Bill and I spent a couple of hours, both yesterday and today, at the Stoney Creek nest site. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find either Athena or Craig.
A delayed post but important nonetheless, I stopped by Stoney Creek to check on Craig and Athena a week ago and was pleased to find both on site. I initially located Craig in the tower which was a challenge as he blended so well with the structure. He was roosting the afternoon away and at first glance, no sign of Athena. I was about to leave the site when I glanced down the road at Taylor Steel and found Athena roosting on an air vent above the shipping door. The door opened a few times while she was there and trucks exited which garnered her attention. Otherwise she was quite happy roosting there. I couldn’t help but notice how much she looks like her mother, O’Connor from the Etobicoke Sun Life site, as she clearly claimed the vent she roosted on as hers. She flew off of the vent after 20 minutes to the roof of Taylor Steel where she landed briefly before heading over to the tower to join Craig. Last year, the pair were unsuccessful in hatching eggs and we will watch the progress of this pair this season to see where they choose to nest and whether they succeed.
Bill and I just returned from a visit to Stoney Creek. When we arrived, one Peregrine was sitting on the very top arm of the tower. As we got out of the car, it took off in a hurry towards the lake and right out of sight. We drove around the area to see if we could find it anywhere, but no luck. There was only one bird visible while we were there today.
Over the past 3 weeks, Bill and I have visited Fruitland several times looking for Craig and Athena. We had been disappointed every time. We were convinced they had migrated. We took another trip on Monday and when we arrived Craig (17/Y) was sitting in the tower. He was very alert, surveying the sky (we thought he must have been looking for Athena) and had a full crop. We waited around for an hour or so in the hope that Athena would appear. No luck. We decided to pack up but did our usual check of the drum from down the road. To our surprise, Athena had been sitting on a beam, just above the drum, the whole time we were there. Once we spotted her we drove back to the Fire Hall and even after seeing her location, she was impossible to spot from the ground.
Bill and I spent some time at the Stoney Creek Site this mornings. We arrived around 11:00 am and we found both birds at home and visible in the communications tower. Dad, Craig 17/Y was sitting at the top totally surrounded by Starlings. He was very busy watching the Starlings but never left his perch. The female was sitting down lower in the tower tucked in behind a beam sleeping.
Bill and I spent some time in Fruitland this afternoon. We we arrived there was one bird visible in the tower. It must have been Dad because as soon as a few sprinkles of rain started he flew directly into “HIS” drum. The other bird was not to be found.
Bill and I spent an hour or so at the Stoney Creek site this morning. After about an hour of just hanging around and seeing nothing, we finally decided to pack up. It would be the very first time in all our visits that we have not found the adults around. We thought we better go down the road where we could get a site line into the drum. Lo and behold there sat Dad (we think), sitting right on the receiver arm in the back of the drum. The other adult was not visible.
Bill and I spent some time in Stoney Creek this morning. Both birds were visible in the communications tower. They were not making a sound. It was difficult to get a good look at their crops, but with the number of white pigeon feathers on the ground and a fresh foot in the parking lot, I would assume that a meal had recently taken place. It appeared that they were both just sitting in the shade enjoying the quiet. These two birds are very rarely apart. When you see one you usually see the other.
Bill and I just returned from spending a couple of hours at the Stoney Creek site. When we arrived, we spotted Athena amongst the steel in the tower. She took a couple of short flights. Once she was gone for about 15 minutes and we expected to see her return with prey. She came back with no prey, landed in the tower and sat preening. While she was gone, we were certain that we heard another falcon in the tower. We searched from all angles, but were not able to locate Craig. We decided that we should go down the road to get a site line into the drum, and sure enough, there sat Craig. He loves his drum and is making certain that no one gets anywhere near it.
Attached are some photos of Mom (Athena) and Dad (Craig).
