Rfalconcam Forum

Hi gang,Ive been away from computer access for awhile. Im in Schomberg Ontario,staying with Tracy since June. We are driving each other nuts,and I will soon be heading back to the city,when I can find an appartment. This summer we were run nuts as were most volunteers,doing multiple watches. I think we took some part in at least 5. On top of that duties at the CPF Raptor Centre have kept us very busy. The day we had that 50c or 121f day with the humidity,we were very concerned about our educational birds at the barn. Tracy,myself and Marion came up with a plan. We moved some birds to more shaded pens,others to indoor pens with fans blowing  on them,and Oscar was in a carrier all day with a fan on him. Tracy had to man the Brampton fledge watch,so she left me at the barn to check on the birds. Each hour I checked them,to see if they were suffering any ill effects from the heat..were they panting? drooping wings too much...in distress?? After each hour I would call a nervous "raptor Mom" Tracy and let her know how everyone was doing. Thanks to advanced planning and the birds doing their part to stay cool(taking baths,hiding in the shade) they all made it through just fine. Once Tracy finished her shift at the Brampton watch,she returned to the barn and our plan then was if any bird started to show signs of problems,her car would be the cooling centre,with A/C blasting.
  Our next adventure was a Wasp problem at the barn. Tuesday on Tracy's day off of her day job,she and I got inspired by a "Billy The Exterminator" marathon,and dealt with the Yellow Jacket problem. Wasp nests were in most of the bird's pens and they were being bothered often. There was the chance they could be stung. Using just Dawn dishsoap,and water,we killed nearly 30 wasp nests that were active. We chose a rainy day which meant all of the adults were in the nests. We didnt want to use poisons in/near the pens and a 1/3 Dawn,2/3 water mix did the trick. The wasps immediately started to die,and we went into spray and stomp mode. We had moved out the birds so there was no danger to them from the wasps,or us from the birds.  We also took the opportunity to rake(clean) and powerspray the pens too. Everyones pens are looking perty now. So 8 hours later,on her day off,Tracy decided we were done for the day. We gave everyone nice cold fresh water(including ourselves) as the next day the water system was to be off for repairs.
  So..we are busy busy,whether there are fledge watches or not! Soon the educational program will fire up! My pals are planning to run the Rosetta McClain Raptor Watch in my abscence,or until I return to Toronto. Take care gang and I will be checking in every few days. BIGFRANK

Wow, awesome what you 2 are doing for the Barn Birds!! Lots of work and SWEAT!! Thanks so much for the post and glad all is going well with you BF!! It's been a HOT Summer and I'm sure all the Raptors thank you also. Good job and really enjoy your posts!!  :clap: Dawn and water huh?? Bobbie from Ireland will like this one!!

 :hello: Big Frank I've been wondering how you and Tracy were getting along. Haven't heard anything in so long. You CPFers are the best the way you take care of your birds. I'm proud to be an official CPF volunteer with a badge to prove it! Good job by you and Tracy. :clap: Please tell her and any others you see I said hi.  :foxbinocs:

BigFrank,  you all are awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!  I think there should be a reality show about the CPF!!!!!!!  So glad to hear from you!!!!!  Best of luck apt hunting (maybe you can find one with a nesting peregrine)!and the best to Tracy!!!!

P.S.  I am still laughing about the Billy the Exterminator reference!!!! You guys are too much!

Hi Big Frank!  Happy to hear from you Big Frank!  Glad you, Tracy and the others (including the birds!) are surviving this very warm Summer.

Please say hi to Tracy for me.   :wave:

Take care,
Carol P.

Thanks for the kind words folks,Ive passed on your hellos. Tracy and I worked out a plan and I'll be staying with her till the spring now. Plenty more adventures to be had. This weeks...2 weeks back,Tracy noticed a small mark on Cheyenne's foot. She kept watch and realized it was getting more serious,so called our avian vet. Unfortunately he was on holidays for 2 weeks. For 2 weeks Tracy nursed Cheyenne the best she knew. Tracy put a medication on her sore foot,started glove feeding her every night(fed her food while Cheyenne sat on Tracy's gloved hand) and made arrangements for the perches in Cheyenne's outdoor pen to be changed.  For those 2 weeks Tracy was very worried,a Mom's worry...Today we took Cheyenne to the vet finally,much to Tracy's relief. Cheyenne's foot does have a problem,but we got the medications and she is on the road to recovery. The vet,said Tracy's fast notice and action to treat Cheyenne probably averted the problem turning into something far more serious. CPF is lucky to have such a vigilant ,knowledgable and capable volunteer!!,more than once Tracy's "Mama bird" instincts and observations  have allowed our birds to remain healthy and happy!

 :notworthy: Tracy absolutely exudes love and compassion for the birds. It shows just by the way she talks about them. I  am very happy to know her and the rest of the CPF peeps for you are all exceptional caregivers of wildlife from what I can see.  :clap:

Hi Frank..glad to hear you've got things sorted and have a place to rest your head for the winter.  Tracy is awesome, glad to hear Cheyenne is on the road to recovery!

Hey BF, way to go! You all are awesome at CPF!!  :thumbsup:

Cheyenne was into the vet on Monday. She was given 2 meds,which Tracy has administered daily and has begun to show improvement. We are both relieved. Oscar was in to have his beak and talons trimmed. While at the CPF Raptor Centre,we observed 28 Common Nighthawks and a Merlin,both excellent sightings for our area.

If you're thinking of Seneca's former mate, he's in rehab in Ohio.  This Cheyenne is in Canada although I don't know what kind of bird it is or what its problem is.  Maybe someone can enlighten us both!

Well, the CPF education page (http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/programs/education/edfoto.html) is a bit outdated-not complaining, mind you-watching over the zillion Toronto birds is certainly priority.  I don't see Cheyenne there, so I guess she was a more recent arrival than Nova in 2009. 

Thanks, Ei-  I thought that you might be the one who knew.  Guess we'll have to wait to see what someone from there says.

Found it!

Ei! You are to quick for me!  I just found it too!!

GMTA!   :handshake: I thought I remembered seeing pictures of her...

So was there anything wrong with Cheyenne? She was just chosen to be an educational falcon?

That piece I don't recall...and you can't search CPF like you can here.  Guess we'll just have to wait for Big Frank or carly to get here...

 Thanks, Ei, for finding this.  I do remember when they posted the picture and I wondered then what was wrong for her to be an educational bird.  She's a beauty!

This is from a post BigFrank made on Ohio board last year:


.Cheyenne is Canadian Peregrine Foundation's newest feathered educator. She came from a breeder in Alberta Canada to us last summer. She is now about 4 months old. Our staff imprinted her,raising her for the first several weeks among people. They take in everything at that age,so staff,exposed her to as much as possible,cars,crowds,wheeelchairs,children etc. Cheyenne has already done one outdoor show and at least one corporate visit of one of our sponsors. We have an education program that has visited over 16000 classrooms so far,at no cost to the schools(sponsors pay for the visits). The education program is linked directly to the cirriculum for grades 4-6. .

Oh wow, so she was raised just for that purpose. Interesting, thanks jeanne!!

Hi gang,as mentioned Cheyenne is one of our educational birds,she is now just over one year old. She has an infected owie on her right foot. Her improvement isnt fast enough for Tracys liking so we are at CPF head office,on our way with Cheyenne back to the vet. She is showing some improvement since our first visit,this is more precautionary than anything. Will let you know soon how she is doing.

 :wave: Thanks Big Frank!  :thumbsup:

Maybe a stupid question, but why make a perfectly healthy Peregrine educational?  Was there something wrong with her that they made her an educational bird?  ???

