Quest (2008) and Skye - Toronto/Don Mills

[MAK]

Thank you Donna and Mark! Rainbow-Dash is beautiful! 

[Dumpsterkitty]

An incomplete report...cutting out the Canada Square section...but I think the pictures speak for themselves...

!!! Another day to remember. Some sad news and some good news!
June 22, 2014 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:

...Back at Duncan Mills nest site, the fledge watch team really rallied together as they once again were on site throughout the day to be therefor their peregrines. With Bob arriving around 5:30am in the morning to focus his attention on little Stormy who was left the night before perched very low on a lower ledge elevation just over the entrance of 255 Duncan Mill. He found the fledgling lower yet again, on the lip of the glass overhead canopy only several feet from the front ground at the front entrance.

Over the course of the early part of the morning, he was joined by Sally, Cathy, Luci and Richard and Debbie, followed by Tracy and I think Bonny and her husband. When I arrived, they were all poised out on Duncan Mill waiting to spring in action for little Stormy to come to the ground. By the time I arrived in the later afternoon, there was a full fledge watch team pretty much prepared to deal with anything!!!

Throughout the morning and afternoon, the other three fledglings were observed in several short flights from various roof tops to roof tops doing not too bad. Although terrible landings for the most parts, they all were holding their altitudes and staying off the ground!

By 7pm, it was quite evident that

   

[Dumpsterkitty]

!!! Quest and Stormy photos.
June 20, 2014 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:

June 20th - 2014
Thank you to Ping who was able to snap a few good shots of Quest and Stormy this past Friday. As you can see by the photo of Stormy, she’s looking pretty good, despite being on the ground. This photo of Stormy was taken just moments before she was rescued from the ground.
Nice shots Ping!

 

[Dumpsterkitty]

!!! Cosmo sucessfully released back to his parents. 4 fledglings still all going strong - (well sort of).
June 23, 2014 - Toronto - Don Mills
Mark Nash Reports:

June 23rd - 2014
Last nights adventures and Cosmos collision is a grim reminder that although it would appear that the fledglings are now able to hold their altitude and stay off the ground, they are still immature inexperienced juveniles with absolutely no life skills. They are solely dependant on their adult parents for food, protection and support for the next 30 to 90 days. They are still being beak fed by Quest a it will take weeks for some of the fledglings to even figure out that its actually other birds that they been eating, let alone having no clue as to how these birds actually end up on the diner table.

While it may also appear that can all now fly, (well, sort of) :-) , like most young, they is still allot of opportunity for them to get into all kinds of trouble as they investigate their new world. We equate this period as the young 16 year old, one that has just got their drivers licence, and been given the keys to the family car for the very first time. Only in this case, the family car is a Ferrari!!! Speed does kill!!!

Remembering that these young fledgling peregrine falcons are still learning to fly,, with allot of learning to coordinate their tails and wings for elevation and direction, and equally as important, the tail and wing flare to slow down and break!! Landings are a real skill that is only mastered with lots and lots of practice, and as many of you have already observed, lots of bumps and grinds throughout the learning period.

The big difference with these birds compared to all others, is the speed. Peregrines are able to build up incredible speed almost from the get-go and its the speed along with the inexperience that usually leads to their many injuries and mortality. This in addition to having no life skills or fears, and we find them getting trapped behind glass balcony’s unable to understand why they can’t escape through the glass and get back into the air.

We rescue many fledglings each year that have been trapped behind balcony’s, pulled them out of chimneys, air conditioning chiller units and pools, air ducts, out of mechanical rooms of hi-rise buildings, garbage dumpsters, and a host of other things that get trapped in, some times weeks after they are actually flighted. And in Cosmo’s case, unconscious from the ground after colliding with windows.

So, the day at the Duncan Mills nest site was for the most parts uneventful today. Actually really boring with absolutely no activity for most of the day. Quest and Sky were inactive roosting on various elevations on 240 Duncan Mill building, with the fledglings lounging around on the upper roof of same all day! Very few flights and no teasing by the adults.

Sue joined me for a couple of hours today and was able to help keep me stay awake. Oh my goodness, what a boring slow day indeed,, (although very welcomed, as I was able to do some necessary recharging of my own batteries, relax and de-stress,, and I actually took a minute to eat). I’ve forgotten that you can actually eat during the daylight hours! Eating is good!!

With the support of Bob, Sally and Don, little Cosmo was examined once again before his release. Some great photos were taken by Sally with her camera phone of the examination. A feisty attitude indeed, with lots of energy and an aggressive fighting sprit! Rather nasty as a matter of fact, completely unappreciative of all of our efforts to care for him. :-) This is such a thankless job as far as the peregrines are concerned. lol

Cosmo was again re-hydrated with some water prior to his release and cleared for release.

With Bob, Sally and Don in position at the ground level with towels and a two way radio in hand, I attended the nest building roof top and Cosmo was successfully released without innocent. See photos at roof.

Sally further writes:
Posted on June 24, 2014 1:59 am
Observation for Toronto - Don Mills

[MAK]

YAY! Thanks for the update! 

[Donna]

Sad news today at Harlequin. Rainbow Dash hit a window and died! Fly Free little girl! 

