I have been keeping watch on them, and last year they spent the summer checking out various buildings from Sheppard to Finch but to my knowledge did not have a successful Nest since 2008.  I also touched base with the Building’s Maintenance  Supervisor, last year and again this year, and got some very Interesting reports, and if confirmed, Important Information.  The Male is Banded, (This alone makes it a New Male, if you remember the two birds that nested in 2008 were not Banded) but the most Important News was that the Band was “Reddish” in colour.  This colour would suggest the Bird is a ” Canadian Hack Released Bird”. It also represents the first time one of these birds have been reported nesting here from Canada or the US.  In the following days and Weeks I will attempt to confirm the Above and also try to see and if possible the Female  is also Banded.  Of course I will also determine if there will be a nest this year or not.