She (and Nova, I would guess) were probably hatched to be "falconer's birds" and were imprinted on humans right away, so they wouldn't be suitable for release.  Birds that are hatched in captivity with the intention of release into the wild are kept from seeing the humans feeding them. 

I guess I always figured educational birds were injured in some way.  If they were hatched to be Falconer birds then why isn't she one? Falconry birds are imprinted aren't they-seeing as they're closely associated with their handler?

Could be they had more eggs successfully hatch than they had legal buyers for.  Probably other reasons I'm not coming up with right now...

Falconer's birds are imprinted but it's a different relationship entirely.  They are trained to hunt for sport and they are conditioned using 'food' as a rewards.  They are kept 'hungry' so that they'll return to their owner when they're allowed to fly - its a precise science to keep them at an acceptable weight so they hunt well, develop strong muscles and return home.  

With educational birds, they are trained to be used to people and they are treated more like family, there is no keeping the bird 'hungry' to get him to do things.

Very true-educational birds are trained entirely differently.  Just speculating that might have been the intent when the eyases were bred & hatched but they were then designated educational.

Sorry was cooking dinner and got distracted.  I know the Alberta facility breeds falcons for falconers and for hack and release programs - some provinces out West still do hack and release as their population is still endangered in some areas. 

Likely they do have 'extra' ones so they could go to education programs if there was no one to claim them.  I am not sure what they would do if they couldn't find homes for them all...or how that works.  I don't expect they'd just breed birds and hope that someone wanted them because at some point they would either become imprinted or you'd have to release them and hope they could survive on their own.  Perhaps they are bred to order and then maybe something happens and a bird becomes available that has no designated home. 

Distraction-R-Us...popping in between work chores...  :handshake:

I didn't realize peregrines were still scarce in the western provinces since the northern populations are fairly robust. 

I was figuring something along the lines of an extra egg hatched that wasn't spoken for.  There's probably a list of-call us if you have a spare bird and we'll give it a good home.  I think it just seems odd here in the States to see an un-injured eyas going directly to education. 

Hi gang,glad this post has generated interest. We never use an injured wild bird for educational purposes,they have already experienced the wild,developed their wild intuitions and skills. Aside from the existance in captivity,(quality of life after experiencing freedom,those wild skills make the bird very aggressive,not suitable for up close class visits. Cheyenne came from an Alberta breeding facility,where the birds are raised for falconry,or in this case for educational purposes.  We got Cheyenne at around 30 days old she was partially imprinted by the falconer and we finished the process. She is now a full member of our educational team,displayed at  shows and visiting students in schools to educate them about the Peregrine Falcon.
Cheyenne's progress...after Mondays visit,the  Dr switched one of her meds,which wasnt agreeing with her. She is now on the mend. Her foot owie is healing already,though meds are for 2 weeks. Will keep everyone informed  :2thumbsup: .

All very informative BF, thanks for the explanation. Glad Cheyenne is on the mend!! Good job, maybe some pics soon?

 :thumbsup: Thanks Big Frank!  :wave:

Well, our Legs, from 101 Hudson in Jersey City, was supposed to be hacked in West Virginia but was deemed unacceptable for release into the wild.  Mike and I learned more details in July.  Normally TriState Bird Rescue and Research would have placed him with another raptor when he came in at a week and a half old, but none were available.  He was by himself.  When he was sent to West Virginia for hacking, he apparently lost his tail feathers, either from sitting on them or from stress by being with the other birds.  The final determination was that he was not relating to the other peregrines and they were shunning him.  So the prognosis for living in the wild was quite low.  He went back to TriState.  They had Phung Luu, an avian free flight specialist trainer with 65 birds, who wanted him.

We spoke with Mr Luu and watched and listened to his free flight commentary.  He makes sure the birds are hungry before training or performing.  His birds have to all be educator birds.  That's what he does.  Educates the public about raptors which includes parrots.

But at the Raptor Trust photographers day, they did not feed the birds for being on display.

Aww-poor Legs.  Sorry to hear he's had some tough times and isn't releasable but hopefully he's in a good place now.

 Legs has been fed since he was removed from the scrape.  I am sure that has made his life much easier.  He was starving when Kathy first started feeding him during the chick check.  He has learned how to get humans to take care of him.  Other than the trip to WV, I doubt he has been stressed much.  He was only one week old when humans started taking care of him.  I think the feeling was he had imprinted.

Great that Legs aand so many other raptors have Mr Luu.
  Cheyenne continues to respond to her meds and improving,but the worried Mama Bird(Tracy) is still being very vigilant. We have been taking in all of the birds to get their beaks and talons done(trimmed),so as not to impede their abilities to eat and other activities. Next up are Kyla the American Kestrel and Hudson the Gryfalcon. Both were rescues of different sorts. One good meaning person found Kyla after she fell out of her nest as a baby. The person took her in and fed her,but soon realized she couldnt keep up with feeding nor care. Kyla was imprinted and we were called to take her in. Kyla is now a valuable member of our educational team.  Hudson had belonged to a falconer. Hudson,was used as a breeder and never knew life outside of a small mating pen for several years. Sadly,he wasnt treated very well and came to us having had several healed fractures of his leg. Im happy to say Hudson now has a great home with us and despite having trust issues with handlers,caused by malteatment of his falconer owner. He is a real beauty!
  Our latest adventure...On Wednesday there were a series of Tornado warnings in the area of The CPF Raptor Centre. As soon as Tracy and I learned of it we made a beeline for the barn. We formulated a plan as we drove and on our arrival,we quickly continued. Our plan when into action! We first got all of their carriers together,chose a staging area where we would put them should we get the first signs of a  tornado in the distance. We got 2 vehicles ready to load the carriers/birds into. Those that know me,know I dont drive,but Tracy decided if there was an emergency evacuation to be done(dont tell Mark...)that Id learn that night! Me in her car,her in Mark's pick-up.  We nervously awaited the coming storm. Happily we had only very strong winds and an amazing lightening storm. The light show was incredible. The coldfront passed and she and I got all the birds back in their pens. We were relieved and decided we must write down evacuation procedures and put them with the first aid kit. We also brought a weather radio to the barn,so we could recieve updates,so we didnt have to depend on wireless internet.  All went well,stay tuned for the next adventure!

Wow, BigFrank!!!  You all are so amazing! 

Good job BigFrank and Tracy!!!  Way to protect those birds!   :clap: :thumbsup:

and don't worry, we won't tell Mark.  :lol:

Ditto!!  :secret2:

Double  :ditto:  :clap: :hello: Big Frank!

very well done Tracy & BF!
 BTW  you might want to practice the driving a bit before you take your feathered friends for a ride.You wouldn't want to stress them more than needed. A driveway or fairly empty parking lot are good places to practice.

Years ago I was visiting my Aunt, and she asked me to take her to to renew her  DL. I had never seen her behind the wheel of a vehicle. I asked her when she had last driven. The answer , the day she had gotten it. She only kept it up in case of an emergency.

Thanks so much, Frank (and Tracy), for looking after our raptor family!!  It's always nice to know that these birds are in such good hands!!  As you know, I held Kyla during the Sportman's Show at the CPF booth and fell totally in love with her!  Such deep, mysterious eyes, such a nice personality!  She was great for me to learn handling with.  Walked me right through it!  Glad she and the others are fine!!

Good to hear about your adventure!  That was quite a storm!!  I watched from my 21st floor balcony, which overlooks Lake Ontario and downtown Toronto and was awed by the power!!

Best wishes to both of you!

Anne in Toronto

BigFrank-- have their been any sightings of Wind???

