Canada Falcons: All but those hatched in Rochester

[MAK]

  And the hits keep coming...

[Kris G.]

Cass' mother, Hathor and Unity's mother, Belle are full sisters-both hatched in 2003 at the Cathedral of Learning. Cass was Dorothy's granddaughter and Beauty's niece.   

[Donna]

Cass' mother, Hathor and Unity's mother, Belle are full sisters-both hatched in 2003 at the Cathedral of Learning. Cass was Dorothy's granddaughter and Beauty's niece.   

Gosh, they are all related some how!

[Donna]

Update on What May Have Happened to Cass and the Current State of Her Family
July 22, 2013 - Mississauga - Executive Centre

Tracy Simpson Reports:

I apologize for the earlier posting but I didn’t want to leave things with Ashley out of the core of the territory.  By July 1st Ashley had returned home and life with the MEC family was moving forward.  Katherine and Shannon who both work in MEC 3, Margaret who lives locally and the many incredible folks we met and befriended at MEC 3 have been keeping an eye on the family.  From July 2nd leading up to this most recent awful heat wave lasting 6 days, Ashley has been flying well with Cass and Sante and her training has been progressing rapidly.  Not only has she been back to the nest box and all over the MEC complex, she has also made flights back to Morguard, Accenture, CIBC and beyond to the west side of Square One.

Last week during the heat, Cass was found deceased in the parking lot behind the CIBC building.  She was found on Tuesday July 16th and security was alerted at CIBC.  During the time we spent watching Ashley on this building, we spoke regularly with security there and we educated them about the family and the species.  While they did not have our numbers to contact, on Tuesday they clearly recognized what bird now lay in their parking lot and called Mississauga Animal Services.  They came and retrieved Cass and took her back to their nearby location for holding.  They contacted our head office and I was dispatched yesterday to pick her up.

Given that she was fatally wounded prior to the violent winds this past Friday, I was surely going to examine her to try and determine what had happened.  There were wounds on the top of her feet and neck that might be consistent with a battle of some sort.  Although no such fight was witnessed, she was clearly wounded.  When I returned to the center and was able to look her over more closely, I checked her wings for damage and her humerus of the right wing was broken.  This is an impact fracture.  I believe that Cass had somehow become involved in territorial defense or was distracted during a hunt.  She then lost control and made a very hard sharp contact with something that then broke her right wing.  On the ground in the parking lot, she could have collided with a light pole or been accidentally hit by a car.  Given that she was found away from the building, a window strike is less likely.

After picking her up I went straight to MEC to look for Sante and Ashley.  I had attended on Sunday, after the storm, and located Ashley on the Morguard building.  I searched for both adults and was frustrated in that I couldn’t find either of them.  I believed that they couldn’t be far and intended to return to account for them as this past storm wreaked havoc and has injured another two peregrines elsewhere.  When I arrived at MEC 3 yesterday evening, I found an unbanded adult male in the bottom of the S of Dejardins.  He was on edge.  There was no sign of Ashley as of yet but I believed that this could be Sante.  To be sure, I waited to see him interact with Ashley which would assure me that this was her father.  He flew to MEC 2 to the cache site that he always uses and then flew over to MEC 4 under the Jevco sign.  Ashley came flying in from the Square One area and met him on the ledge.  He gave her the cache which she promptly dropped in her enthusiasm off the edge of the ledge.  She remained on MEC 4 screaming at Sante for more while he sat watching out to the west.  He left on another hunt shortly thereafter while Ashley remained on MEC 4.

I can tell you this.  This is another sad loss for MEC and one that Sante is not unfamiliar with.  Last year he defended, fed and trained his last remaining offspring, Janet, alone without a supportive female.  He did an outstanding job and was able to take her right through to the fall.  While this is not an easy task ahead of him, he will do it again.  He will give Ashley all his attention and dedication and he is a remarkable male in his ability to succeed in this.  He has our unwavering support as we will continue to check in and watch these two as fall migration slowly approaches.

