Canada Falcons: All but those hatched in Rochester

[patsy6]

Me four.     And that picture is so very sad, yet somehow comforting.  I'm glad someone was there to give him a warm, soft blanket on which to spend his final moments. 

[jeanne]

I'm sobbing 

At least little Mel was comforted especially by someone who loved him to the end 

[Carol P.]

Fly free Mel.  So many losses this year.  So sad.   

[AlisonL]

From the Canadian Peregrine Foundation site:

Ninja Trapped Behind a Glass Balcony and Released

July 14, 2015 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre

Tracy Simpson Reports:

Another one of the new challenges that fledglings face is the glass balconies we see now commonly in use on condominiums.  They get in behind the glass and cannot figure out how to get out.  They try to fly through the glass and bump up against it not realizing that they need to go up and over.  So was the case with Mel last week but he managed to free himself through a small opening between the panels.  Not so for Ninja.

The CPF head office received a call that one of our juveniles was stuck behind a glass balcony at Kipling and Bloor on the 27th floor of one of the newer condos in the area.  Once the kids at the Islington Bloor Centre learn to fly, they often go and play with the pigeons at Kipling subway station so the location was not a big surprise.  Marion Nash contacted me and I was the closest so I headed out from MEC over to Viking Lane to help Ninja out.

I met the concierge and headed up to the tenants suite.  The gentleman had been away for the weekend and on Sunday night when he went out to water his plants at 9:30pm, he was driven back into his unit by an angry peregrine juvenile.  He contacted the concierge and started to make plans for contacting someone in the morning as it was late and he was sure no one was available.  He called around in the morning and was redirected a few times before reaching our head office at the end of the day yesterday.  When I arrived, Ninja was sitting in the gentleman’s tomato plant inside the circular tomato cage that helps the plant to stand up.  Great.  Can’t get a towel on that!!  So I went out to the balcony, slowly approached from behind and put my hands around his back and wings.  No problem, gotcha!!

What a nasty little attitude!!  This was one angry little man!!  I checked out his wings, his keel, his feet and his mouth.  All clear.  I hydrated him while he lashed out at me and the water bottle and he took the drinks with hiss and snap!!  I looked around the balcony and when standing at the end of it, there was a clear line of sight to the nest building.  I could see one of the parents on the ADP sign from where I stood and so could Ninja.  This was a perfect opportunity to let a completely healthy and furious juvenile go back home.  So I did.  I launched him off of the balcony and he flew straight home.

I checked out the balcony for signs of Ninja’s time there.  He had obviously been sitting initially on the small planter with jalapenos growing in it and shredded the entire thing.  Peppers all over the place, plant stems shredded and poop in a row beneath where he sat.  The droppings looked fantastic in that when he landed he had food in him and there was no sign of discoloration at all.  The poops got smaller as the bird processed his food and moved on to trash the thyme planter.  Shredded thyme leaves and stems all over the balcony where Ninja exercised his wrath on the poor unsuspecting plant.  Finally he moved to the tomatoes.  Oh dear, the poor tomatoes.  The tenant informed me that between my calling him and letting him know I was on my way, up until the time I arrived, Ninja went rip and tear crazy on the tomatoes destroying the plants completely.  I thanked the gentleman for calling and helping Ninja make his way home and headed down to the concierge.  I left the CPF head office number, my number and Bruce’s number should there ever be a problem in the future and headed off to the nest building to check on Ninja’s return.

Well, what a homecoming!  Lucky was sitting on the top of the apartment building on the Aberfoyle side looking totally confused as to where this little guy came from.  O’Connor was out on a hunt and so Lucky was left to decide how to handle this juveniles return to the nest site.  He kept calling OC but she was out of earshot.  Lucky decided to sit tight and let this play out.  Ferris on the other hand was overjoyed with the return of his brother.  I had both juveniles chasing each other around excitedly and finally landing together on the Centre tower for a rest.  They sat beside each other flipping heads and beak tapping in celebration of Ninja’s return.  Then Ninja turned his sights on Dad.  He was hungry.  Feed me now!!!  Ninja spent the next 10 minutes pursuing, harassing, knocking off and screaming at Lucky for food.  By the time I left Lucky had gone out on a hunt to try and calm Ninja down as his pursuit was relentless.

