Canada Falcons: All but those hatched in Rochester

[carly]

Just posted over at TR Residential:

Sep 5, 2013 - Released!

I was at the ready with my camera, and the bird was too fast to capture much of! The MNR came and took the bird to the roof, opened the bag, and our juvie departed instantly.

We watched him fly off until we couldn't see him any longer. He flew south, and there were no other falcons on site to harass him.

And so it was, a successful release!

[Kris G.]

Just posted over at TR Residential:

Sep 5, 2013 - Released!

I was at the ready with my camera, and the bird was too fast to capture much of! The MNR came and took the bird to the roof, opened the bag, and our juvie departed instantly.

We watched him fly off until we couldn't see him any longer. He flew south, and there were no other falcons on site to harass him.

And so it was, a successful release!

Hooray for all involved-glad that it was released successfully! 

[carly]

Apparently some of our kids like home and are staying...Frank was just on the nestbox hanging out - didn't see his tape as it was hidden but the head markings look like him!

!! Still at Home!
September 17, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:

It’s been relatively quiet around here the past few weeks.  Falcon fans in the neighborhood have been telling me they still here 2 of the juvies around 5 am in the morning and I have seen one of them chasing mom around for food as late as last Tuesday.

Over the weekend, Alison over at CMNH caught photos of Frank paying a visit to the nest ledge and right now as I’m typing this I see a juvie on the nest box.  Back is to me but it might be Frank again.

O’Connor has been quite tolerant of having them hanging around and I’ve seen no effort to chase them off and send them on their way yet.

[patsy6]

And either one or both of our female juvies, Rosetta and Voyager, have tended to be homebodies too.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if Rosetta and Frank were to meet and become a nesting pair?  That would truly be a match made in heaven.   

[Donna]

Update on Rogue from MEC
September 18, 2013 - Mississauga - Executive Centre

Tracy Simpson Reports:

This is an important update on Rogue, the MEC resident female that was injured in 2012 on May 21st and has been in rehab up to this point.  She was injured in battle with Cass, the resident female at MEC during this nesting season who was sadly found deceased on July 16th across from the nest building.

Since the loss of Cass, our volunteers and I have been watching the MEC site closely as Ashley, the remaining juvenile from this season, was still very dependant on her parents for care and protection.  On August 7th, everything changed.

We have recently just found out that The Owl Foundation and Anne Yagi from the OMNR released Rogue, the 2012 resident female, back on August 1st in the Niagara Area. This would explain a great deal with regards to the discovery of a new adult female in the MEC territory by August 7th at the latest at which time I was able to photograph her and her curious identification feature.

The single silver band placed on her left leg instead of the right
definitely ruled out the possibility that The Masters female had moved
over into this void territory as her silver band is on her right leg.
As I sit back and consider all that I witnessed on August 7th and the
weeks that followed, many factors point to Rogue as a strong candidate
as the new MEC female.

1. An adult showing up out of the blue prior to the start of migration where a void just happened to exist. At this point the male was laying low and not advertising his presence or availability due to having a dependant juvenile still on site.

2. An adult banded with a silver band only and consequently on the
wrong leg it is supposed to be applied. A common configuration in the
Niagara district where peregrines are banded and may be indicative of
that locale as her banding site.

3. Child like behaviour from the female. Its like she’s a kid again or
just won the lottery. I would expect an adult female that has been held
captive for so long to have mentally given up and to be home and free
would bring out this behaviour. The mundane things in the territory
have now become novel and to find her mate still available, her box
still there, her previous challenger gone and now coupled with her
freedom would definitely bring out this kind of response.

4. Sitting in the EXACT same perch spots that Rogue used so often.

5. Almost instant familiarity with the territory.

6. Almost instant acceptance by the resident male.

7. This female currently on site is a larger than average female which
is consistent with Rogue. While all of these things don’t specifically
ID this bird it collectively points us in the right direction towards
an ID. Leading up to this discovery, no adult females were present in
the entire Hwy 10 corridor that displayed this band configuration. Due
to the changes in Brampton and renewed activity at Mississauga North
this corridor was being heavily monitored from Dundas in the south up
to Main Street in North Brampton and this bird was in no way present in
the corridor prior to her discovery on August 7th. Of note, the
remaining juvenile female at MEC from this season’s production was
regularly being seen up to the arrival of this new female. She was
behind in her training for independance as the result of the loss of
her only sibling followed by the loss of the resident female. Losing
her sibling created a situation in which her experiential growth slowed
dramatically due to lack of competition and not having another juvenile
to challenge her made her more complacent than active. Losing the care
of the resident female, who was found dead on July 16th, now put
pressure on the male to complete all of her training, defend the
territory, feed her and himself. Once again her training was slowed by
this event and therefore by the time this new female arrived on site on
August 7, the juvenile was not ready for independence at that time. She
has not been seen since and the fate of this young peregrine is unknown.

We will keep you updated on the events at the MEC nest site as they continue to unfold but we strongly believe that the female now holding the MEC territory is in fact Rogue.

[MAK]

Thanks for the report Miss Tracy and thanks for posting Miss Donna! 

[carly]

Just happened to catch 'grandpa' Jack on cam taking off and managed to s'cap it...thought it was a cool photo to share.

[MAK]

Just happened to catch 'grandpa' Jack on cam taking off and managed to s'cap it...thought it was a cool photo to share.

 

[carly]

And right after he took off - O'Connor flew in!  I need a camera..lol!

[carly]

!!! Hanging with Mom!
September 24, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:

I spent a half hour on lunch today watching Frank and O’Connor and if I hadn’t have seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed it.  Frank was perched on the ‘N’ of the Moneris sign and O’Connor was perched on the bottom half of the ‘S’.   Both quiet, Frank with a full crop dozing in amiable silence.  After about 25 minutes - O’Connor vocalized to him - the same way she does with Jack to indicate she’s leaving!  She then flew over the back of the nest site building and perched there.

So she is not only tolerating his presence, she is actively engaging with him..what a great falcon she is!!

I did see Jack today and noticed that when he was visible, there was no sign of Frank around and O’Connor didn’t move from her perch as he went to the nest ledge to preen.  Interesting dynamics going on here.

[Kris G.]

!!! Hanging with Mom!
September 24, 2013 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:

I spent a half hour on lunch today watching Frank and O’Connor and if I hadn’t have seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed it.  Frank was perched on the ‘N’ of the Moneris sign and O’Connor was perched on the bottom half of the ‘S’.   Both quiet, Frank with a full crop dozing in amiable silence.  After about 25 minutes - O’Connor vocalized to him - the same way she does with Jack to indicate she’s leaving!  She then flew over the back of the nest site building and perched there.

So she is not only tolerating his presence, she is actively engaging with him..what a great falcon she is!!

I did see Jack today and noticed that when he was visible, there was no sign of Frank around and O’Connor didn’t move from her perch as he went to the nest ledge to preen.  Interesting dynamics going on here.

Interesting how some parents tolerate some juvies sticking around and others want them gone from the territory. Also interesting that Frank hasn't moved on.

[MAK]

Totally interesting Carly, thanks! 

[Donna]

  Big Frank on the "N" by Rob on fb!!

[MAK]

 Big Frank on the "N" by Rob on fb!!

 

[Dumpsterkitty]

The thing I find most interesting about this is O'Connor. She is such an...opinionated...peregrine. Amazing that she can adapt when her son needs it.