July 4th and 5th Apollo 3 Visits the Vet; A Sad Tale
July 05, 2013 - Etobicoke - William Osler

Tracy Simpson Reports:

After the long weekend the Greenwood Park Animal Hospital was booked solid for appointments and so with Apollo 3 safe and stable, we set up the earliest appointment that we could.  When we arrived, Dr. Markus Luckwaldt. avian specialist and experienced raptor expert, was preparing for the exam for our little Apollo 3.  The first step was the physical examination to determine the condition of his left wing.  After the physical exam it was clear that the wing bones were not broken but that the left elbow was not responding to movement as it should.  It was very loose, almost uncontrolled.  When the x-rays were ready we went through them checking all of the bones for signs of a fracture.  His keel, tripods and long bones were all intact.  When we compared the joints of both wings, it was clear that the left elbow was damaged.  In the x-ray you could see that the joint had dislocated and was overlapping.  Dr. Luckwaldt sent the x-rays off to a collegue at OVC, another raptor specialist, for confirmation of his diagnosis of a dislocated elbow and to discuss the injury.  Both vets concurred that Apollo 3 had dislocated the elbow of his left wing, torn all of the connecting ligaments that could not be surgically reconnected ( too small to hold a stitch ) and that he would never regain full control of his wing below the elbow.  He would never be able to fly properly.  The recommendation was made that Apollo 3 be euthanized as he could never be released as a fully functioning peregrine falcon meant to fly with control and precision at high speeds.  We contacted Mark Heaton of the OMNR with the diagnosis and recommendation and on July 5th, the CPF stood by Apollo 3 as he was given a painless and dignified end to his life.  I am saddened to have to report this to you as this is an unfortunate loss for the William Osler nest site.  Both Bruce and I agreed that his flights with the wing in that condition were uncontrolled and he was bound for an accident much more serious than we cared to imagine.  He was unable to gain altitude, control his landings and he was clearly in pain.  Decisions such as these are very difficult and never made lightly but are so important.  I am grateful that we were able to be there for him, recognize the injury and rescue him.  I am also incredibly grateful for the support and care of the Greenwood Park Animal Hospital and the expertise of Dr. Markus Luckwaldt in determining his injury and recommending a course of action based on the best interest of Apollo 3 both now and in the future.  With the sad loss of this little man we now turn our attention to the remaining members of the family; Blizzard, Aura and Maverick.  These three juveniles are doing very well and continue to have our support as they learn the fine art of peregrine flight.  Thank you to Winston, William Osler staff and security, Greenwood Park Animal Hospital and all of you for your support of this family.

!!! Second Nest in Windsor
July 23, 2013 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge

Dennis Patrick Reports:

This is an email that we received about another nest downtown, Thank You to  Marilyn who sent the email to us.

Just wanted to give you an update on the downtown pair. They have been sitting on the “H� of the Chrysler building for a few hours today. Lunch was a la pigeon. The one, which I believe may be the male as it seems slightly smaller, does not appear to have any bands on either leg. The other one has only a black band. They seem quite content just to nap up high, feast & watch the world go by.
 
 
Laurene

[Donna]

William Osler Site Check After the Storm
July 23, 2013 - Etobicoke - William Osler

Tracy Simpson Reports:

For the past few days I, along with all of our staff and volunteers, have been doing site checks to account for all of our wild peregrines after Friday’s 110kph sustained winds reported by Pearson Airport.  On Saturday, I was able to confirm that Chessie and Hurricane were both on site and are flying great.  I was also able to confirm the presence of Blizzard having photographed her and her white tape being visible.  On Sunday, I made another foray out to the site and located Chessie and a single juvenile, this time being Maverick.  It took a while to get a visual on his blue tape but it was worth the wait.  Yesterday I stopped in for a third try as I was still looking to account for Aura, the second female with red tape.  She was the second fledge at William Osler and has been a high flyer ever since.  I found Blizzard and Maverick alone in the east tower and no other peregrines on site.  Both juveniles were concentrating their attention to the west over towards the Humber Arboretum and I believe that’s where the parents were with Aura.  I will continue to check in until I can confirm the presence of Aura (she scoots in and out so much now) and will keep you updated on the progress of their training.

