[Etobicoke]

Etobicoke

Saw a juvie on the ledge yesterday evening around 6:41 p.m.

I could not really see any bands on this bird.

Congratulations to Swift and Beau on their first egg! Have been hoping and checking the cams. Last year, the first egg was laid on August 27.

This is terrible news. I am so sorry for the loss of this courageous, beautiful young falcon. It sounds as if some time must have elapsed after Voyager was injured before she was found, for her to have lost so much weight. Poor Voyager. I wish they had been able to help her.

Well done, Island Girl! Thank you for the update, Penelope.

Very interesting article! Thank you for posting it, Bobbie.

A new update from Donna Daniel on the blog today. Here is the part of the update which relates to Blaze:

Blaze remains in rehab.  She is doing quite well and has recovered from the keel issue and is now fully capable of flight.  At least on paper, she is ready to be released.  But timing is everything in these cases and unfortunately, timing is not good for Blaze.  The quandary is, when she was grounded and taken in for evaluation, she had not yet learned to hunt on her own.   She has been gone from the territory for an extended length of time during a key period in the nesting cycle (when the juveniles become independent of the adults) that there is a definite concern with releasing her back in the downtown area.  As mentioned above, Durand and Spark have shifted gears from raising youngsters to bonding with each other and the site so they probably would no longer provide food for Blaze.  In fact, there is the possibility that they might even consider her an intruder into the territory and could be aggressive towards her, were she to be released back in Columbus, especially at or near the nest site.

So, for now she remains in limbo while we evaluate all the options for release.  We'll continue to post here as the outcome is determined.

It is great news that Blaze is able to fly again. It is also good that all options are being taken into consideration before she is released.

[July 23, 2014]

An update on the little juvie after surgery:

July 23, 2014

On the afternoon of July 22, veterinary intern Dr. Meghan Feeney took Peregrine Falcon #14-1319 to surgery to remove the bird’s left eye. Dr. Dave McRuer, the Center’s veterinary director, was present to assist.

The falcon underwent what’s known as an eye “evisceration� – the contents of the eye were surgically removed. This is different from an “enucleation�, where the entire globe is removed. This means the basic shape of the falcon’s face will stay more symmetrical, and the missing eye will likely be less noticeable. The advantages of this surgery are that the bird’s face is better balanced, the surgery is shorter, and there is a decreased risk of affecting the sight in the remaining eye.

The surgery went well, though was a little more difficult than anticipated, due to the extensive damage in the bird’s eye. A moderately sized piece of scar tissue was removed, causing additional bleeding. After surgery, the falcon recovered from anesthesia well, though the surgical site continued to bleed. The bleeding eventually slowed, and the falcon was placed back in the Center’s holding room overnight. The Peregrine Falcon will be on a course of pain medications and antibiotics for the next several days; the veterinary staff will monitor the surgical site daily.

I am glad the surgery went well. I know she is in a place where she will receive the best of care, with knowledgeable and caring people. I wish her a speedy and pain-free recovery.

But . . . I wish she could be flying free with her sister . . .  they were so close, always together.

[Thursday, July 10, 2014Status Report on Blaze]

There has been no update on Blaze since this one, posted on the blog on July 10.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Status Report on Blaze

Nothing much new to report on Blaze other than we were hoping she would have started getting active and doing her own exercising by now.  Since she hasn't, rehab staff will begin working with her several times a day to get her flying and working those muscles.  For the most part, it is pretty much a wait and see situation.

On another note, we are still (occasionally) seeing a juvenile return to the ledge, presumably Hoshi.  It's actually not really that common for the fledglings (now old enough to technically not be considered fledglings any longer) to keep coming back to the nest ledge as we have seen this year...but nonetheless it is appreciated by all watching!

Blaze must have had a very major collision to do so much damage to the keel bone. I hope she will be okay once she has had time to heal.

Hoshi has continued to visit the nest from time to time, and Dart made a very welcome return to the nest a few days ago. He had not been seen for some time.

Spark was at the nest this morning:

A juvie on the ledge. Don't know if this is the same one who was there earlier.

[Update July 21, 2014]

From the Wildlife Center of Virginia:

Update July 21, 2014

During the past week, Peregrine Falcon #14-1319 received several more eye assessments. Dr. Dave McRuer, the Center’s veterinary director, noted that additional scar tissue was visible in the falcon’s injured eye on Thursday, July 17; on Saturday, Dr. Meghan Feeney, the Center’s veterinary intern, noted additional changes in the eye. On Monday, July 21, the falcon’s eye had visibly changed; the eye was atrophied and the falcon seemed to be reacting more to light [possibly indicating pain].

Given the changes in the eye, the falcon’s eye will need to be removed. Surgery has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 22. Once the falcon fully heals from the surgery in August, the outreach staff will begin glove-training the falcon to be an educational ambassador.

I hope the surgery went well. Poor little juvie; she has been through so much in her short life. She only had two days of flight before she was injured.

[Territorial dispute ends up with some injuries! A 2013 Rochester female named Voyager has some injuries!]

From the Canadian Peregrine Foundation website:

Territorial dispute ends up with some injuries! A 2013 Rochester female named Voyager has some injuries!

Mark Nash Reports:

July 21st - 2014

We do have some sad news to report. Yesterday, I was contacted by the Kitchener Waterloo humane society with reports of a downed peregrine that we assumed might be one of the young fledglings that was produced at the Sun Life nest site this season, and with only one surviving fledgling, we expected the worst. There is good news and bad news to share.

The good news, I asked for a photo of the birds leg bands to confirm the peregrines identity, and it turns out to be a sub-adult female, banded with Yellow and Red tape over its Silver USFW band and a Black 95 over Green BA. It's not one of the resident KW peregrines!!

The bad news, is that the peregrine has some serious injuries to the wing & wrist along with other obvious evidence of punctures very consistent to wounds sustained in battles with another raptor. The sub-adult peregrine female turns out to be a peregrine produced in Rochester New York in 2013, one named Voyager, donning a Black 95 over Green BA coloured leg band.

Rudy Kruppa from the CPF was kind enough to pick up Voyager from the KW Humane society and drove her to team members of the Owl Foundation that met him half way in between the long drive between Kitchener and Vineland. We are waiting for updated news on her status.

We have our fingers crossed for her.

A huge thank you to the KW humane society for calling us so quickly and to Rudy for picking her up and driving her to medial assistance so quickly!!

Again, another fantastic team effort of caring people!!!!

We are waiting on reports from the KW group as to the status of the resident adults at the KW nest site to see if there were any life sustaining injuries with them.

Fingers crossed that there was no serious injuries sustained on their end.





http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2014/07/sightings/territorial-dispute-ends-up-with-some-injuries/

I hope Voyager's injuries are not as serious as they sound, and that she will be able to make a full recovery. Hoping for the very best for this beautiful young peregrine.

The Beautyful one, living up to her name:

Thank you for the update on Kendal, Donna! Hoping for the best for him; at least he is in a safe place for now and receiving the best of care.

What a beautiful photo of Linn. She is one gorgeous falcon. Thank you!

Quest:











I keep wondering how Kendal is doing. Does anyone have any updates on his progress?

Just lit some candles for him.