!!! Young fledgling takes up some new hobbies :-)
June 21, 2014 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:
June 21st - 2014
Thank goodness its the weekend and the rally race they we usually see going on out on Duncan Mills road has ceased for at least a few days! A very slow say - (well at least for a while) when all kayos brakes loose! It was one of those days and started with Ann arriving in the morning and not finding anyone. Then after much searching, one by one of the peregrines were located, except for one,, Rain-bow Dash!! After an extended period of a frustrating long search around all of the buildings, parking lots and rooftop leading edges, she returns to the 225 stairs and is distracted by a small noise. As she turns, guess who is stilling at waist level on the rail several feet from where Ann was standing,, no other than Rainbow Dash,,, who was standing on the metal rail throughout her entire search period, watching all along. An was able to take some great photos.
Knowing the a rescue was not possible with her camera, Ann in a defining moment umbilically detached herself from her camera,, (I wish I had been there to get that photo) :-) As she re-approached for the second time, Rainbow decided that it was time to go and took flight very low across the road (thank goodness there was no road rally races going on) and managed to gain enough altitude to land on the first floor lower overhang on the south west corner of 220. This is where Rainbow stayed until 1:30 in the afternoon after a lazzzy day of sleeping and stretching, flapping and sleeping, sleeping more, and watching all of the silly humans take her photograph. She attracted the attention of many passer-byes that dropped in throughout the morning to take her photo.
Finally, somewhere between 1pm and 1:30pm, she took flight again, and only after colliding into the windows of the pink/bronze coloured building glass on the building next to 225, she ended up on the lower balcony rail (north west corner), and eventually couldn’t keep her balance and slipped and fell down into the balcony in a flower pot filled with some long green shrubbery. Over the next 6 plus hours, Rainbow-Dash appeared to be dissecting the long green plants while watching the “other identical twin peregrine juvenile” mimic its exact moves,, :-) - her reflection in the glass!! Hilarious is an understatement!
Debbie, Sally, Kathy and myself watched spent most of our time laughing at her lack of gardening skills and dissection this poor plant while simultaneously trying to get the “other peregrine in the glass to get of her way so she could get off the balcony. Sky, her dad, dropped in and landed on the balcony rail on at least one occasion to check up her. Finally, after more than 6 hours, Rainbow finally flew up to the balcony rail and with allot of coaxing from her parents as they proceeded to feed two of the her other siblings, she took flight and ended up on the hydro wire and hydro pole across the street. After her short inspection of the hydro wires and connections, she eventually took flight and ended up on a 5 story window ledge on the west side of 240 Dncan Mill Road where she remained until we closed off the fledge watch around 9:49pm at darkness.
The other problem child, Stormy, who was rescued from the street yesterday and had to be put back to the nest building roof, spent all day on the same elevation of the nest building roof until after 7pm. An hour before the falcon follies, she made her first real flight, (and while not a good one), she flew over to the 240 building trying to make it to the upper rooftop. Sadly, she did not even come close as she struggled to get altitude, falling far short of the upper roof ledge, and ended up on the upper window ledge with a face plant into the back concrete wall. The good news, she did manage to recover and end up on the window ledge despite her “concrete work” and stayed put.
The other two fledglings, Hayes and Cosmo were flying from roof top to roof top all day and all stayed high!! They were the ones that got most of the food all day,, (and each got food several times as they chased their parents around from roof top to roof top).
By the end of the fledge watch shift, Stormy has taken her third flight - (which no-one actually saw), and was spotted on a ledge directly above the front entrance of the pink/bronze coloured building next to 225 Duncan Mill Road.
At Dark when Bob and I finally departed, all four fledglings were accounted for and in view.
Stay tuned………
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