The Airport Saga Continues! Claire and Casper Found and Identified
July 23, 2013 - International, National and Local News

Tracy Simpson Reports:

Ok.  So here’s the story.  Back in 2012, a pair of peregrines were hanging around at the Alt Hotel near Viscount Rd which is on the north side of Pearson International Airport.  We were alerted to their presence as the hotel had called for assistance regarding these birds on their building.  Not knowing what they were, they reported two loud grayish birds with one louder brown one dropping prey remains around the grounds.  After investigating the site, Bruce and I were able to confirm the pair of peregrines and identify them as Claire banded Black *S over Green *B hatched in 2009 at the Blue Water Bridge in Michigan and Casper banded solid Black 35 over Y hatched in 2009 at a residential nest site in southern Ontario.  They had produced at least one male offspring that we were able to photograph and we were able to determine that their buildings of interest were the Hilton Garden Inn and the Alt Hotel.  We continued to check in on the pair and by early December, Claire was no longer present.  This prompted Casper to incur on a neighboring territory, the William Osler Hospital, and oust the resident male Hurricane who was missing and replaced sometime after Dec. 22, 2012.  We continued to monitor both territories and by mid January Chessie, the resident female at William Osler, was now following her new mate Casper down to the Hilton.  In Feb. 2013, they were photographed in the Hilton territory and were also seen roosting at the Osler territory.  Casper was forcing a decision by Chessie; which site dear?  In March they were copulating in both territories but Chessie finally settled on the Osler site which Casper was bound to follow.  Just prior to egg laying in late March, I attended the site and found the male sitting calmly in Hurricane’s usual roost spot mimicking his behaviour.  No imitation here, it was indeed Hurricane back on the site.  We checked the Hilton territory off and on for weeks thereafter with no sign of any adults whatsoever.  No white wash on the buildings.  No presence at all.  We deemed the territory now void and moved on to the nest sites that were now hatching eggs and in need of our attention.

As reported by Mark Nash earlier, on July 4th a juvenile peregrine falcon female was rescued from the ground in the Hilton Garden Inn territory at 427 and Dixon Road.  She was turned over to Mark Heaton that day, was banded and then released on the roof of the neighboring Hilton hotel (there are two).  Bruce and I were determined to check this out once watches were concluded.

On Sunday, we attended the territory and were on a mission.  We started at the Alt Hotel and made the rounds.  Bruce was at the Alt Hotel with no birds in sight and I was at the Hilton Garden Inn.  I had located an adult male roosting on the light above the sign.  Casper’s favorite hang out.  I sat and waited for the look I needed at the band and was able to clearly photograph the 35 over Y on his solid black band.  This was confirmed Casper.  We continued our search and I located a second peregrine on the office towers one block south.  I raced over to find a juvenile female on the edge of the roof. I was able to photograph, and Bruce confirmed this by scope view, that this female was unbanded making her a second surviving produced offspring by Casper and his unknown mate.  We left the territory for another site with intentions of returning in the evening for the late day roost.  I found the adult female on the sign of the Alt Hotel and had already had the adult male on the Hilton Garden Inn sign.  I waited her out and was able to confirm by scope view that this is in fact Claire banded Black *S over Green *B.  She’s back!

