Toronto - King Street

One on ledge

April 01, 2017 - Toronto - King Street

Marion Nash Reports:

Quick snap shot from today. One bird on the ledge. Will they nest there this year? Keep watching!

!!! Both at Home

December 23, 2016 - Toronto - King Street

Linda Woods Reports:

Stormin and Erin on the ledge Dec 23 2017. Window washers on the Dynamic Building, so they are spending some time in view of the camera.

Stormin?

June 07, 2016 - Toronto - King Street

Linda Woods Reports:

Caught this camera image June 7, 10:50am.

Can’t read the bands, but I think it’s Stormin

!!! Despite the fact that there are still no eggs again this year, the Toronto 18 King Street pair are still very active on the nest ledge!

June 04, 2016 - Toronto - King Street

Mark Nash Reports:

June 3rd - 2016
An opportunity to review some of the nest cams,, the 18 King Street love birds are still very active on the nest ledge!
Sadly, none of the photos are clear enough to identify the leg band numbers, but once again, the female has a Black over Red leg band consistent with that of the long standing resident adult female - Erin, and the newer adult male has a solid Black coloured leg band which is consistent with that of Stormin.

Last week, the pair aggressively defended the upper east ledge elevations when Solar window washing tried to wash the east side windows. The guys were almost ignored as they washed the south, west, and north sides, (including that of their roof top set-up).

While we have no idea why Erin and Stormin have not produced these past two seasons, it is obvious that they are still very much defending and holding on to each other and the nest ledge. It is also interesting to remember, that the 18 King Street nest site is Toronto’s first, having been established back in 1995, and has been occupied by a pair of peregrines every each since 1995!

Pounce-Kingsley - (from Akron Ohio and Victoria from Pennsylvania) were the first pair to nest and produce at this site and were active from 1995 to 2002 - (and produced every year),,, then they were replaced as the site when it was taken over by Erin and Windwhistler - (a.k.a. - Spike who was produced at the Etobicoke Bloor and Islington nest site). Erin and Windwhistler have been producing each and every year up until two seasons ago.

Now its Erin and her new mate Stormin.

Given that the site has been both active and producing offspring each and every year since 1995, (and still occupied today), it is one of Canada’s longest standing occupied territories, and one of if not the most productive peregrine nest sites in Ontario and all of Canada!

It is also important to remember that Windwhistler was also double timing Erin for many years, as he was also the sire and resident adult at another nest site here in Toronto, (at the Toronto Sheraton Hotel), where each year he produced offspring at both the Sheraton and 18 King street nest site simultaneously. He flew back and forth from the 18 King Street nest site to the Toronto Sheraton Hotel on a daily basis dealing with two mates and two clutches of hatchlings at both nest sites!

He was a very busy, and a very productive peregrine!!!

During this period of time, there was a noticeable lack of adult males, and as such, we documented two adult males here in southern Ontario at two urban nest sites that were servicing two different nest sites and their resident adult females each season. Both of these males were successful in producing at both nest sites each season. We watched and documented each of these two males fly back and forth to each of their mates on a daily basis to provide food for their two mates and two sets of hatchlings!

!!! Both resident adults still very much on site, on and off the various ledges, and still very protective of their home,, but no eggs anywhere to be found!

June 02, 2016 - Toronto - King Street

Mark Nash Reports:

Tuesday May 31st - 2016
A big thank you to the Dream management group and their engineering staff for allow me access to several of their buildings that allowed me a opportunity to get a 360 degree view of the entire upper elevation of the 18 King street nest building. After receiving a flurry of phone calls from our good friends at the Solar Group, the organization that has been supporting the CPF for almost 20 years with their equipment and staff that allows the CPF to access the upper ledges of 18 King Street to do the extraction of the young hatchlings for banding,, (and the same group that does all of the window washing on many of the other buildings that host active peregrine nest sites).

Last week, the Solar window washers were aggressively stooped and dive-bombed by the King Street pair as they attempted to wash the windows on the east side of the 18 King Street nest building. The green light was given to go ahead with the buildings window washing as there has been no indication of any incubation activity on the CPF web camera this season.

For the most parts, during their window washing activities on the South, West, and North parts of the building, the resident peregrines although still very much on site and quite visible, paid little to no attention to the window washers. It wasn’t until they got to the upper east side that the peregrines let loose with an on-slot of attacks and forced them away from the east elevation. Solar had to abandoned their efforts to continue and departed the site.

So, I spent the better part of the afternoon scanning the entire upper elevations of the nest building and ALL of the ledges in an effort to find the eggs that was reported by Solar, but no eggs were observed. The resident adult female was although once again laying down on north end of the nest ledge in camera view,, but again, no eggs were present.

I can only surmise that the resident pair (which we have confirmed to be the Erin and Stormin), are simply territorial and still protecting their home as we would expect. Remembering that hormones still control most every action and its still breeding season!

I took allot of photos of ALL of the ledges on both sides of the building so I could review in detail once on the computer, and sadly, there were no eggs to be found.

!!! Eggs seen on another ledge at 18 King.

May 19, 2016 - Toronto - King Street

Marion Nash Reports:

Phil from Solar Window Washing has reported that his washers saw peregrine eggs on a new ledge on 18 king St. they have moved to a ledge further north out of site of the web camera. We hope they will be successful in hatching their eggs this year and will keep you posted so look for further updates.

!!! Toronto King St

April 22, 2016 - Toronto - King Street

Linda Woods Reports:

Although Erin and Stormin are active at the King St nest site, it doesn’t appear that eggs will be laid under camera view. Still checking the nesting area for possible alternative nest sites.

!!! Erin and Stormin are active

April 07, 2016 - Toronto - King Street

Linda Woods Reports:

Although no eggs yet at the King St nest, Erin and Stormin  remain active in the area. Just have to wait for the weather to level out, and hopefully Erin will produce and begin to incubate. Crossing the fingers, she is 17 years old, so let’s hope for the best.

Erin and Stormin Confirmed Adults at King Street

March 30, 2016 - Toronto - King Street

Bruce Massey Reports:

This past weekend I spent a total of 11 hours monitoring the activity at King Street.  The adults were both in and out of the nest ledge often during my visits and there were two attempts at copulation while I was there.  Erin spent a great deal of time on the St. James spire, one of her favorite spots, and I was able to read her recovery band.  She is black over red B over rotated D with a faded purple USFW.  Stormin spent time roosting on the south roofline of 18 King Street and I was able to see his solid black 30 over Y.

Both adults were paying a great deal of attention to the north end of the nest ledge, preferring that to the bowl commonly used behind the pillar.  At times Erin would go and lay down in the nest bowl and Stormin would visit her with gifts of food.  While we are unsure whether they will produce eggs this year, they certainly are trying.

!!! Still hope for King Street pefa’s!

March 28, 2016 - Toronto - King Street

CPF Postmaster Reports:

March 28th - 2016

Again this afternoon and early this evening, two peregrines were very active, interacting with one another on the nest ledge at the downtown Toronto 18 King Street nest site. Again, the adult male brought in food for the obvious larger sized female and left her to eat on the ledge in piece.

Shortly after she finished the food, the pair were observed together down at the north end of the nest ledge bowing and E-Chupping to one-another. While no copulation was actually observed, we can only hope that things are actually getting positive this season regardless of who we are seeing.

In one of the webcam photos taken this evening, we think that one shot clearly shows the female dawning a two coloured Black over Red leg band.

We’ll all keep watching.