She's funny...she got down...



...then right back up again!

Speaking of Harlie, she's been very un-active today, spending most of her time in that far right corner.

Big corner over there...who knows what she's been up to...   

Just for the record, I caught Harlie walking into the corner for a nap...

I think Kate's glued to the standpipe 

All is well and everyone is still on the nest ledge so far, no fledges as yet.
June 22, 2011 - Scarborough - Yellow Pages
Mark Nash Reports:

No action yet!
June 22nd -2011

Kathy reports today that all three hatchlings are still on the nest ledge and although there is some flapping going on with at one of the older hatchlings, they are all still hanging tight to the nest ledge with not much eagerness to take their first flights. Both Linn and Rueben (the resident adults) are still closely attending and now starting to tease the the three hatchlings more often throughout the day trying to encourage them to start taking their first flights. By watch close, (and very consistent of this nest site), all three chicks seem to turn in long before darkness and disappear put of our view into the nest ledge and are inactive until darkness. After consulting with Marion who has spent hundreds of hours out here on the fledge watches in the previous years, it appears that this nest site is most unusual compared to many of the other nest sites that we have been monitoring and doing fledge watches over the past 17 years, in that the hatchlings historically become very inactive much earlier in the evening that many of the other nest site juveniles. By 8:37pm, and once again, all three hatchlings were tucked down in on the nest ledge out of our sight and down for the night.
Stay tuned……

[Juvies get dinner]

Photos at the link... Juvies get dinner

!!! The three faces of mischief and full crops just in time for bed!
June 21, 2011 - Scarborough - Yellow Pages
Mark Nash Reports:

June 21st-2011

A visit to the Scarborough Yellow Pages nest site this afternoon after the Don Mills banding to find all three hatchlings looking very good and almost ready to take their first flights. With all three of the chicks still on the nest ledge watching both of their parents very closely as they soared around in the winds above the nest building.

Upon my arrival, I tooo witnessed the incredible ariel display by both parents that lasted some 17 plus minutes as they soared around the top of the nest building and what was so spectacular, neither of the adults flapped their wings during the entire time. Utilizing the constant breezes, the adults did more than a dozen figure-eights and oval circles as they dove and stooped the three hatchling in the nest ledge and circled the building.

While spectacular to see, (and an obvious action on behalf of the parents to show the kids just how easy flight can be), I can only hope that the three hatchlings are reading more into the demonstration! As unskilled juveniles, (and still non-flighted), lets hope that they don’t believe that flight also needs allot of flapping to stay aloft!!

At around 6:30 pm, mom made a spectacular stoop on a pigeon hitting it mid air and in the same motion retrieved it before it dropped to the ground. She flew off to a roof top of a tall hi-rise building to the west and I watched her pluck it and removed what seemed to be hundreds of feathers as they swirled around in the wind and floated all over the horizon.

She finally flew over to the nest ledge and proceeded to beak feed the three chicks on waiting patiently on the nest ledge. A very tender moment indeed, and one that lasted some 20 minutes while I snapped hundreds of photos from my ground observation.

One of the hatchlings was waiting on the upper rim of the nest ledge, while a second hatchling was observed popping up and down from the nest ledge to the upper rim returning back to the interior of the nest ledge, and the third hatchling refused to jump up to the nest ledge rim seemingly unsure of the upper nest ledge position. The resident adult female beak fed them in their standing positions and all of the hatchlings seemed to get their full share.

Just as quickly as it happen, the adult female flew off the nest ledge with a small piece landing on the ledge directly above the nest ledge and proceeded to eat the small leftover. All three hatchlings disappeared to from the nest ledge rim down into the nest ledge and was never seen again during this watch. By 9pm, and now almost dark given the heavy over cast and clouds, I closed down the watch for the day and proceeded to the downtown Toronto King Street fledge watch to help Marion and Linda with their watch close down, and do the final examination and release of the young fledgling Cinnamon back to the Toronto Sheraton hotel nest site.

!!! A Spectacular Banding Event and a very successful day! It’s a girl, baby officially named Harlequin!
June 21, 2011 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:

Banding Day!

June 21st -2011

We must apologize for the delays in posting the great news of the banding event that took place on Tuesday June 21st as we have all been busy in the streets with ongoing fledge watches and many rescues in the streets at several other nest sites. We are all putting in some very long days and late nights in the streets as some of the other fledglings just can’t stay of trouble and have found themselves at ground level in the streets needing our assistance to get back to the nest ledges.