I was so pleased to see the two boys together once again and that this story ended with a happy conclusion.  We will continue to check in on the two boys and their progress and hopefully glass balcony garden ripping is off the agenda for Ninja.  Welcome home little man.

I am very glad the little guy was rescued and made it home safely. It is lucky for Ninja that the tenant had not gone away for an extended period of time. I can just picture Ninja angrily shredding plants.

[MAK]

Ninja is a little terrorist!! The poor plants! Good outcome for him! 

[Donna]

 Should have named him "Shredder"  Great rescue!!

[Dot_Forrester]

What a fun report, with all ending well except for the poor gardener who has lost his entire balcony crop.  At least he'll have a great story to tell. Good thing Ninja didn't actually eat the hot peppers lol

Dot in PA

[jeanne]

That poor gardener but so glad Ninja was feisty!  what a great story with a happy ending- except for the plants!

[PatriciaRose]

Wow, that was some story! Also very glad it had a happy ending!

[AlisonL]

Niagara Falls

July 16, 2015 - Niagara Falls

Mark Nash Reports:

Just a quick update on the “Who’s Who� at the Niagara Falls nest site. A big thank you to Mike Veltri who has been visiting Niagara Falls and taking some incredible photos of the Niagara falls peregrines. While he has promised to send in some of his shots that we want to share with you, he has captured a great shot of the resident adult female and her leg bands that we can share with you. We can confirm via his photos that the resident adult female is still non-other than Diamond!

See here in one of Mike's photos, you can clearly see Diamond’s leg band identification - Black 42 over Red H with a Purple coloured USFW band.

We can also confirm the resident adult male is Duncan from Hamilton- Black 32 over V

Stay tuned for more photos of the family, including some incredible shots of the fledglings!

Great photo of Diamond by Mike Veltri.

[Donna]

I can't keep up with all the changes this season!! Glad DC and B are still a couple!!

[AlisonL]

More very sad news, this time from the Rogers Centre nest in Toronto.

Rogers Centre - Sadly, Little “Chopper� has now been added to the list of those that didn’t make it.

Mark Nash Reports:

July 9th - 2015

It is with great sadness that I must report that yet another one of this year's fledglings has not made it :-( .

At this time of year, there are not many of us that like to answer the phone, as it rarely ever brings us good news. Thus was the case again this morning, when we received a call, this time from Lisa at the TWC. This call, like many others that we receive at this time of year, was delivered with some sad news with regards to yet another one of this years young fledglings.

Little Chopper, one of the four fledglings that was produced at the Toronto Rogers Centre this season was admitted with severe internal injuries, in addition to a badly broken wing. It was decided after X-rays and a detailed examination, due to the extent and severity of her injuries, the only humane thing to do was to put her down. It was obvious that her broken wing had partially healed and had happened some days earlier, but her inability to regain flight obviously had her hiding somewhere where her parents couldn’t find and care for her. She was severely underweight and dehydrated.

It was only a week ago that we got a report of both Chopper and her sister “Striker� atop of the CN Tower visiting one of the human “Edge-walkers�.

Sadly, as many of you already know, the second and third week of the fledge can be the worst time. While the surviving fledglings are now able to hold their altitude and stay off the ground and out of that trouble, like kids, they get way too over-confident with their new found flight skills, they are unable to handle the incredible speed that they are able to obtain. Braking, judgment and coordination is always a challenge for these new inexperienced-flyers, and we all know, speed kills!

And I have to tell you, it has caused the death of a lot of young fledglings over the past 20 years.

Poor little Chopper; it is even worse that she was alone for some time after being injured, before she was even found. 

[MAK]

 

[jeanne]

I hate that this has happened and that she was alone and hurting

[Donna]

How horribly sad for this young falcon!!