Hi,Cheyenne was into the vet for one last check,she is now fine and although she will be monitored closely for awhile by Tracy and I. Her foot owie has healed,she is alert and fiesty as ever. This weeks adventure...Kortright Centre where the CPF Raptor Centre is,cut down some trees. Tracy asked for a few of the larger stumps so we could change our birds perches,in their pens. We had hoped to use a machine to do the work,but that didnt work out,instead she and I grunted and made alot of faces to lift them into the bed of Marks big truck! Tracy is small but mighty! We managed to get 4 stumps at least 2 that had to weight about 200-300 pounds! Next week school visits start for our educational birds! The bulk of this week has been spent tiding the barn,pens and getting ready for the school visits to commence. More soon.
 Far as I know  no reports about Wind recently.

Busy busy your are BF. Way to go keeping your raptors happy! Thanks!!

Hi gang,well all of our birds are A-1 these days and enjoying the school visits they are doing with Mama Tracy. Thanksgiving weekend the gang will be at the Woodbridge Fair. Myself,Ive been popping into my raptor watch,on days when Tracy does schools in the greater Toronto area. I go by transit to the park and we meet up after she is done her schools and Im done my watch. This weekend should be really good. http://raptorwatch.blogspot.com (http://raptorwatch.blogspot.com) if you want to follow along.  My buddy Walter has taken over the watch in my abscence this season and is doing a great job. He is reporting under my name. Its been an interesting and busy month. Highlight for me has been being taught to weigh and handle a few of the birds more often at the barn. Also CPF volunteer Kathy S and I were at a fair in Arthur Ontario,with Nova(Peregrine Falcon) and Alexandra(Great Horned Owl). It was particularily rewarding when young students showed up and recalled recent visits of CPF to their school and when other teenaged students let us know theyd never forgotton CPF school visits which took place 5 years earlier when they were in 4th or 5th grade. Good to know our educational program makes a lasting impression/impact! 

 goodnews: Hi Big Frank it's good to hear from you! Say hi to everyone for me!  :wave:

Ive been down in Toronto for a few days,so I could attend the raptor watch (migrating bird of prey count) which I started in 2004. In my abscence this year  my normally righthand man Walter has abley taken over running things. Saturday we had a record day with over 1300 raptors WOW. Today we saw over 600. Its been a real thrill to see so many birds. Tomorrow promises to be another good day,then its back to Tracys. This coming weekend CPF goes to the Woodbridge Fair with some of their educational birds and we will be there too. Its always fun and rewarding to do the shows and pass on info and enjoy people enjoying our birds up close and personal.

Way to go BF, man, you see lots of Raptors!! THANKS!!  :thumbsup:

A couple shots from the show. http://www.winkflash.com/photo/public.aspx?u=bigbirderfrank&ic=9801413 (http://www.winkflash.com/photo/public.aspx?u=bigbirderfrank&ic=9801413)

Very nice and LOOK at the feet on that Owl!  :o

Well Quest and Kendal have taken to the box we put out at Harlequin!
Off topic...Tracy called me from our balcony...Get out here quick. I leave the tap running as I was doing dishes and run(ok moved quickly) to the balcony. "You gotta see this hurry!". I arrived to see the Northern Lights dancing in the sky(aura borealis). Hues of red and green filled the sky in an amazing natural light show. Unfortunately no pics from us but here is a link to a nice one taken from Toronto.
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/web/imagepopup.php?imgname=http://media.twnmm.com/storage/5014739/619&title=Northern Lights over the Beautiful City of Toronto&lang=en (http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/web/imagepopup.php?imgname=http://media.twnmm.com/storage/5014739/619&title=Northern) Really amazing and beautiful to see. It lasted at least 10min before things faded and not sure how long it had been going b4 Tracy stepped outside and noticed.

Wow, glad you saw that BF, must have been an awesome sight!

I see on our weather channel it was seen in Texas even!

It was a perfect day for raptors to migrate,so when Tracy went to the barn to get Oscar for school visits,she dropped me off there for the day. I hadnt hawk watched from the barn before,but there is a hill behind it with a very open vista so with that and Tracys assurance that birds of prey migrate passed,I hoped for the best. I wasnt disappointed and was able to see 189 raptors. There were a few Sharpshinned Hawks,a Coopers,a few Northern Harriers,3 Red-shouldered Hawks(a species in decline here),3 Roughlegged Hawks(a very high north bird),151 Redtailed Hawks,20 Turkey Vultures,a Bald Eagle and 5 Golden Eagles! A terrific day..I ducked into the barn a few times infront of the space heater as it was hovering around 32f with the windchill. I watched from 8am-4pm and finally got warm at about 11pm!

Oh my, you saw some good Raptors BF! Yay for you and keep warm. Waiting for the snow here in Jersey!!

Well it was a busy Saturday,we camera shopped,then visited 3 nest sites to try the camera out. We found Jack and Angel at Sunlife in Etobicoke,both enjoying the warmth of the sun. Their chin feathers were well puffed out showing just how happy and satisfied they were. Our other stops were less successful as pairs at William Osler and Mississauga Executive Centre eluded us. Back to our Raptor Centre and we had a group in at night that was part of the conservation authorities Hoot andHowl program at Kortright Conservation Area where our birds are housed,so Seamus the Barn Owl and Alexandra The Great..Horned Owl were the stars. Tomorrow...more camera tests and nestsite visits.
  Also of note,my Raptor Watch is approaching a new year count record for the park its held at. Last season we saw 6545 and are currently 38 short of a new high total for the season. The count runs till the end of November,so Im sure we will make it. I hope to get down next week for the record setting day.

Good to hear from you BF! Say hi to the gang up there for me!  :wave:

Thanks for the updates Frank and especially for the photos of Jack and Angel  :-*

How I spent my Saturday! http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2011/11/sightings/mec-the-last-four-days-this-is-a-must-read/ (http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2011/11/sightings/mec-the-last-four-days-this-is-a-must-read/)
Sunday Tracy and I returned to MEC to be sure Infinity was fine and that the intruder was nowhere in sight. She is fine and no sign of the interloper.
We also went to another site and found both male and female there. The male was chasing pigeons. What will next week bring?? Stay tuned,its never boring around here!

BigFrank, so glad Infinity is ok!  Wow, what a time you all have! 

That story is unbelievable! Thanks so much BF & Tracy, good job!

Those guys from CPF are the best!  :notworthy:

Thanks for the kind words and glad U enjoyed the report. Tracy may have to take up writing for Harlequin  :2thumbsup: Here is a shot of the happy couple I took,such as it is.

Not Everytime Can Be A Success
Tracy and I were at CPF office when Marion answered the phone to Mark. He had gotton a call from Burlington Liftbridge where a Peregrine was reported in the water! None of us were close enough to do a thing,but luckily we could dispatch local fledge watching couple Bill and Sue. They were on the road immediately. The bird was staying afloat sort of flapping and swimming by doing so. Bridge staff were at waters edge trying to help. This is a busy shipping lane,entering the water was not an option and a tide was going out. They did their best. Bill and Sue arrived,the bird had been pulled in. While we were thrilled it wasnt one of the resident pair of Peregrines,Cirrus or Mackenzie,the poor Redtailed Hawk didnt make it. Cirrus took the Redtail down. We all felt badly at the outcome,but either way that is nature. Natural enemies fight and sometimes one doesnt make it.
 We will always make our best efforts to save any bird of prey and get it to care.Not every rescue has a great result.

Hey, you gave it your best shot at a rescue! Poor RTH  :(. Thanks for trying.

As always CPF to the rescue! They sure do a good job up there in Canada! Too bad for the hawk!

So...what have we been up to? Well...we helped move CPF head office downstairs,a real task with a safe and ancient heavy..well built file cabinents. All survived the move with just a few lingering aches and pains. Tracy took me with her so I could see a friend at an in store event,where she talked and displayed Seamus the Barn Owl and Max the Harris Hawk. It was very well attended with the stores estimate of about 70 people,it was a real full house! As the store had linked us in their emails to frequent shoppers,many at the presentation had been following Tiago and Rhea Mae. We got a new bird feeder and  soon we hope to see some winter visitors.We did a pick up of food for our birds of prey too that week.
  I went down to Toronto for a few days to visit my mother and do some local birding. Weather wasnt great for it but I got in a few good walks and saw several birding buddies,so had a good time.  The raptor watch I started in 2004 finished up on the 30th,and it was a record year!! Im so thrilled Walter kept it going in my abscence this season. http://raptorwatch.blogspot.com (http://raptorwatch.blogspot.com) to check results out(tons of great photos there too)
There is other news,but that must wait abit. Have to wait until its posted on CPF site.
 

Congrats BF, awesome records you all broke. So many raptors, (I can't even fathom that many). Great pics, great blog. Good luck with your next project. Thanks for all you do!  :bow:  :clap:

Truely Donna thanks...the watch will continue next fall,likely with me at the helm again. I still get excited whether I see a Sharpshinned Hawk or an Eagle. I really enjoy introducing new folks to birding. My philosphy from day one is that if I can show people a bird,then they may care or even be moved to action! Not unlike myself,who had no idea most of these birds existed let alone that I could  see them in the city of Toronto,if I say Red-shouldered Hawks are in decline in Ontario,what does that mean to you if U never heard of them? never seen one and probably never will?? really why would U care? BUT if I can show them one,now its real. Maybe they will be moved to action...simply voting a different way and in best cases passing on the word and maybe volunteering someplace? Never know who could be inspired and what great or small things they may go on to do. Folks from my watch have connected with others they otherwise wouldnt have. Now they inform others,some volunteer with CPF in various capacities,others with other wildlife organizations,that is my reward!
 All winter we watch for owls and over wintering ducks,as well as other small winter visitors. It makes the cold harsh winter a little more bearable. Of course I'll help out at the barn when I can and we will be monitoring and gettting ready for another nesting season with CPF,so while we all slow down abit,there are still few dull moments.
I encourage people to get involved who can with  their local Christmas Bird Counts(just search the net for one in your area),project feeder watch if that is something in your area?(bird studies Canada ) and later in the winter (Feb) The Great Backyard Bird Count. Its a fun way to learn and contribute to science.

Hi gang it was Santa Parade day and Parade of Lights in Schomberg Ontario,where we live. The town gets right into it and its quite a happening! Christmas On Main St (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUByPkFAAHI#)

 :clap: Love the lighted trucks! Thanks Big Frank!  :wave:

You guys sure "Do it big" in Canada. My kind a Parade! Thanks BF!

Thanks, Big Frank.  That was really fun -- I loved seeing the monster machines all decked out for the parade.

Mary in Charlotte (NC)

Love your parade video Big Frank! Good job!   :2thumbsup:

I noticed that one of the trucks had an Canadian Flag and an American Flag flying side by side.   :clap:

Thanks for sharing.

Glad you all enjoyed the video,seriously I thought Id be posting to poke fun at the hillbillys that are among us in the town,but I really enjoyed the day and was impressed with the towns spirit and the huge crowd it drew. Id bring friends up next year from the big city for it.

Well...finally got out birding again. Rob came up to Schomberg and got me. That sounds fairly simple,but is anything Im involved in? I got the final message about going at 3am so misread it. I thought Rob said he'd be here at 630am..no he said he'd be up not up here at 630am,which I found out while waiting for him at 7am on the corner infront of our house. He was going to be another 90min. I dared not go back inside. Why?? Well Id woke at 5am and in the course of getting ready I moved the unit that holds our chordless phone,which caused our phone to ring,waking Tracy!! 5am and Tracy dont go well together. She was very understanding though but when there was no need to get up at all,I decided rather then go back in the house at 7am and admit my stupidity,I went for breakfast at a local coffeeshop! and then walked back home for Robs arrival.
Soooooo Rob arrived and we decided to check for a Snowy Owl that was reported about a 10minute drive away. We almost didnt bother as it was last reported so far into a farm field that even with a scope it was difficult to see. We got there and scoured the first field. Nothin. But we both could see a white lump on some white pipes at a great distance. We surveyed the area and thought we could figure out a secondary road that would get us at least reasonably close. It brought us feather to face with the beautiful adult male Snowy Owl!!! Ok well maybe not that close but within 100ft of it. We had great binocular views of the bird as he sat looking for some good eats. Both Rob and I snapped some photos too. Eventually the bird flew past us and we believe caught something in an adjacent field,likely a mouse. The Snowy Owl was almost completely white,telling us it was an adult male. Females and young have varying degrees of black markings on them.  What a thrill for both Rob and I.

 :wave: Good for you Big Frank!  Thanks for sharing!  :2thumbsup:

Hey BF, that was well worth the time mistake! You got some breakfast and so did the Snowy, (which by the way), is very handsome. It all worked out and Tracy got some more sleep! Way to go!!

Wow!  Thanks so much BigFrank!!!  Beautiful pictures!

Absolutely gorgeous, BF!  Thanks for sharing the story and pics!

So happy for you Big Frank!  What a beautiful owl.   :clap: :thumbsup:

The owls that we've seen here in Rochester so far have been females.

Good choice not waking up Tracy a 2nd time.   :laugh:

Got this back today from the Christmas On Main Street day. Im quite impressed how good the background looks,it was just painted on paper behind us,under a little tent outside in a parking area.
I'll be away the week of Christmas so just incase I dont have much to tell before then..Merry Christmas to everyone.

Great pic BF and have a very "Merry Christmas" yourself!

 :wave: Hey Big Frank! A very Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones! :christree: :ornament: And I'm sure you told Santa you've been a good boy!!!  :rofl:

Merry Christmas to you and your family Big Frank.  Thank you so much for sharing your stories and pictures with us.  Be safe.   :chrispup:

BigFrank, thank you so much for everything!!!  Have a very happy and blessed Christmas!!!! :chrispup:

Merry Christmas, Big Frank!

Well Im home from a visit with my Mom over Christmas. We had a great time and I even got in some birding! Best find was a Northern Pintail. A less than common duck. Its a real beauty. Interestingly,on the 24th I saw 2 birds of prey circling and all of the pigeons in the area of Moms appartment building going crazy. At a distance there were 2 birds of prey circling. I ran to my pack and got my binoculars. I soon saw it as 2 Peregrines. One went into an incredible dive,dropping like a stone after prey. I lost it as it disappeared over the residential neighborhood. Soon the male sailed over our building and out of sight. I waited for the bird that dove to reappear and soon it too sailed over the building,clearly the female. Both views of her were quite quick. Both birds were adult,but thats all I could really see. Shame I hadnt gotton better views of the female as Id like to have seen if it had the tracking device. Moms building is tall,I can see 2 sites from it(very very long distance..Canada Square and the general area Quest and Kendal are) and our Yellow Pages site is quite nearby. Knowing they hunt the area,Ive asked Mom to keep her eyes peeled. She will know it isnt a Redtail or Vulture.
  On a personal note,I visited my dietician for a weigh-in too,and I had lost 10 pounds since my last visit 3 weeks earlier. I am now under 400 pounds at 396,a weight I havent been in at least 15 years!! Onward and downward!

Pretty duck Big Frank! Congrats and keep at it. After the next knee replacement I hope to be way more active and losing a few myself. Thanks for posting your experiences! Say hi to the gang at CPF for me!  :wave:

Congratulations on the weight loss -- that's a particularly good accomplishment during the Christmas season!  Also, thanks for the great Pintail picture.  Those ducks are uncommon around here also. It reminds me that I should spend at least one day during this break down by the river, looking for waterfowl.