Our theory is this.  Claire partially migrated in the late fall of 2012 prompting Casper to seek partnership elsewhere.  He invaded the Osler territory and wounded Hurricane in battle.  Casper won the day , the site and Chessie.  At breeding season in March 2013, Chessie decided on the Osler site as her nest site of choice and Hurricane, watching from afar, was determined, now stronger and wiser, to get her and his territory back.  Hurricane engaged Casper and won this round and was back at Osler with Chessie.  Casper had now disappeared and was healing up from battle.  Claire returns to the Hilton Garden Inn territory.  Her and Casper reunite and produce a late clutch resulting in the July 4th fledge and rescue.  This juvenile female had obviously not been on the wing long.  If we estimate her age as around 45 to 50 days, that would put her hatch date as late June.  Tracks with all that’s happened.  By that time we were all engaged in dawn to dusk watches and this pair slipped two girls in right past us.

Congratulations Casper and Claire on another successful year.  We are determined to confirm just which building the nest site is on although we suspect the Alt Hotel or the Hilton Garden Inn.  We will keep you updated as we learn more.

Pictures to follow.

[Kris G.]

July 1st Apollo 3 is Rescued at Second Time
July 01, 2013 - Etobicoke - William Osler

Tracy Simpson Reports:

I thank you for your patience as I am continuing to catch up on all of the past stories at the William Osler Hospital watch. On the holiday Monday July 1st, I arrived at the hospital and found Apollo 3 in the same spot that Bruce had left him the night before at close of watch. He was on the low roof of the Medical Center and spent the bulk of the morning running the edge, jumping back out of sight and then coming to the edge again. He wanted to fly but was holding back. His three siblings, Maverick, Aura and Blizzard, each took turns flying down to visit and encourage him which incurred a reprimand by Chessie. She didn’t want her kids on that low rooftop but was allowing it so long as Apollo 3 had yet to fly. By the afternoon he finally took a flight that took him around low over the emergency entrance and over the mechanical area on the south side. I did not see where he landed but I could tell that it was low and down at the southwest corner. I circled the hospital several times to no avail and waited for the parents to give me some kind of a clue.  Both Hurricane and Chessie were paying great attention to the southwest corner and so I returned to check it out.  There was a chance that the male could have ended up on the mechanical roof on the south side and so I contacted security for assistance.  They were amazing in helping me by checking out areas on their rounds that were blind spots to me on the ground.  We were able to locate Apollo 3 and seeing him closely now it was clear that the left wing was drooping seriously.  I rescued him from the southwest corner of the hospital and contacted Mark Nash regarding setting up a vet visit for him.  Mark Heaton of the OMNR was notified and we were off to the raptor centre for the night.  The other three siblings were flying very well.  As I was leaving, Hurricane was sitting above Apollo 3’s last known location with Blizzard and Maverick nearby.  Aura was in the tower with Chessie watching from afar.  Many thanks to the folks in security that helped make this rescue possible.  Were it not for their assistance I might not have found him so readily.  Also, a big thank you to Winston who joined me for the evening watch and was instrumental in helping to find and rescue Apollo 3.  We will keep you updated as to his condition and the results of his vet visit.

Posted on July 23, 2013 9:19 am
Observation for Etobicoke - William Osler


This was just posted-Chessie's from CT in Buffalo.  No update yet on how Apollo3 is-didn't sound good though. 

[Kris G.]

Hamilton Falconwatch News Updates

BROCK GIVES US A SCARE - TWICE!!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013 - Falconwatch Coordinator Rachael Belford reports: On arriving at 09:00 I was informed by our faithful volunteers that none of the birds had yet been spotted, so I settled in for what looked like a quiet day while the girls were off exploring. Although both chicks were spotted on the Sheraton roof around 09:20, and Laura and an adult performed an aerial food transfer around 10:40, I still was not expecting much. This changed suddenly at 11:10 with a call from the people at RBC saying that a falcon had crashed into a window on the 15th floor of Stelco and was on the ledge! I rushed down in a panic to find a flustered looking Brock. At first her eyes were closed and she was holding her left wing in an awkward position. Two members of the Rescue Team arrived quickly and together we watched, knowing that a physical rescue from her then current position was impossible. After a further bit of rest Brock stood up and began to stretch, first the right wing and then the left. After the stretch both wings were in their proper positions and only a few feathers were out of place – she was OK! The picture shows Brock on the ledge. A huge thank you goes out to everyone at Yale and RBC who alerted us to this incident and were incredibly helpful throughout!


