Rfalconcam Forum

Since Quest seemed to be settled in a couple of different locations, Pickering and Tam O'Shanter, a few Watchers decided to take another road trip to try to find her.  Kathy O, Shaky, Carrie and Carol P. decided to take a chance.  It was a last minute decision to go.  Sometimes that works out for the best.

For a report of our successful quest for Quest, click on the link below.  It will take you to a Picasa album with a few pictures from our trip.

http://picasaweb.google.com/libbymybird/OurQuestForQuestFinallySuccess82810?feat=directlink

This is fantastic news, Carol!!!  Both that you all saw her and that she finally has a mate!  Has the power plant been notified that they have special visitors??

How wonderful this is to hear....The legacy will continue :-)

Awesome pictures! I am so happy Quest found a mate.

NO WAY! how incredibly wonderful!
So...you didn't see the antenna -- too far away --
but the location was spot-on as per the transmitter data?

I sure hope Shaky and Carrie got photos!

THANK YOU!

 goodnews:   :falcon:   :clap:

Looks like the young lady may have settled. How exciting is that? Watcher's weekend next year could be extended, Rochester, Toronto and then off to Pickering. Let's see if she and her mate decide to stay the Winter. Is there anyone on here that is close to Pickering to keep a "falcon" eye on them? Hopefully, the transmitter stays on for a while more. Thanks Carol, nice pics.  :clap:

(curious as to who the male is too)  ???

 :clap:   Thanks for sharing.    :2thumbsup:


PS

Great detective work!!  I'm thrilled you got to see her finally!!  And even better, she has a mate  :handshake:   We've had a good number of boys this year and last born here in Toronto - I'm hoping one of ours was lucky enough to hook up with the daughter of the Queen!!  :notworthy:

 Woo Hoo!  What excellent news!  :clap:  :b-day:

I am Happy oh so Happy
Thanks guys that is great news  :clap: :2thumbsup:

Yippeeeee-Kiii-Yaaaay!

Carrie and I returned at the power plant around 10 AM Sunday. No falcons were visible. We stayed for over an hour before deciding to look elsewhere. As we were driving away at 11:30, we spotted the male perched on the same box he was seen on Saturday. We re-parked the car and unpacked the scope to get a better look at him.

About an hour later, while talking to a couple of cyclists, we noticed a 2nd falcon perched just below and to the right of the male. Going by size, it was a female, and it also had a full crop. It was facing us so we could not see her back.

Both falcons were still at that location when we left at 1:45.

The falcons were too far away to photograph with our cameras, but we are sure that one of them was Quest. Satellite data shows that she was southwest of Pickering during the morning.

(http://shakymon.com/rfc-pix/questmap1.jpg)

The data then shows her near the power plant starting at about the same time we spotted the female.

(http://shakymon.com/rfc-pix/questmap2.jpg)

The accuracy of the data is about 1/2 mile. The points scattered around the power plant are consistent with a transmitter located inside the plant perimeter.

Conclusion: the female is Quest.

awesome!!! Thanks so much, Shaky and Carrie, Carol and Cathy!

Inquiring minds want to know...does she look like Mariah or Kaver or both? 
Any pictures of the overall scene so we can imagine we see 2 falcon shaped specs?

Thank you all for finding her!   :yippee:

So glad that she's finally been seen and that she has a mate!  :clap:

She was too far away to get a good look at her. She appeared to have a light breast like Mariah's, but not as white as Kaver's.

Google Maps Street View will give you the overall scene.

Oh well!  At least we know she's healthy & well & looks like she's settling down!

 goodnews:

its that dang cloaking device she inherited from her Daddy. Makes her so hard to see. Good thing she has the transmitter. Her fella looks nice from what I could see.

Pickering Power Plant

Pickering Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Pickering, Ontario. The facility derives its name from the City (originally Township) of Pickering in which it is located.

Also co-located at the Pickering station is a single 1.8 MWe wind turbine named the OPG 7 commemorative turbine. In 1994 Pickering Unit 7 set a world record for continuous operation (894 days) without a shutdown

The facility was constructed in stages between 1966-1986 by the provincial Crown corporation, Ontario Hydro. In April 1999 Ontario Hydro was split into 5 component Crown corporations with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) taking over all electrical generating stations and which continues to operate the Pickering station.

The Pickering station is one of the largest nuclear facilities in the world and comprises 8 CANDU nuclear reactors located on the northern shore of Lake Ontario, having a total output of 4124 MW (capacity net) and 4336 MW (gross net) when all units are online. Pickering is only surpassed in Canada by the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station, which while also having 8 reactors, has a greater output. The facility is connected to the North American power grid via numerous 230,000 and 500,000 volt transmission lines.

The facility is operated as two distinct stations, Pickering A (Units 1 to 4) and Pickering B (Units 5 to 8). While primarily administrative in nature, the division is not wholly artificial, as there are some distinct differences in design between the two groups of stations. (Example: The Pickering A units employ moderator dump as a shutdown mechanism, a feature not found in Pickering B.) There are, however, a number of systems and structures in common between the two stations; the most notable of these is possibly the shared vacuum building, a negative pressure containment system

Partial shutdown

On December 31, 1997 the four Pickering A reactors were shut down by the federal regulator, the Atomic Energy Control Board, because of Ontario Hydro's failure to upgrade the emergency shutdown system at the station. [3] Ontario Hydro committed to restarting the units, but the restart project underwent long delays and large cost over-runs.

Premier Mike Harris asked former federal energy Minister Jake Epp to study and make recommendations on the problems with the Pickering restart. Mr. Epp acknowledged the large cost over-runs and delays attributing blame to bad management. The Epp Review estimated the cost of restarting the remaining reactors at $3 - 4 billion and supported the continuation of the project.

Upon election in 2003 the government of Dalton McGuinty was not immediately prepared to proceed with the restart of Pickering A. On December 16, 2003 the McGuinty government struck the Ontario Power Generation Review Committee to review the structure of Ontario Power Generation and the restart of the Pickering A reactors. The Committee included former federal finance Minister John Manley as chair as well as Peter Godsoe, a former CEO of Scotiabank, and Jake Epp.

On March 18 2004 the OPG Review Committee released its report, attributing the blame for cost over-runs to bad management. The report recommended proceeding with the restart Pickering “A” reactors 1, 2, and 3, sequentially. The report argued that the restart of units 2 and 3 would be contingent on whether “OPG will be able to succeed at the Unit 1 project.”[4]

The Sierra Club of Canada criticized the report for not attributing any blame to the problems of nuclear technology, noting that there were no energy or environmental experts appointed to the panel.[5]

Numerous changes in executive-level staff and project management strategy were undertaken for the follow-on project to refurbish Unit 1. The experience of refurbishing Pickering A Unit 1 was significantly different from Unit 4, with a much tighter adherence to schedule and budget. Unit 1 was returned to service in November 2005 providing 542 MW of generating capacity for Ontario's electricity system.

In August 2005, the OPG Board of Directors announced that Units 2 and 3 would not be refurbished due to specific technical and cost risks surrounding the material condition of these two units.

From what I read on another site, no food is allowed inside as it may become contaminated with radioactive dust particles. I hope Quest and her man move on!

 :scaredblue: Me too! Go to greener pastures Quest!  YIKES!

that is all we need glow in the dark falcons. Not to thrilled with a wind turbine around either. Move on Quest my dear. Got to be better places than that.

Here's an updated pic of the area Quest is in.

I can totally see why she would go there.

Link:
http://rfalconcam.com/imprinting/?p=1324

Here's a pic of the Tam O'Shatner Park, (the other place Quest was hanging out in). A better place for her.

Note to myself: Duh, it's not Shatner, (was thinking of William Shatner when I saw the name). Shanter, sorry. No wonder google said "did you mean Tam O'Shanter Park?"  :silly:

Please note that Quest has been in the general area of Tam O'Shanter Park. The park itself is very small and has a limited view of the many tall buildings that she could choose to land on.

My theory is that the Tiercel has chosen this nest site and is attempting to entice a female.  In flies Quest.  We know that she moves around this area quite a bit from her transmitter readings, but returns to the power plant.

From what we witnessed on Saturday, Quest flew north around 5 pm, leaving the Tiercel to return to "his" spot inside the power plant.  According to Carrie and Shaky, she returned the next day.

After watching this behaviour and taking into account Quest's continued wandering ways (although she doesn't go too far), I believe that he is more attached to this location than she is.

But, I have no doubt that she has taken a liking to this handsome Tiercel.  :wub:

Before Carrie and Shaky arrived, Kathy O and I checked out Tam O'Shanter.  There are many tall buildings in the area, any of which would suit Quest as a resting spot or a place to hunt from.  There are lots and lots of pigeons available for a hungry Peregrine.

There is no easy spot to see all the buildings from.  We drove around trying to check out the roofs of as many of these buildings as we could.

Tam O'Shanter - Tam O'Shanter is Robert Burns' most famous narrative poem about the problems of bumping into witches at Halloween, particularly when under the influence of drink! The neighbourhood takes its name from the Tam O'Shanter Golf Course (Wikipedia article on Tam O'Shanter-Sullivan, retrieved in May 2008).

Here is the surrounding area of the Park that I wish Quest's bf would be attracted to.

Donna you never cease to amaze me!  ;D

Let me translate for everyone. bf is boyfriend. I've had lots of practice deciphering Donnas' texting! ::) :harhar:

Love it!  I think a park is so much nicer than a power plant!  But the nicest is knowing Quest is doing well and has a bf ;)

The Indy falcons have begun hanging out on the FEDERAL Justice Center downtown, which had many frustrating moments for those watchers due to the security surrounding that location (think OK City).  I suggested to Gigi that at least one of the core watchers take the Emergency Mgt courses and get the certifications, IDs and security clearances, which are good anywhere in the event of any natural disaster or terrorist bombing (different tiers of access).  She is looking into it (I know VA and WV and OK offer this certification).  It might not be an option in Canada, but at least your fingerprints will be imbedded in the ID to prove who you are.   Don't know the Fed presence in Rochester, but this could be something to consider in the downtown area. 

 :wave:   Good idea Janet!   :2thumbsup:

While Donna is quite correct about the origin of "Tam O'Shanter," I associate it with a hat of the same name (and origin).  They were popular for little girls back in the 30s and 40s (check Shirley Temple) and I had one that I was quite proud of.  Fancy new things were a rarity during the war years and that is probably why I remember it.  That, and the neat name.
Kapi in VT

No she just has discriminating tastes. After all any boyfriend has to live up to the image she has of a good mate should be like......her Daddy (Kaver)

as in this Kapi?

Aw, rats! I was gonna say "Let's play!" and get someone to "Name that Actor", but I note it says who it is in the jpeg title. (I knew without reading it, of course...)

Yes.  Often, they are usually just referred to as "tams."  You can see good, modern ones in tartan shops (real or online).
Kapi in VT

 :yes:   You got that right BC!   :wave:

They used to be popular headgear for golfers...

Ah yes, How well I remember wearing them.  Always matched my coat.

Since I watched almost all of the British Open from St Andrews, I thought someone wore one??  Or maybe it was from one of the old B&W films that were shown throughout the day.  Can't believe you have gone over there Jim, to photograph the light. 

This was posted to the CMNH (http://www.falconcam-cmnh.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?48859.last) forum by BIG FRANK:

"My raptor watch is along the shoreline in Toronto. If these guys migrate there is a good chance they will go by my site. I will be keeping a good eye out for the antena/tracking device. Saw 73 Peregrine's pass the park last season. So far have seen 6 this August. Migration is just getting underway. Fingers crossed we'll see Quest."

Funny-I saw that and was just preparing a capture of her map...she was right outside the park where he watches (Rosetta McClain Gardens) on August 4...