Paul

Love the Pintail pic too, BF, and I also congratulate you on your weight loss!  Keep up the good work and keep us posted on your progress!

Good for you Big Frank!  Keep up the good work!   :clap: :thumbsup: :2thumbsup:

Thanks gang  all the support and being accountable to everyone helps me. Here are a wack of Christmas Past photos of me and Santa! Enjoy http://www.winkflash.com/photo/public.aspx?u=bigbirderfrank&ic=10019332 (http://www.winkflash.com/photo/public.aspx?u=bigbirderfrank&ic=10019332)
Tracy and I are meeting Bruce today for lunch and will likely pop in on at least one of the city pairs of Peregrines while there! Will be sure to let U know if we do and post some pics.

Wow, nice you have the memories. I have none of me and Santa, not sure where they all are. This was great BF. Thanks for sharing and good luck today.

 :wave: Hey Big Frank thanks for sharing your memories! Blond hair when you were a kid I see! Tell Tracy and Bruce I said hi and I hope you find some peregrines!  ;D

 :pfalcon: :foxbinocs:

Frank - That's neat that you have all those pictures of you and Santa.  Looks like the same Santa and Santa chair in a few of the pictures.

Happy New Year  :clap: :b-day: :newyearbd: Tracy and I send along our best wishes to everyone on the Rfalcon board. May your 2012 be filled with health,hapiness and plenty of Peregrines!
We enjoyed a fun late evening and early morning(till 3am) of cards with our neighbors. The ladies vs the men. The ladies beat us silly after 3 hours of Rumoli and we narrowly beat them at Euchre in a best of 5. Dumbluck had alot to do with our victory. With the ugly cold weather done for awhile,many of our educational birds are happy to be in outdoor pens again. A few nights of wicked temps meant being indoors was a necessity for some.  The next few weeks hold a few more social engagements as well as Project School Visit starting up for 2012.  We have already arranged to meet Ann who is another CPF volunteer and amazing photographer,in a week or so. We will be trying to capture photos of the King St birds and ID the resident male. 
Not far from our Yellow Pages nest site,we saw a male Peregrine chasing a ball of paniced pigeons. The Peregrine was right in amongst them. As we were in a moving vehicle on a city street,under less than ideal driving conditions,we were not willing to cause a car wreck(Tracys) to enjoy the excitement as we would have liked to.  Time seems to fly,before long it will be time for the Ottawa Sportsmans Show in late Feb.  I hope I can contribute plenty of fun,informative and exciting observations to the site again in 2012.

Well many of you have by now read Tracys latest posting to the CPF page about our visit to King St to see Erin and her man of mystery. There is some speculation that it may still be Windwhistler/Spike from many years back. Similar behaviors and his black band are the reason for that. Tracy has only this moment told me we will be back down next weekend,whether pending to try again. We will try to have a scope for that visit. We also popped in at William Osler to check up on Oconnor but neither she or her mate were present. 
  We also went to "another spot" which must remain unmentioned to get shots of the resident pair. We drove up to find both male and female very near to where they nested last season. We watched the male retrieve some very recently stashed food, a pigeon. He called at the female like a baby for part of our visit,which was really quite sweet. At one point he entered the nest area before emerging in quick order.

 Today Ann,Tracy and myself are going to look for a Snowy Owl which is about 10min from home. Others may join us,making it another enjoyable day. We may venture further afield and look in another area for other Snowy Owls that are being reported. Not too many dull moments around  here!

Hey Big Frank!  So glad to hear that the King St pair and the "another spot" pair are doing well.   :thumbsup:

Glad you guys got out there, can't wait to see if it's Windwhistler..wouldn't that be something!!   >:D

Today we didnt mind it was Snowy!! Snowy Owls were  abundant! Tracy and I had planned to meet Ann at a spot near our home to see a Snowy Owl. We did and when we arrived we soon ran into another birder we knew named Skip. We all teamed up and started watching a Snowy Owl out quite a distance in a field. It later moved even further away. We ran into a few local people who wondered what we were doing and they said ohh see waaay over there thats our place. The owl often is around our house,so go ahead and go on the property. Ann promised the family a photo if we got any and they were on their way. Soon we decided to try another area abit further afield, which had reports of as many as 4 Snowy Owls on one stretch of road. It is a well known location,especially in irruptive years. We arrived to the last reported location and there was a car parked at the end of the road. It was a fellow Id met at my Raptor Watch named Bruce(not CPF Bruce).  Bruce let us know where 4 Snowys were. Bumping into Skip, worked out well as Skip had a telescope and drove an SUV. The scope came in handy as a few of the Snowy Owls we saw at location 2 were distant. The SUV came in handy as we ran into a worker who allowed us access to an unkept road which neither Tracy's nor Ann's car could have handled without damage!
  We saw a beautiful adult male first,he sat on a pile of trees that had been cleared from the farm field long ago. He was a poser. We approached slowly getting better shots as we did . Next the other side of the field had a juvenile Snowy Owl. That side of the field held no fewer than 7 more Snowy Owls!! That made our total for the day 9!! Great fun,great friends,great birds and even great though cold weather!

Holy Snowy's BF, you hit the Jackpot!! Beautiful photos and thank you so much for sharing!!

Thanks BF! Great pics too!!  :2thumbsup:

Tracy and I headed out to do a run to several westend nests over the past 2 days. She was alone on Friday,when she checked our MEC, Brampton and William Osler nestsites. With noone home at the later 2,Tracy was disturbed by what she believed she saw at MEC, that Infinity was not on site, but a rogue. Infact she told me that evening she thought it was the same rogue female that had been present when we released Infinity after rehab.
  With that in mind, we set out Tuesday for MEC to confirm Tracy's observation of a now unbanded female on site. Upone arrival, we immdiately found the unbanded male. Tracy got photos of his bandless legs. Before long the female joined him at a stash. The male flew off with the food, female following. When we relocated them, the female had the leftover pigeon and was eating it. We confirmed with good shots Tracy took, that the female was also unbanded. This means Infinity is no longer on site. Tracy was disturbed by this as she enjoyed watching Infinity. See Tracy's account of the 2 days at http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2012/01/sightings/two-days-at-mec-infinity-is-gone-the-rogue-is-back/ (http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2012/01/sightings/two-days-at-mec-infinity-is-gone-the-rogue-is-back/) along with several photos.
  We grabbed a bite to eat and being not too far from another of our sites,we went there. It is at a cement plant. I had never been to this site before. We pulled down the road next to the plant,as our access due to VERY HEAVY machinery is limited and searched the buildings, silos and the surrounding area. Eventually we spotted one very well camouflaged Peregrine Falcon sitting atop part of a structure. Distance didnt allow us to ID whether it was the male or female but our impression was it was the female. We will make an effort to visit again soon,with a scope. Staff at the plant observe the falcons and do the fledge watching there.
  Next weekend big plans for another visit to our local Snowy Owl with the chance that Sunday we will do a grand tour de Peregrines in the westend again.
  The past 6months with Tracy and CPF has been a whirlwind for me. Ive been to many sites that I just never had the ability to get to, and Tracy's dedication has allowed me opportunities/experiences I otherwise wouldnt have ever had. Naturally I look forward to many more and around here the wait isnt very long.
 February isnt far off and I will be going with other CPF staff to take our educational birds to the Ottawa Sportsmans Show in late Feb. This will be CPFs first time at the Ottawa show. I cant wait.