[margaret]

Fly Free Rainbow Dash.   

[carly]

Sad news today at Harlequin. Rainbow Dash hit a window and died! Fly Free little girl! 

That's #7 since last week - Toronto no doubt retains the title of highest killer of birds due to glass buildings.  So many senseless, needless losses.  We brought them back from the brink so they could hit the glass and die 

[Donna]

Sad news today at Harlequin. Rainbow Dash hit a window and died! Fly Free little girl! 

That's #7 since last week - Toronto no doubt retains the title of highest killer of birds due to glass buildings.  So many senseless, needless losses.  We brought them back from the brink so they could hit the glass and die 

Is it true that a lot of the building owners in Toronto don't want to use the Flap program? Too expensive, I guess. If they just did the upper half of the windows, it would  help greatly! This is so hard to swallow! I'm so sorry Carly! Just not fair!!

[Kris G.]

Heartbreaking...fly free, Rainbow Dash. 

[Carol P.]

All this sadness.

Fly free Rainbow Dash.  

[MAK]

I'm so very sorry for our Canadian friends who have lost so many little ones this year so far. Many of the fledglings I saw when they got banded and so I feel your pain. Heavy sigh...     

[Annette]

RIP Rainbow Dash 

[Dumpsterkitty]

And the rest of the rescue net story from Sunday...

By 7pm, it was quite evident that little Stormy was simply not motivated to take flight and both Quest and Sky were not giving her any incentive to get back to a safe altitude. Given the deadness of the traffic and the available fledge watch volunteers on hand, the decision was made to capture Stormy up while we had opportunity. Knowing that the automobile traffic will be back to the usually road-rally race status tomorrow morning as everyone rushes into work Monday morning, and the huge volume of people that will be coming into this building, this was an ideal safe time to capture her-up and get her back to a safe elevation on top of the nest building roof. Bob went home to get a step ladder and an incredible long extendable painters pole, and Tracy went to her vehicle to get one of the rescue nets. With the net attached to the painters pole and the fledge watch team positioned on both sides of the street to the east and west of the front entrance in anticipation that we may not be able to get her in the net and she if she came to the ground, we were all ready.
With the ladder in position only feet below her, and the super-doper net in hand, I took the first step onto the ladder, and before I cold even look up, she took flight. We watcher fly low around the west site of 255, into the back parking lot of 225 where she was able to get enough air and altitude to make a landing on the top elevation of the above ground parking lot at the rear of 225 Duncan Mill road lot. Yaaah!! At least now she has some elevation and away from traffic!

Less than 30 minutes later, and with Quest and Sky (her parents) in flight offering some motivation, Stormy flew again, this time catching some moving air and gained enough altitude to eventually land on the upper rooftop of 240 Duncan Mill road where she joined her siblings! A very good long flight indeed!!!

You could have probably heard the cheering from all of us several blocks away!

By 8:30 pm, the falcon follies were in full swing with both resident adults flying around teasing the fledglings with food and it was chaos in the streets again trying to keep track of the four, no, six peregrines bolting and flying all over the place from rooftop to rooftop, with fledglings chasing the adults, the adults teasing with food, it was incredible.

By 9:10pm all had settled, several fledglings had been fed and darkness was closing in and pretty much everyone settled down for the evening and everything got really quiet. Most of the fledge watch team departed for home after a very long day in the streets. By 9:20pm, with Sally, Don, Sue and myself saying our good-byes, there was one last flight.

Suddenly, the quiet silence was disrupted with a loud thump and our attention and eyes were each drawn overhead to the 7th floor window of 225 directly above our heads. A spread-eagle like peregrine falcon juvenile floated spiraling down thumping on the concrete literally three feet from where we all sitting. At this very same time, Sue yelled out, oh my god, it just hit the window!

It was non-other than Cosmo, the little super-star flyer! I had only to stand up, grab my towel and walk less than four feet to pick him up. Cosmo was completely unconscious, dead looking, wings spread out, legs stiff, eyes completely closed and no movement at all. I gently wrapped him in my towel, and immediately started to massage his chest with my thumbs while I held him in my lap. What seemed to be an eternity, Cosmo finally started to breath and eventually there was movement! Minutes later, there was hissing fighting ball of fire in my hands!!!

Cosmo was later examined for other injuries and other than a small minor laceration that he sustained as a result of biting his tong as a result of his impact with the window, he checked out ok. To be safer than sorry, Cosmo spent the night in the rescue carrier, in a quiet cool environment so he cold be observed and monitored more closely. He will be released tomorrow in the daylight once he has had a final examination and cleared to be released.

A huge thank you to everyone who spent a good portion of their day out in the streets on the watch,,, (when I’m sure that most everyone would have rather been with friends and family BBQ’ing somewhere enjoying this fantastic sunny day)!!!!!! What a great team!!

By 10:00pm, I must admit, I was spent, and finally departed the Duncan Mills nest site and proceeded to the Canada Square at Yonge and Eglinton nest site to pick Marion up from her watch.
Stay tuned………..

[Kris G.]

Where's the report on Rainbow-Dash?  I haven't seen anything about her hitting a window and dying.