Early AM bonding 

So sorry to hear this. We saw him at a couple Watchers Weekends that we attended in past years. Sending Linda our condolences.

A little bonding time! ❤️❤️

EM has been doing well since fledging and even returned to the nest a few times yesterday...she looks great! After she fledged, people there had removed the light and mannikin, which had been placed to keep the GHO away. Last night, the GHO returned to, thankfully, find the nest empty!

http://youtu.be/FyRQ-4IHSeE

Beauty at Powers cam

                             

               

           

Bittersweet ending to the season, after 2 of the 3 Osprey chicks were taken by the GHO. Early yesterday morning, EM, the remaining chick successfully fledged.  Fly high and stay safe, sweet girl!

Fledge video

http://youtu.be/a0vdF-0mrYI

[Happy Birthday, Pat! Have a great day!]

                                            


                                                   Happy Birthday, Pat! Have a great day!

                                                      

                                                              Bon Anniversaire, Nicole!

Erie Wildlife Rescue

It is great sadness that we inform you that Voltaire, the adult female Peregrine Falcon which nested under the Ambassador Bridge, was killed today. Presumably she was hit by a vehicle as she was found on the road.

EWR had the privilege to care for Voltaire in the spring of 2015 when she was injured during a territory dispute with a rival female. Since her release, Voltaire and her mate successfully raised 10 chicks. She was a beautiful bird, and is a true loss to the Peregrine population which is considered a species of "Special Concern".

Our sympathies to the dedicated group of volunteers from Canadian Peregrine Foundation who monitor the birds.

                             Sad news. 

After the 2nd chick was taken by the GHO, people decided to investigate other ways to keep the Owl away from the nest and this is a post from yesterday. Summer/EM remains safe from predation this AM.

Here is a photo that I took last night of the mannequin that we are using on Hog Island to add further deterrence to the Great Horned Owl. The idea was suggested by noted osprey researcher Paul Spitzer, who informed me of the use of a lighted human ‘dummy’ successfully deployed for this purpose in Eastern Bay, MD. When I mentioned this to Eric Snyder, he produced the mannequin that is now on ‘patrol’ under the Hog Island nest. Of course ‘scarecrows’ are a common garden feature, often used- typically with mixed success.
Using human mannequins to deter birds is not new to Project Puffin. Our most notable previous use was ‘robo-ranger’ a robotic mannequin that stood up from a box at Eastern Egg Rock. It was built by students at DeWitt Middle School (in Ithaca)’s Technology Dept., with guidance from the class instructor, David Buchner, and a Cornell robotics engineer. You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gb3vjCCkT8
Unfortunately, gulls soon ‘habituated’ to robo-ranger, and it had little lasting effect on deterring gulls. This was likely because gulls could see that this was not a real person (the lack of realistic legs and other static features may have given it away), but also because of habituation behavior, where the lack of movement and predictability expose the non-threatening nature of the mannequin.
Avoiding habituation is the big challenge for our current mannequin plan. That is why the mannequin is moved daily to different positions and dressed in different outfits - and arms moved to different positions. We are also making a point to expose the legs of the mannequin, because there is some evidence that animals recognize the human form most readily by seeing legs as well as the torso. Keeping a spotlight on the mannequin further makes it conspicuous to the owl, which may add further deterrence.
We are only three nights into trying this method, so we will all see together the events of the coming nights and if this method shows promise.

Steve Kress

u

Beauty at Powers

Beauty visit....



...then Sundara showed up!

After not being seen in a many days, Sunny was found down on the sidewalk and was picked up for observation.  Unfortunately, sad news...

Toronto Sheraton
July 8th 2018

“It is with sadness that the Fledgling Falcon, " Sunny "  has passed away.

He spent the night in care, weighed, and given hydration and small amounts of food.  His weight was half of what was recorded at Banding Day on June 5th.
Unfortunately, he just was too depleted to recover.

 I suspect that past record temperatures and humidity kept him low and out of sight for the adults to do food drops. It's amazing he lasted this long. He was a fighter.

Fly High, Sunny�


More sad news..

Toronto Sheraton Centre
“Sad news again.  Feist, one of the three fledglings, was picked up from the Queen and University area and transferred to Toronto Wildlife Centre.
 On examnination, it was evident that
Feist had sustained puncture wounds to his eye. As this is an injury that would not allow him to be released back into the wild, he was humanely euthanized.

Fly free, fly high Feist.

We continue to do spot checks on the Sheraton nest site and hopes that we might catch a glimpse of the last remaining fledgling, Geoff.�

DC at Times Square!

People there had installed 2 bright lights a couple days ago that would illuminate the nest in order for Rachel to see any Owl attack happening but, sadly, there was another chick taken from the nest last night.  Rachel tried to fight it off but to no avail.  Both chicks were just banded a couple days ago too...now, one chick remains.