At 13:40, Brock left the 15th floor of Stelco and returned to the Sheraton roof. Laura joined her sister for the majority of the afternoon, and both chicks were seen circling and chasing each other over the city. After a nap Brock joined Laura on the window washing beam and let us get this picture. At 19:05, Laura landed on Standard Life with food, probably from an aerial transfer. After this she and Brock were generally quiet but at 21:00, just as we were packing up for the day, they took to the air together with a lot of noise. The pair seemed to be fighting as they disappeared east down King Street. A few minutes later a man came rushing up to tell us that a bird was on the ground. We hurried over and, sure enough, there was Brock - on the floor of a parking garage where they were power washing floors and walls!! We got the water stopped and after a couple of tries got Brock under control and into a rescue box. Although Brock was quite feisty, because this was the second incident of the day it was decided to take her for another medical assessment. We will let you know how she is doing as soon as we hear, likely by mid-afternoon.

Strange they would be fighting after getting along so well in the nest despite their age difference.

[Dumpsterkitty]

Even though it's not Freedom here anymore, I'm happy they finally had a successful hatch after so many years...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

!!! We have lift-off
August 04, 2013 - Port Colborne - ADM Mill
Doug Garbutt Reports:

I’m happy to report that sometime between 3pm yesterday & 1pm today Eve had a successfull fledge. She was high on the fire escape when I arrived today. Way up on the 11th floor. She was really squawking. Shortly after I got there, Mom did a couple of fly-bys with a food package. On her second pass, Eve took off after her. Her take off & flight skills looked pretty good. I did not see her land though. Mom rewarded her with the meal. I was lucky enough to get a couple of pics before she took off with Mom.

   

[carly]

As per Mathew, one of Jack and TR Mom's sons has been taken to Toronto Wildlife after being rescued on the ground.

Aug 6, 2013 - Catching up since the weekend

Over the weekend we found a bird hopping around on the ground. He didn't look overly bad but there was definitely something wrong with one wing, and his failure to get airborne resulted in his capture.

Working with the MNR, I was advised to take the juvenile to Toronto Wildlife Centre in downsview, and so I did. I have been told by TWC that they won't likely contact me given how busy they are, however I have been assured by the MNR that if/when they find out more info I will be told.

I'll keep you posted, but as you know with injuries to bird wings, these things aren't simple.

[Donna]

Oh Carp! Not another one! 

[Kris G.]

As per Mathew, one of Jack and TR Mom's sons has been taken to Toronto Wildlife after being rescued on the ground.

Aug 6, 2013 - Catching up since the weekend

Over the weekend we found a bird hopping around on the ground. He didn't look overly bad but there was definitely something wrong with one wing, and his failure to get airborne resulted in his capture.

Working with the MNR, I was advised to take the juvenile to Toronto Wildlife Centre in downsview, and so I did. I have been told by TWC that they won't likely contact me given how busy they are, however I have been assured by the MNR that if/when they find out more info I will be told.

I'll keep you posted, but as you know with injuries to bird wings, these things aren't simple.

Sorry to hear this, Carly. Hope it'll be OK.

[Bird Crazy]

Oh Carp! Not another one! 

carp - a fish
crap what this is   

its not a good year

hope he'll be OK

[Donna]

Oh Carp! Not another one! 

carp - a fish
crap what this is   

its not a good year

hope he'll be OK

  Thanks BC!! 

[MAK]

Oh Carp! Not another one! 

carp - a fish
crap what this is   

its not a good year

hope he'll be OK

I love how you set things straight BC! Thanks for being real!! 

[Bird Crazy]

Oh Carp! Not another one! 

carp - a fish
crap what this is   

its not a good year

hope he'll be OK

I love how you set things straight BC! Thanks for being real!! 

you're welcome  and Thank you MAK