 

Very sad about Infinity BF. What ever happened, I hope she is still alive and well. Glad your going out and doing what you love and your reports show it. Good luck, have fun and keep the posts coming. Thanks to Tracy for making this possible.  :clap:

 :( Oh no, I hope Infinity is alright! Hi Big Frank and Tracy and thanks for keeping us informed.  :wave:

Tracy and I set off on a busy day. After moving a few of CPFs educational birds back outside after a frigid night, we set out to visit 3 Peregrine nesting sites and then go looking for Hawks and Owls.
  Our first stop was William Osler Hospital. We hadnt seen either Hurricane nor OConner recently so we were very pleased to spot both of them together on the hospital H. We saw that both had eaten recently and that there was a leftover bit of pigeon on it with them.
  From there we went by to check on MEC. The new female has sort of settled in, not appearing so nervous as the last time we saw her. Both birds were on the Desjardins building, on different sides, on different letters. Satisfied that it was the new female, we went to our 3rd nesting site.
  We went to Holcim again. Last visit we saw only one Peregrine and werent entirely sure which it was male or female. Today we arrived and couldnt readily see anyone home. I decided to brave the freezing temperatures and get out of the car to scan. I found one bird, the male atop one of the many buildings  and while Tracy tried for some photos, the female came into view on the same roof. I hollered excitedly to Tracy.
  We soon left, headed to the Cayuga/Fisherville area to view roadside Hawks and Owls. We 79 Redtailed Hawks!,2 Northern Harriers,4 American Kestrels and 3 Roughlegged Hawks(all dark morphs). 2 of the Redtails flew along making their fierce sounding call. One did it repeatedly. The Roughies are from the high north and even Arctic.
  Thrilled we proceed to Fisherville to search for Short-eared Owls. We struck out there,but we had one more stop to make and we thoroughly enjoyed that. We stopped at Ruthven Park. After a short walk we came to some of the parks feeders. We saw Red-bellied Woodpecker and a bird we dont see very often called a Tufted Titmouse.
  With that we were on our way back to the barn to feed the birds and bring some in. Or should I say Tracy did the work while I napped off and on and stayed warm in the car. What a great day,we really enjoyed ourselves.

 :o Wow 79 RTH's! That would make for a great day all by itself!!!!  ;D
 :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk: :hawk:

Hi Mak the Redtails certainly did make our day. We got pretty competative as we went along the highway as to who was ahead counting..Tracy claimed victory! We are headed out within the hour (by 730am) to check out 3 nest sites and attempt to confirm/get IDs. We have 2 scopes borrowed and will have extra eyes down at King St. Both Linda and Ann are supposed to meet us.
If there is time we are going to go look for a pair of well known nesting Great Horned Owls. They live in a small woodlot,so in general U almost have to find them. Will definetly get pics and post upon our return.

Well..Tracy and I dipped on the owl,saved that for Sunday afternoon. We started our day not so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but early and went to Holcim,hoping to learn something about the resident pair. We eventually found both birds and ridiculous cold winds be darned we stood eyes to scope until we couldnt stand it anymore. We saw that the female had bands from the US,without more we arent willing to speculate and cause a flurry of emails or posts. Suffice to say we will be back in short order to try to discover the ID of both birds. Ann messaged us that she couldnt meet us at King St,so we took our time at Holcim. When we finally decided to leave we proceeded along Arrowhead Rd to the lights..almost, when we saw a huge flock of European Starlings or murmuration,(flying together and going crazy) and when they landed we tried to get photos to represent some of what we saw. While Tracy snapped away,I noticed an American Kestrel, just into the field beside the corner. We delayed our turn,reversed abit out away from the corner and took photos. As we decided it was time to get moving,we hear a Starling scream. Soon we see a bird of prey, cross the road low and land on the other side, on the snow covered grass. WOW its falcon species #3, a Merlin. It has plucked a Starling from the sky and is finishing it off on the ground. It mantled over its prize, but soon is spooked off its' kill. The Merlin flew up to a powerline just above where it had made the kill, at which time there was a movement in the tree behind it! It was a Redtailed Hawk! Holy no wonder the Starlings were going nuts! 4 species of BOPs in one block,3 at the same intersection!  The Merlin sat above its lunch, looking around and down at it.  Clearly it didnt want to abandon its hard earned meal and eventually it made a pass of the prey, before successfully snagging it on its 2nd attempt, after which it flew off out of sight. What a series of sightings! Tracy's photos are far superior to my own and I hope to share a few of hers,along with her description of things late Sunday after whatever adventure we get up to.
  We finally tore ourselves away from Holcim and headed for King St. It was frigid again downtown,but we hung in as long as we could. We did veryify that the male had black over black bands,making him one of ours(a Canadian banded bird). We got several short decent views of both male and female. They were acting abit weird, uncomfortable with something that was going on in their territory. They didnt sit still very long each time they landed and then were bopping around the skies.  We half expected to see more then 2 Peregrines in the sky at once, but never did. We are going to make another attempt Sunday morning to view this pair.
  From there it was a few stop ins on the way back to the CPF Raptor Centre. We stopped in at Islington and Bloor to see if Jack and Angel were about. Jack was, Angel wasnt. We saw Jack atop a pipe on the roof of one of the towers, very near some sort of exhaust pipe which was spewing hot air! Smart Jack! Tracy got a few decent shots of Jack,given the distance he was away. We then dropped into William Osler and found OConnor to be away, but Hurricane on their favorite hospital H. More good photos were taken and it was time to head for the CPF barn. In all an exciting and successful day! Here are a few of my less than stellar photos. Im thrilled just to have a record of everything, to help remember the day.

The Redtail and Merlin. You can see the Merlin keeping an eye on the meal it had to abandon momentarily on the ground.

 :wave: Thanks Frank! You and Tracy sure do have some great watches! Say hi for me.  ;D

Hey BF, are you an OWL? You seem to be up with them into the wee hours. What a great day you 2 had and some great stories. Thanks.

The hours I keep are insane. I sleep when I need sleep,honest these sightings arent dreams or hallucinations!
 Today was another one for the books!  Tracy and I went to the barn and she put a few of our birds outside as the weather was warm enough to(warm enough being relative). On our way out,we saw our first good birds of the day,several Eastern Bluebirds! Their vibrant blue with rusty chest really popped on abit of a dull winter morning. Well,off to a good start. At King Street nest of the Peregrines,we were shutout,no sign of anyone. We left and headed to view a Great Horned Owl to the east of Toronto. We found one of the pair there fairly easily,but out of good camera view. Good for them. From there we went to Whitby Harbour. We stopped when we saw a Trumpeter Swan near the roadside. While I walked down the sidewalk with it and took a few photos of it,Tracy was watching a drama unfold that myself and 3 or 4 others were oblivious to so far. A hawk had caught itself a gull,and somehow ended up in the water. Finally Tracy calls me and says its going to drown! I thought she was seeing a pair of ducks mate as sometimes the male holds the female under when mating. Nope it was a bird of prey..immediately on seeing it,it was flailing around,more or less in a swimming motion,moving towards the shore, with its prey in tow.(I dont know if it actually took the gull down but I think so..no idea how). As it "swam",we could see she was laboring. It was a female Coopers Hawk,we think a sub-adult. She didnt have much left in the tank and soon sank below the water. Both Tracy and I briefly thought of going in after it,but it was frigid down near the lake and waters were barely above freezing. After disappearing under the water,with a final burst,the Coopers Hawk let go of its meal and flew just above the water onto a log/sticks in the water. She collected herself and eventually flew ashore. We still had concern it could freeze to death before it could dry but there was no way to get to the bird. We left to view other things hoping for the best.  There wasnt much further into the bay,so we turned around and headed out. We were going to check on the Coopers and see if it was ok or in need of help. We were suprised to see it in a roadside tree, across the street from where we left it. She was already considerably dryer then we'd left her and started to preen and sit in the sun(what there was of it). We left thinking it would be fine. Holy moly what a weekend! From there we dropped into Yellow Pages nestsite,but no luck there either. The Coopers Hawk was certainly the highlight of the day!

 :hawk: Never a dull moment for you 2 eh Big Frank!?  ;D

Well, there's one for the books!! Gee BF, never a dull moment, (indeed), with you 2!  :o My heart was pounding reading that!! Glad the Hawk was OK.

Wow Big Frank!  Also shows how juvies/sub adults get into trouble when looking for food!

Big Frank-I saw your report about Peter from Hamilton Sheraton at Tommy Thompson Park http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2012/01/sightings/peregrines-spotted-at-tommy-thompson-park/ (http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2012/01/sightings/peregrines-spotted-at-tommy-thompson-park/) and I have a question.  Is the female unbanded?  Or was he unable to get a read on her bands?  Thanks!

The female is unbanded. They are a pair. Have mated this past year,but as the place they chose is private property we cannot yet tell where. They had 3 chicks fledge. The pair is being well monitored.  Please respect that we cannot give full information yet.

Thanks!  I know there are a few private property nests around Toronto and I'm happy there are many willing to play host to a scrape.  I was just wondering if we knew who she was!

A post-snowfall walk for pretty snow pictures led me to a fun sighting on Friday.  As I walked down the road near Duffin Marsh, just around the corner from home, I saw a ripple in the water. I waited and watched. Soon I saw a Muskrat surface. It swam towards the shore, where I saw 2 more before finally seeing a 4th. I watched as they swam and ate. I was happy to leave them undisturbed. Here is a short video I put together of them. http://youtu.be/AUj0dghtlLw (http://youtu.be/AUj0dghtlLw) 

Now that's a pretty cool family you found there BF, thanks, nice to see something different!  :clap:

I liked that, BF! But here's a thing: Is a Muskrat the same as a Groundhog? (I need to know this before 2 February, you understand...)

Nope not even close. Ground hogs can be a way bigger and not ratty looking tail! Groundhogs dont do water much. They are plant eaters.

nice informative video and fun to watch

Tracy and I were into the barn early to meet with a few guests. We brought several of our feathered educators out to meet them too. Here are a few of my shots of Seamus the Barn Owl and Bubo(Boo to his friends) the Eurasian Eagle Owl.

Beautiful Owls.  What happened to them that made them educational birds?

See Seamus' story here on the Canadian Peregrine Foundation website http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/programs/education/edbirds/seamusphoto.html (http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/programs/education/edbirds/seamusphoto.html) (and some good photos)
 Boo's story can be seen here http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/programs/education/edbirds/bubophoto.html (http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/programs/education/edbirds/bubophoto.html) Enjoy. None of our birds are injured in any manner. They are all human imprints.

Thanks for the stories, BF.  It's always interesting to read about how or why they became educational birds.

Sub-heading this "More never dull moments in Frank and Tracys world." We got out again this Sunday, to check a few Peregrine nestsites. We started at Holcim and confirmed that both adults were on site and that the male had a black band. This tells us he is Canadian. We then stopped off at Humber Bay Park and viewed ducks. We found many species in relatively close, a great feature of this park. Redheads, a Merganser, Ruddy Ducks, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead among others were seen.(photos are a Redhead Duck and a Merganser). After going quackers trying to take photos of swift swimming ducks, we went to the King St Peregrine  nest, where we found sitting in the corner pizza place with a good view out the window to the ledge preferable to freezing outside. We confirmed again that the male has a black band, and interestingly on his right foot. Thats bass ackwards,so that narrows considerably the possibilities and has us leaning one direction. More to come from King St soon.
 

More Never Dull Moments In Frank and Tracys World Part Deux: Monday the main road in our little town of Schomberg Ontario, oddly called Main Street! was shut down while a pilot for a television show was being filmed. It has many Omish characters in it, so the street was full of beards, buggies and boo boos from horses! I popped outside and stole a few pictures as filming was right outside of our driveway. The film is based on a book and is called Sworn To Silence. I searched it and the story sounds interesting. Its for the channel Lifetime.  Filming has Schomberg subbing in for small town Ohio. I laughed when I zoomed on one of the many vehicles with OHIO plates on the street. The plate was held on with paperclips, just stuck over a one from Ontario. No wonder Canadian productions are so much cheaper!!  Something different for a sleepy little town.

More Never Dull Moments In Frank and Tracys World Part Trois: One clear night at the barn I was able to take photos of 2 planets,even with my little camera. Venus is the smaller one,it was quite far away, relative to Jupiter. The shot of Jupiter I was quite happy with as it showed as more that just a light in the sky. By far they were the largest and brightest "stars" in the sky. Never know what we are gonna see when we look around! From tv stars to planetary stars! Aint life grand!

 :wave: BF as they say parts is parts! Thanks for sharing yours!  :clap:

Impressive BF...imagine if you had a long lens!!! Pretty cool photos!! Thanks.

What color band is on his left leg?

Up until 2004, Mike Allen was putting black USFWS bands on falcons' right legs and black/red bands on the left legs. In 2004 he switched to the familiar silver USFWS bands.

So if the male has a black band on the right leg and a black/red band on the left, it could be a pre-2004 falcon from NY.

Thanks for that info Shaky,thats something for the memory bank. Id imagine Tracy is aware of the info Uve sent,I will let her know anyway. Will be good and sure before we say who it is that we are 100% sure.

HI gang,had another busy birding weekend. Hard to top Carol's Snowy Owl in downtown Rochester! Saturday Tracy and I met our friends Skip and Ann,to take some photos of ducks. It was alot of fun and we found enough to keep the cameras rolling. The best finds were a Northern Pintail and a Northern Shovellor. Over 30 Ruddy Ducks were seen too. We tried to find a Screech Owl but it stayed hidden from us.
  Sunday we decided to go to Nanticoke Power Plant at Lake Erie(canadian side), where Bald Eagles overwinter. We saw a dozen. 9 thirlled us when they circled together, soaring about. A few did some talon touching! We watched them circle and heard them call alot,that was quite exciting!!  We had a great time and will likely head back there Sat or Sun next week,with Ann and Skip.
  Something abit special for me was that purely by chance we ran into my "Raptor Mentor" Colin. He,his wife and a mutual buddy of ours were standing by the road watching one of the Bald Eagles through a scope. Colin taught me sooo much of what I know about raptor identification. He (as it were) took me under his wing when I started hawk watching back in 2002. I owe him a great deal. Ive done and experienced things that I never would have without his tutoring! Colin is close to 80 now and just finished 2 rounds of cancer treatments,so it was great to see him up and out and about doing what he so loves. Back when he passed alot of his knowledge on to me( he is one of THE BEST at raptor ID in our province and always joked "I may have taught U everything U know,but not everything I know!") he told me he would teach me all he could, the only condition was that I had to pass it on. Ive tried to honour that, through my own fall migration Raptor Watch I started in 2004 and of course my work with CPF.  I feel Ive done a good job, turning otherwise ordinary folks into raptorholics.  Back in November on my raptor watch blog, I posted a story that was run about Colin and his gang at Hawk Cliff. page down abit to find the story  http://raptorwatch.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-12-04T13:23:00-05:00 (http://raptorwatch.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-12-04T13:23:00-05:00)

So nice that you ran into your friend and mentor, Big Frank.   :happy:

Love the pics of the Eagles.  Thanks of sharing!

Beautiful pics and LOTS of Eagles!  Thanks for sharing, BF!

Its been abit quiet birdwise lately,but it doesnt mean its been boring around here! We are busy planning and getting ready for the Ottawa Sportsmans Show. Tracy,myself and 2 other volunteers Kyle and Lev, gathered up the heavy materials we'll take to the show and organized it so it can be loaded easily into the rental truck. Bruce,Kathy,Marion and I will leave Tuesday,do set up Wednesday and show starts Thurs, running through Sunday. That will be quite the adventure Im sure. Its CPFs first time to the Ottawa show. We will take 6 of our educational birds, including Alexandra the Great Horned Owl,Kyla the American Kestrel, Seamus the Barn Owl, Oscar the Peregrine Falcon, Nova or Cheyenne both Peregrine Falcons and making his show debut Tomahawk(Tommy) the Redtailed Hawk.  Bruce and I hope to fit in some general birding as the Ottawa area has some different birds more commonly that arent as easily seen as in Toronto. I hope to add Barrow's Goldeneye to my lifelist for one. We are also going to visit the 2 Peregrine nesting sites in Ottawa. Of course I will give a full report of the Ottawa Adventure.
 We hope to get out with friends Rob and Angie between now and Tuesday,as well as spending Saturday with some friends from a not so far away place,whom you all may know. Watch this space late Saturday for more on that! 
On a personal note, I was to the dietician again and lost another 8 pounds bringing the total to 82 since June and 162 pounds down from my highest weight ever. Ive got almost that much to go still,but I'll get there. Im feeling better than ever and determined never to go back to my old ways. 

You go BF,  :congrats: :bravo: keep up the good work!! No more cake for me, (for breakfast), and lunch!

Your going to have to change your name soon!!  :thumbsup:

"On a personal note, I was to the dietician again and lost another 8 pounds bringing the total to 82 since June and 162 pounds down from my highest weight ever. Ive got almost that much to go still,but I'll get there. Im feeling better than ever and determined never to go back to my old ways."

Frank!!! WHAT an accomplishment!!! Ask me - I have lost the approximate weight of five 6-year-olds in my life... unfortunately, not all at the same time...

Excellent Frank! Can't wait to see you on Saturday! We will have a great time I'm sure!!!  :wave:

Well, Im off tomorrow until very late Sunday or very early Monday morning to Ottawa with a group of 3 other CPF folks, bound for The Ottawa Sportsmans Show. It runs Thurs-Sun. Should be quite the adventure as its our first time there for the show. We hope to do some general birding. We plan on going to 2 Peregrine Falcon nests that are in Ottawa to check up on their pairs. Will have pics and videos on my return and plenty to post on CPFs page!

Im back from the show. Its Monday evening and Im still recovering from a week in Ottawa 4 days of which we spent at The Ottawa Sportsmans Show. It went great,the folks of Ottawa were very generous and loved our feathered educators. Ive posted a short report and a few photos on the CPF page. I will post some here tomorrow. While in Ottawa we also went and checked up on the pair of Peregrine Falcons that live in downtown Ottawa. We managed to see one of them flying high above the nest building area! That is at the downtown Delta Centre Hotel. Tomahawk our Redtailed Hawk made his show debut and did wonderfully! Seamus our Barn Owl and Alexandra our Great Horned Owl were hits and everyone marvelled upon viewing how beautiful both Nova and Oscar our Peregrine Falcons were, not to mention that they could achieve speeds of over 200miles per hour in a dive! Wee cute Kyla the Kestrel stole hearts.
  The Ontario Provincial Police had a booth next to us. I couldnt resist asking for this picture to be taken. Later the officer came over for a photo with one of our birds! http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2012/02/sightings/cpf-at-ottawa-sportsmans-show/ (http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2012/02/sightings/cpf-at-ottawa-sportsmans-show/)

Glad you had a good time at the show!  I want one of those speed limit signs!  :clap:

And looking good Frank...keep up the good work!

 :lol: :lol: Great photo Frank!  Good to see the men in blue have a sense of humour  :silly:  Sounds like you all had a great time  :thumbsup:

Hey Joyce they put your speed limit sign up! Way to go Frank, thanks for the report.  :wave:

The sign is usually at CPF Head Office. It worked out perfect that we had the sign and were right beside the Ontario Provincial Police Booth. They said there was no way they could catch a Peregrine on radar or with their car! They were good men, we enjoyed their close company in the short time we got to know them.

What fun you had. Your looking real good BF.... :clap: What's Kyla's story? What a cutie. Thanks

As per the CPF webpage:
Kyla is wild produced American Kestrel (also known as the "Sparrow Hawk"). She was found injured, and was taken into a rehabilitation facility and was found to have neck trauma. She recovered from her injuries after an extended stay and treatment, but sadly, was in captivity too long and was inadvertently human imprinted in the process. As with all human imprints they would not survive in the wild, as they have no natural association with their own kind and will believe they are human for the rest of their lives. Kyla lacks life skills taught by parents and would be unable to survive, thus she was deemed non-releasable. Her fate, as with most human imprints, was to be euthanized. Fortunately, the Canadian Peregrine Foundation was contacted and were asked if we would take her as an educator. She was taken in for an evaluation period and we were able to confirm she was indeed, a human imprint. Her delightful personality and demeanor certainly demonstrated she would make an excellent educational bird. She is an excellent flier and clearly enjoys performing. She has been working with us at outreach events like the Toronto Sportsmen Show. She is well liked by all that meet her, and she too, enjoys meeting new people.
  Ive noticed questions frequently come up about our educational birds,CPF has a section on the website with information about our feathered educators at http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/programs/education/edfoto.html (http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/programs/education/edfoto.html) We are working on updating the website so all current birds can be found. U can also find the feathered educators on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canadian-Peregrine-Foundation/149280041803853?sk=wall#!/pages/Canadian-Peregrine-Foundation/149280041803853?sk=info (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canadian-Peregrine-Foundation/149280041803853?sk=wall#!/pages/Canadian-Peregrine-Foundation/149280041803853?sk=info)

Thanks and DUH, I've been on that page many times and probably read about her many times but had a Brain, well you know the rest!  :stupid:

I see they finally caught up with you Big Frank!   :lol:

Glad the show went well and Kyla is a lovely Kestrel.  It was fun meeting her and all the other CPF birds last week.

Wish I lived closer.  I would love to help out more.

Here are a few of the photos. Alexandra The Great Horned Owl,Nova The Peregrine Falcon and Tomahawk the Redtailed Hawk Enjoy!

More pics from Ottawa Sportsmens Show

Nova is so cute! Then again, they all are. Thanks for sharing your pics BF! (You look pretty dapper yourself), way to go!!!

Great photos Frank  Nova sure has matured since I held him as a juvie at the Sportsman Show!   I don't know who was more nervous over that back then, him or me!  Of course Mark telling me he'd have to kill me if I let him loose might have had something to do with that  :lol:

Grrrrrreat pics Frank! :flash: Thanks for sharing!!! :wave:

My favorite baby picture of Nova!  :baby:

large version at the link (http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/programs/education/edbirds/nova.html#)

My favorite too Ei!  :heart:

It felt like spring here for sure today. Sun was shining,sky was blue with some white puffy clouds and the birds were singing. A few Red-winged Blackbirds have arrived and even came to our feeder, many more called at Dufferin Marsh which is a short walk from home. Canada Geese were pairing up and honking loudly. I could hear Northern Cardinals and Robins calling. The best sighting of the day though was a female Pileated Woodpecker. Its a bigun! She was hammering out a big hole probably just looking for food, but I will keep an eye on the spot incase she was excavating a nest. 
  We have the Toronto Sportsmens Show coming up and CPF will be there as usual with a full compliment of educational birds and volunteers to show the birds, answer questions and this year even a flight demonstration! March 14-18, we are all looking forward to it.

Whoa, a Pileated, very cool find. Awesome pics BF. Thanks! Have fun at the show! (I know you will).

Love Pileateds and Ivory Bills too.  Cool Woodpeckers.  :whistle: