Rfalconcam Forum

There is a Quest map that is updated almost daily. It shows where she has been for the last week. It's called Quest's Week.

http://rfalconcam.com/imprints/?page_id=737

Thanks for the Offspring topic Shaky!

Looks like the never used power plant is the place to be in Quest's opinion  :clap:



I hope Mark Nash can dig out soon and find out if the old hack box is still there.

She is quite the smart girl.  Some smart boy will come along soon.  Any visuals?   

Guess I'm greedy, but I'd love to see pictures of her.  Maybe we'll get really lucky and some good person will do that and let us know. 

Not greedy... I'd love to see some too.  And since she's been roaming in populated areas I'm really hoping some nice falcon-loving photographer up there in Port Hope will get out and snap a few shots.  I'm going through falcon photographer withdrawal this year myself  :tired:

I notice Quest's signal hasn't been updated for 6 days now, am I reading it right and is that normal?

Carly,

The last update was on Aug. 23 at 21:02 (9:02 PM)-4 days ago.

Kris

Our map updater hasn't had a chance to update the map.

I checked yesterday's satellite data. Quest is still in Port Hope.

I think the confusion is that the map updater accidentally posted Quest's post-tornado data point on the 08/10-08/16 static map rather than the rotating update map  (http://rfalconcam.com/imprinting/?page_id=737)

Thank you Shaky..just want to know she's safe and sound :)

She is still pretty close to home, isn't she?

 :sparrow:

On a purely selfish level, I hope she "migrates" back to the Cape!  I was hoping to get down there to see if I could find her, but she left before I had the chance.   Maybe she'll give me another shot this year.

I was just over visiting Quest's rolling map and it appears she took a little side trip over to Etobicoke on the 29th...



Quest's map (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=106275827020949145732.00046b11e82e9c6ab8264&ll=43.966133,-78.460236&spn=0.148264,0.30899&z=11&source=embed)

Someone had to have seen her.....thanks Ei... :good post:

Yikes, that is a popular place!  Wonder if the wild weather blew her in there? :scaredblue:

She might be scoping out a nest site perhaps ?  There are 3 nest sites here she could possibly be interested in and one is the one I work under which houses Angel and Jack.  There is also the private residential site which is a secret location somewhere in Etobioke with an American Female and 'Jack'.  And there is the William Osler site where they did the fostering this year.  There is also the Mississauga site which is in an adjoining suburb.   

I will keep my eyes out for her as I'm out daily checking on our pair here. 

She did head back to Port Hope by the 31st, but it's good to know we have a watcher on the ground in the area, Carly!  That whole edge of Lake Ontario seems to be peregrine central.  I wonder what it is about the north shore of the lake that makes it more attractive than the south shore-other than Mariah patrolling a goodly chunk of the south shore  ;)

Wind direction?

FYI, the satellite tracking people haven't sent any Quest updates in about  a week. It's being looked into.

Oh no, I hope Quest is okay!  I was just coming here to post on her as I asked Frank about the area she is in and he replied back to me with this:

I did hear something about a satellite tagged bird out in the Wesleyville area at the old OPG hydro plant.  Yes, we did a hack site out there many years ago.  Didn’t know if our hack box was still on the roof?  It’s a good area for sure, but the building is very similar (if not exactly the same size and shape of the old Lakeview facility).  Mostly flat top roofs, very few ledges so to speak.  If the box is still there, this would be a perfect area,, lots of shore birds, lots of pigeons and other great food stuffs.  

I also asked about Linn:

No news of Linn.  No eggs or activity at the Bell site for months."




 

This is a great area for a peregrine falcon to make their home.  Small pockets of high buildings but not a jungle - there are lots of parks and woodlands as it's mostly residential areas and close to Lake Ontario.  The challenge that I see we have in Toronto is lack of tiercels hence you read about all these supposed 'bigamous' males.  The females seem to do well but the little guys - not so much.  I know of 6 male juvies that were lost during fledge last year and those would have been the ones that would be coming back next Spring to potentially look for a nest site.  This year we did better and there were a good number of males born at the sites that did have young but we had a cold spring and more failed nest sites this year and some sites with a female but no tiercel to mate with!

Wonder what's up with Quest these days-no recent updates... :sparrow:

                             Kris

Hey Kris - Like Shaky posted the other day, we're working on getting new Quest updates.  Hopefully very soon.   :falcon:

Yeah-I had read that the other day and was just wondering what was going on with the tracking people.   Just asking...thanks.

Does anybody on this board live up there near where Quest is? From the August map she seems pretty regular in where she hangs out. It would be great to get some pictures. (Thinking and hoping out loud)  :wave:

It appears to be a bookkeeping error. Nothing is wrong with the transmitter or Quest.

PHEW!!!!  Thank you Shaky...my worry-wort side was starting to take hold... :flowers:

                                          :ditto:

                                                 Kris

Thanks for the great news Shaky. 

 goodnews: :the_wave: :thanx:

                                             :ditto: :ditto:
                                                           Barb

!!! She’s baaack!
September 14, 2009 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:

Three falcons here this morning, Angel, Jack and Elena!!  Last Thursday and Friday, Jack spent most of the days here with Angel in close proximity and no sign of any juveniles at all.  Although I didn’t see any bowing and scraping myself, there was alot of time spent together on the nest ledge between them.

This morning when I arrived Elena was on the ledge beneath the ADP sign and Jack was on the sign, with Angel on the opposite side on the nest ledge.  A few minutes later Jack departed to chase breakfast and Elena immediately flew to his perch on the ADP sign as if to say ‘about time you gave me back my spot!’.

Elena is now on the sign and mom is in front of the nestbox preening and no doubt Jack is off somewhere enjoying breakfast!

If anyone is out in the Port Hope area, keep your eyes peeled for a female falcon named Quest.  She won’t be hard to spot as she has a transmitter on her for tracking purposes.  She is daughter to Mariah and Kaver of Rochester and her location shows she has spent the past few months up in that area and even ventured into Etobicoke in the past few weeks.  It would be great if someone spotted her and took some photos for all her followers!

Thanks jeanne, hope someone spots her and snaps a pic... :flash:

Donna

I know! No one has been taking any pictures of our sweet girl!!!  :(

The original Argos was a dog who waited 20 years for the return of Odysseus, so I suppose we can wait a bit longer.

Paul

Hope Snail Mail doesn't take 20 years... (http://freesmileyface.net/smiley/Animals/snail.gif) (http://freesmileyface.net/Free-Animals-Smileys.html)(http://freesmileyface.net/smiley/Animals/snail.gif) (http://freesmileyface.net/Free-Animals-Smileys.html)(http://freesmileyface.net/smiley/Animals/snail.gif) (http://freesmileyface.net/Free-Animals-Smileys.html)

She is so beautiful!!!! :heart: :heart: :heart:

Oh yeah!

Quest IS Beautiful.  Thank you for all the updates and the wonderful pictures !

   Lola

       :D

I don't know if anyone else has posted about this, but I just checked Quest's weekly map and the most current reading has her in Ontario west of Buffalo.  I thought she might head east to Massachusetts where she spent last winter but she apparently has other ideas this year.

Pat

Thanks Pat!  I forgot to check!  A little place called Nanticoke on the shore of Lake Erie right over the Lake Erie Steel plant.

Quest  (http://rfalconcam.com/imprinting/?page_id=737)has moved back east again...she's making me dizzy!  :silly:

following the migratory bird smorgasbord ?

Quest's latest information has just been posted.  She is still in Ontario at the power station.

http://rfalconcam.com/imprinting/?page_id=737 (http://rfalconcam.com/imprinting/?page_id=737)

Paul

As Carol mentioned under Twitter, we keep missing Quest by one day!  At least we got to see her environment - lots of water, islands, sandbars, shorebirds, stacks, supply of pigeions, and a nestbox if she wants to claim it.  All she needs now is a mate.

Unfortunately on Sunday there was a very heavy fog and we couldn't see anything until late morning.  In the afternoon we got to see a red-tailed hawk flying around the stacks, and we were wishing it was Quest.

On our road trip we saw:

• 27 red-tailed hawks
• 1 juvenile bald eagle
• 2 kestrels
• 3 GIANT field crows

Here is a link to the Lennox Brochure.  The photo of the stacks were taken from the west side and you can't see the nestbox because it is on the east side.  Note, the osprey nest is on the east side as well.  It will be interesting if Quest decides to claim the nestbox in the same area.
http://www.opg.com/power/fossil/brochures/lennoxbrochure.pdf

Pictures to come soon.
Joyce

It's great that you were able to get up to the Lennox station and let us know what sort of area Quest was living in.  I'm sure that you will be able to find her some day.  In the meantime, I'm looking forward to the pictures.

Paul

(Any weekend with 27 red-yailed hawks, 1 juvenile bald eagle, 2 kestrels, and 3 GIANT field crows can't be all bad!)

You guys are awesome for trying. The lady is just being coy.

I'm sure you will not stop taking these little weekend jaunts until Quest is found! (Except for maybe a winter break)!!!!!!!!  :rofl: :rofl: :lol: :tired:

WAIT 'TIL YOU SEE THESE GIANT FILED CROWS!

Where are these crows filed? HA-HA just making fun of your spelling!!

Seriously, though, how do these compare with just a "regular" crow besides size? Any differences, except for one likes to hang out in fields? I don't know too much about crows.   :tired:  :laugh:

I assume that the birds in Van Gough's Wheat Field with Crows are, by definition, Field Crows.  I especially like the way the wings go.



Paul

Oh, these Field Crows were humongous! tremendous! stupendous!   :scaredblue: :o :tired: :crazy:

We couldn't get close enough to these crows to actually judge their size, but they were big.  From a distance we could see one with it's beak open, and one with its beak to the ground.  The other was looking around.  We were driving at the time, and couldn't believe the size, so we traveled down the highway, turned around and went back to see if we could get some pictures.

Suzanne may be a better person to make a crow comparison.  We know Suzanne will find these interesting.

Joyce

Ravens? They are bigger than crows by 6+ inches in length and bulkier.

Scroll down to the bottom of this page link to see the ravens ( huge  :o) that took over a peregrine falcon nest in Edmonton until the migrating falcons came home and drove them out, was quite the drama for several weeks!  We named the ravens George and Weezie  ::)

http://www.species-at-risk.mb.ca/projects/pfrp/forum/programs/index.php/topic,691.0.html

I so remember the drama with the Ravens Vs Peregrines. That poor nest sure had it's up and downs.

And, in the meantime, Quest has flown west across Lake Ontario to a what seems to be a water treatment plant just south of Mississauga.  That's about 150 miles.

http://rfalconcam.com/imprinting/?page_id=737 (http://rfalconcam.com/imprinting/?page_id=737)

Paul

Very interesting indeed...she's skirted the nest sites in Mississauga.  If she stays near the lake by the time any of the existing falcons spotted her she would be well out of harms way...she's a smart girl that one  :thumbsup:  

She's been out that way a couple of times, but she's back at Lennox as of yesterday. 



Makes you wonder what lures her west (probably a flock of birds) and what lures her back to where she started.  Not quite as dramatic as her trip from Cape Cod to New Jersey and back last year, but a similar pattern.  Interesting since she doesn't have a firmly established "territory" quite yet.

she probably thought the watchers were coming up again to try and see her  :rofl:

Don't forget to check the comments in Imprints.  Lennoxman has such a sense of humor and his last post included pics from a peregrine's eye view from the top of the Lennox Power Plant where the nestbox is. 

Here are his last 2 posts:

November 27, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Here are some pictures that I promised from my last post. They give you an idea of Quest’s environment right now.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44816090@N06

November 26, 2009 at 10:47 am
Happy Thanksgiving neighbours! You all know the term “it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack”. Well, I’m going to change that to “it’s like searching for a Quest near a smoke stack”. According to her transmitter, Quest has been frolicking around here the last couple of days. I’ve looked high and low but my searches are fruitless. I think I’ll make an appointment with my Optometrist to get my eyes checked  There’s a lot of waterfowl activity in the wetland these days so I’m sure Quest is indulging in this all-you-can eat buffet. Since I can’t provide you with any pictures of Quest yet, I’ll provide you with some images that could be viewed through her eyes while she is at Lennox. I’ll post them later today.

I've been checking there too...but a good reminder!  She definitely inherited her Daddy's stealth ability!

I think Quest has the ability to bring countries together-- course it will be due to frustration  ;D

Hi Dot,

this is the back of the nestbox.

Greetings
Annette

Hey Dot, that's the door they use to retrieve the eyas's for banding...(hopefully, there will be a full nest in the Spring). :hatch1: :heartspin: :hatch1: :heartspin: :hatch1: :heartspin: :hatch1: :heartspin:

Don't miss Carol's report of our 2nd quest for Quest...

FalconWatch:  http://rfalconcam.com/falconwatching/?p=353

Forum: http://rfalconcam.com/forum/index.php?topic=821.0

Really nice pics and OMG....those crows...I'm still in  :o

That is some beautiful country. Love the islands. Wonder what it would be like in winter though? The CROWS  :o wow now those are huge birds wonder what kind of food they have been eating to get so big.

Question about Lennoxman's pictures. It looks like the nest box is metal, is it? Wouldn't it get too hot in the full sun?  :confused:

Good question.  I really thought it was made of wood when we looked at it from below.  I just check Lennoxman's pictures and it sure does look like it's made of metal.  I think I'll send a question off to Mark Nash (CPF), to ask what he thinks about that.

Carol P.

Looks like metal to me. :wave:

I also noticed a back door...I'm not sure if this is right. According to Bob Anderson :

"People often want to modify this design by building an access door on the back. Don’t do
this – it is very, very dangerous for the chicks. If people try to reach in from the back
during banding, they will drive the chicks to the front. If the chicks are panicked enough
and old enough, they can be bumped into premature flight. This is a very bad thing."

I just found this on Bob Anderson's site:


http://www.raptorresource.org/build.htm

I sent an email to Mark Nash at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation to ask about the nest box at the Lennox Power Station and included a link to Lennoxman's pictures.  I'll let you know when I hear back from him.

I think Lennoxman mentioned it was originally set up as a hack box (Linn was seen at a hack box in Scarborough) and the back door on those is for feeding the eyases before they're released.

There are usually removable bars on the front so the birds can see out but not get out until they can fly and they can't see the person dropping a quail in the back door.  I don't remember if the bars were there or not in Scarborough, but they are easily removed if someone decides to use the box for a nest.

Yes, the nest box that Linn was/is? being seen at was originally a hack box.  Tybropa-Cree was hacked from that box.  I saw pictures of him and his siblings inside the box with bars at the front.  The bars have been removed.  Like Donna said, they are there to protect the eyases.  To keep them from fledging too early.

Not sure if the box at the Lennox Power Plant is the same or not.

Carol P.

No wonder Quest hasn't been seen at the power plant...she's on her way to Cape Vincent, NY!  Or on her way back...or she read Chicki's note and she's checking out the ferry!  :hyper:

If she's headed "my" way, it's because there are many migrating birds passing through. Or maybe she has a taste for the little birds we call "snow birds" that are starting to settle in this area for the winter. It would be awesome to have her stop in some weekend for tea with me!

One concern (if it even is one), Wolfe Island (land mass near Quest) has just brought 100+ wind turbines online.

YIKES!  I certainly hope it's not something to worry about! 

Where are you located, Chicki?

I live and work here in Webster, but I also have a place on Chaumont Bay. My parents live there full time. We are located on Point Peninsula, specifically. All this means we are just 10 miles from Cape Vincent's main street. Wolfe Island is just a stone's throw from town.

It is quite beautiful there, although I've only driven through in the winter...hopefully there will be a reason for a spring/summer road trip through there next year!

Quest was back in Canada again.  Now that we have more daytime transmissions, it looks as if she has been ranging all over the lake.

http://rfalconcam.com/imprinting/?page_id=737

Paul

Did you see what's out there in the water?  On Nov 28 and Dec 2 it looks like she might be hanging around a light house, and a historic one at that!

http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=316

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Charity_Shoal_Light

~Joyce

There is a guy that travels by boat out to the Galloo Islands (near that light house), from a "marina" near me. If I see his boat docked next time I'm up there, I will ask him to keep an eye out for Quest when he's out there. The Galloo's have been home to cormorants, and controversy, in the decade past.

What a beautiful Lighthouse...that girl has taste. 

Wow!  A very different typed of lighthouse from what I'm used to!  They are automated, so people shouldn't be a problem.

Carol P provided this link.  You can see the cormorants in this photo.
http://www.us-lighthouses.com/displaypage.php?LightID=244

Lennoxman says:
December 14, 2009 at 10:20 am

I wondered why Quest was hanging out over the water, now it makes sense. The reason the air temperature readings are higher than expected might have something to do with the roof vents on top of the power station. It’s actually quite balmy at certain locations on the roof. We just installed a new surveillance camera near the front gate of the station which is capable of being pointed at the nest box. The camera has an excellent zoom function so I’m hoping that we’ll finally be able to see her :)     :clap:   

Hi Donna,

these news are GREAT!   :2thumbsup:


Greetings
Annette

WooHoo!  This will be very exciting, if we can see her!   :clap: :2thumbsup:

Yes hope she takes off the invisibility cloak and gives it back to Harry Potter  :hysterical:

I was just checking on Quests map and the last report was from Dec 15th.

Houston do we have a problem?

The person updating the map has been busy.

Quest was near the Lennox power station last night.

Thank you Shaky!

Hi,

is the nestbox cam already online?  :hyper:


Greetings
Annette

Annette, I do not believe there is a nest box cam. But from what Lennoxman said they can see the nest box with a security camera.

Looks like Quest may have spent the morning of New Year's Eve on East Charity Shoals.  Did she ring in the New Year on the lighthouse?  The next installment may tell.  The sensor temperature was about 24 C (75 F), a testement to feathers and the avian metabolisim.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=105232220446351695936.000479b65e25f0b7f8498&ll=44.337601,-76.816406&spn=0.99203,2.268677&z=9 (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=105232220446351695936.000479b65e25f0b7f8498&ll=44.337601,-76.816406&spn=0.99203,2.268677&z=9)

Paul

Wow, that's pretty close to the border. What a great place to hang out...a Lighthouse!

The answer was already posted on the "Quest's Week" map:

http://rfalconcam.com/imprinting/?page_id=737

She moved inland and what are those 4 tank thingies? She's quite aways from the nest site but OK, she's in the general area. Thanks!!

Thanks!
She spent New Year's Eve at the lighthouse and then returned to her job at the power plant on January 2.  Good bird!

Paul

 :clap: