May 15th - 2012
A nice family portrait this afternoon. The eyases are getting so big already!
Eileen
A short visit to Mt.Sinai area today. I found the adult female preening on the south east corner of the structure. No other activity noted during this short visit, but they are still on site. Promising.
This past Saturday Frank, Linda and I spent several hours down at the Mount Sinai Hospital site watching Hunter and Ranger’s activities around the building. We started off our day at a higher elevation where we could see the nest tray located on a ledge on the east face of the building. While they had initially shown interest in the tray, we were able to determine that there are no eggs in the tray and that their interest is in the ledge to the right of the one with the tray. We immediately found both adults; one on the chosen ledge and the other on a building to the north by the “Intact” sign. It was easy to pick out that the one near the Intact sign was Ranger as she is one big bird! We then took our observations down to the street at which time Hunter became very active. Ranger flew into the chosen ledge and disappeared in the back corner out of our view and Hunter flew up to take her place on the other buidling. He sat there for quite some time and was joined later by Ranger. With the pair on the same building, we had another peregrine enter the territory which Hunter immediately went out to address. Ranger stayed right where she was until a fourth peregrine joined the fight and the battle continued to the north. Shortly thereafter, both adults returned. Ranger went back into the ledge and Hunter sat several ledges south of her in the last rays of the day. We were treated again to some activity as Hunter went of in pursuit of lunch and brought a fair sized pigeon down onto the lower roof of the Toronto General Hospital. He consumed his share and then flew across the street to invite Ranger to take her fill.Â
It is hard to say what exactly they are attending to in the corner of that ledge but they are certainly showing great interest. We are still seeing both birds periodically together and so a full clutch of eggs is not likely at this time. We hope that the pair can have a successful year this season which would make it their first ever. It has been a decade of trying for Hunter, 12 years old now, and Ranger who turned 11 years old this year. We wish them the best of luck this season and hope that 2012 is their year. Check back soon as there are many pictures from the day to follow.
Wednesday morning around 11:10 am , a quick visit found both adults paying particular attention to the second and third ledge on the east side of the east side of the hospital. The activity is more defined rather than just random visits to all the ledges. More observation is needed.
Around 10:30 a.m., both Ranger and Hunter were seen sitting on the first ledge, east side of Mt.Sinai. They were there for about 10 minutes, the male flew off and out of view. Can’t say they have eggs yet.
Frank and I joined Linda Woods this weekend to catch a view of the territorial pair at the Mount Sinai Hospital. This year their interest has turned to the nest tray installed on the eastern ledge of the building and we were delightfully surprised to see both adults on site.Â
At first there was no indication of an adult anywhere. Within 15 minutes of our arrival, a pair was seen soaring above the hospital moving southwest and the male was stooping the female in spectacular displays of “see what I can do”. Their soaring took them in a complete high altitude circle around the territory and finally out of our sight. A few minutes later, in flies the male to the eastern ledge where the tray is located. Into the ledge, then out. Then back in (out of our view) and then back out to the edge. The male was very interested and had a morsel of food that he was obviously attempting to draw the female in for an exchange. He lost patience and flew off with the food landing several ledges to the south where the female was hiding back out of our line of sight. The pair then made several short flights and landings back and forth on different ledges along the eastern face of the hospital and if I had to guess, based on what they were doing, which ledge they had chosen I would have said all of them!! The didn’t settle on one in particular while we were there but most certainly the third ledge south of the northeast corner was landed on the most, which coincidentally is where the tray is located. While we weren’t able to confirm their band numbers, this territory has long been held by Ranger from New York and Hunter from Ohio but sadly none of their eggs have ever hatched. Let’s hope that 2012 will be the year for them!!
A quick check on the Mt.Sinai peregrines today. One adult paying particular attention to the third ledge from the north on the east side of the structure. It was in view then stepped back further into the ledge area. It didn’t reappear before I had to leave the area.
Ranger and Hunter have been seen in the Mt.Siani area all winter with more frequent sightings as the nesting season approaches.
This morning both adults were seen at 09:00 on the far south ledge of the east side of the Hospital. E-chupping could be heard as they “met up” for a quick moment. The male then flew off and around the corner to sit in the sun on the south facing ledge.
Keep an eye open, I think this year they may be liking this area of the ledges.
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
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
This morning as I was walking north on University Ave, approaching Elm St. I caught sight of a Turkey Vulture high tailing it off the University Ave building of Sick Children’s Hospital. It flew low past the south side of Mt.Sinai Hospital. I kept my eyes to the sky and Ranger was in hot pursuit chasing it out of the area. I think the peregrines may have grounded the bird since it was flying so low. I believe the bird made a safe getaway while, both Hunter and Ranger did regular patrols coming back to the east elevation of Mt.Sinai. No indication that Ranger and Hunter have laid a new clutch of eggs.