We are still awaiting many of the photos to come in that were took during banding event and its going to take us a little more time to assemble all of the great photos and our notes to be able to do a complete posting of the days events.

This is a stressful time for us all with five different fledge watches on the go from the William Osler nest site in the north west end of Etobicoke to downtown Toronto to the extreme east end of Toronto in Scarborough, and several in between. Its always very difficult to handle on-going fledge watches with overlapping bandings going on at the dame time.

Please bear with us, as always, our first priority is with the young fledglings in the streets that are all at huge risks while on the ground unable to get back to their safety of their parents and the nest ledges.

In the interim, the young Don Mills hatchling of Quest and Kendal weighted in at a healthy 735 grams, banded today at 21 days old with a Black 54 over X band,, clearly identified as a female,, named Harlequin!

With several hundred people in attendance, including the Honourable Linda Jeffrey, Ontario Minister of the of Natural Resources, Donna Hayes the president and CEO of Harlequin, Harlequin staff, press and media, many CPF corporate sponsors and partners, our good friends from Rochester New York and many other invites and spectators along with CPF volunteers in attendance, it was an incredibly successful banding day!

Please stay tuned,, as there is much more to come with regards to the banding event!!

It sure is a ramp Kat, just in case one of the juvies falls into the well, they can climb back up. With only 1 clutch of 2 so far at that site, none fell in.

That's amazing. The Rochester Ritz!

I think the CPF are planning to "ramp things up" next year.  And probably provide a covered nest box, which would be wonderful.

Donna where was the nest box that was pictured just this spring?   It had a shingled roof or something like that.  Pretty elaborate.  Was that Water Street in NYC?  Find a picture of that one!   

Was it the new box in Jersey City?

Well, I feel pretty silly now! The vantage point I have is angled, so the concrete section that sticks out from the building was blocking my view of Harlequin, who was nestled in the corner. Oh boy...is this what it's going to be like when she tries to fly?! I don't know if I have the nerves for this!!

Do NOT feel silly, kat...we have all done the exact same thing over the years...for example...this is the view from 2 of our cameras. (Click on the thumbnail to elarge)

 

See the ledge on the left...where it goes back beside the nest box?  Had one hiding in the tiny corner not visible on cam on the back right of that ledge last year for HOURS!  Finally saw a bit of a tail feather and we all went  

 

See the wooden "crib rails" around the platform?  Had one laying on the platform on the other side of the far rail right near the spacer block of wood.  Could NOT see a bird there for the longest time until a head popped up...and we all went

And in the days of 5 eyases...ARRGH!  They are masters at hiding behind one another!

There she is!  All the way on the right

There she is!  All the way on the right

The tray design is the same as the Sheraton & I have posted pics of the eyases squeezing in between the tray & the wall

From the cam view, it looks like the nest is butted up against the wall. Maybe not. They can flatten out.

It's as far away from the wall as the edge of the base

Okay...after doing two walkabouts, looking out through the telescope on the top floor, and calling and e-mailing the CPF (they're not in the office yet), we heard from a guy in our building, who has a view from the far end, high up, that Harlequin is squished in behind the nest tray. I'm hoping this is true and am hoping to confirm this!!

Oh wow, that's exactly what MAK said on the phone. I can't see it on cam and she's not moving if she's there. YIKES! Is there room BEHIND the tray? Maybe she's stuck! Plus, Quest would have been there looking. Oh boy!

Kat, I posted pics from this am, if you scroll down, you will see them.

The tray design is the same as the Sheraton & I have posted pics of the eyases squeezing in between the tray & the wall

Kate's a lazy bones...doesn't want to come down from her perch to be fed!



All 3 at home this morning!

!!! Kate 45 days Old
June 22, 2011 - Toronto - Sheraton Centre
Linda Woods Reports:

Kate is approximately 45 days old today and still unfledged. She is shedding more of the white.  Sunshine was chasing Rhea Mae this evening, probably screaming for food.  Cinnamon is content to stay at home this evening, after his big ordeal. Food went into the ledge around 8p.m. Rhea Mae went back to the nest ledge around 8:30 and was feeding but could see who was being fed. A quick nest ledge check again, Kate had settled under the camera, Cinnamon was moving about and finally went next to Kate. Sunshine took off in the fog, probably to the Sheraton letters above the nest ledge. We closed the watch at 8:45 p.m. Fog has moved in and we could no longer see either the nest ledge or the neighbouring buildings. It was a misty day today with light rain, drizzle and more fog.