Canada Falcons: All but those hatched in Rochester

[carly]

I don't think I posted this here but since Kitty mentioned working on DotCa's family tree...here is an interesting bit of background on the link between DotCa and Pigott.

BTW..here is the full 'relationship' between DotCa and Pigott - they are related through both of DC's parents...

DotCa - born to Angel and Jack at Etobicoke Sunlife 2010
Jack - born to Sal and unidentified female at MEC in 2002.
Sal - son of Madame X and Percy.
Grandma = Madame X

Pigott - born to Madame X and Surge
Surge - son of Angel and Marco (full brother to Windwhistler)
Grandma = Angel

Oh what a tangled web we weave  

[Donna]

I don't think I posted this here but since Kitty mentioned working on DotCa's family tree...here is an interesting bit of background on the link between DotCa and Pigott.

BTW..here is the full 'relationship' between DotCa and Pigott - they are related through both of DC's parents...

DotCa - born to Angel and Jack at Etobicoke Sunlife 2010
Jack - born to Sal and unidentified female at MEC in 2002.
Sal - son of Madame X and Percy.
Grandma = Madame X

Pigott - born to Madame X and Surge
Surge - son of Angel and Marco (full brother to Windwhistler)
Grandma = Angel

Oh what a tangled web we weave  

Sooo...........Dot.Ca's ma, is Pigotts's G'ma and Pigott's Ma is Dot.Ca's G'ma??   

[carly]

Same with humans, if you go back far enough..we're all related somehow 

[Dumpsterkitty]

I don't think I posted this here but since Kitty mentioned working on DotCa's family tree...here is an interesting bit of background on the link between DotCa and Pigott.

Oh what a tangled web we weave  

Thank you!

[Carol P.]

I don't think I posted this here but since Kitty mentioned working on DotCa's family tree...here is an interesting bit of background on the link between DotCa and Pigott.

BTW..here is the full 'relationship' between DotCa and Pigott - they are related through both of DC's parents...

DotCa - born to Angel and Jack at Etobicoke Sunlife 2010
Jack - born to Sal and unidentified female at MEC in 2002.
Sal - son of Madame X and Percy.
Grandma = Madame X

Pigott - born to Madame X and Surge
Surge - son of Angel and Marco (full brother to Windwhistler)
Grandma = Angel

Oh what a tangled web we weave  

Oh, let me try!  Using Pigott's line.

Pigott is related to Tiago and all of Rhea Mae and Tiago's young! 

Pigott - born to Madame X and Surge
Surge - son of Angel and Marco (full brother to Windwhistler)
Marco - uncle of Tiago
Tiago is related to Pigott!  Her cousin?
Tiago - Rhea Mae's mate
So all of Tiago and Rhea Mae's young are also related to Pigott!  2nd cousins!
Stormin and Pigott are 2nd cousins!

I'm tired and I'm sure I messed this up.  hahaha!

 

[carly]

You got it just right Carol...

[Donna]

Tonga Part 2; A Little Backgrounder on our Girl in Michigan
June 01, 2012 - Mississauga - Executive Centre
Tracy Simpson Reports:

For those that are new followers of the MEC nest site, I thought it would be worth sharing a bit of information on Tonga who now nests at the Blue Water bridge.  This summary was created for a gallery I put together for Talon Tales, the quarterly newsletter that goes out to all of our CPF members and it focussed on the 25 peregrines hatched in Ontario that were found breeding in 2011 throughout North America.  Here is Tonga’s background…

Tonga was hatched in 2003 at the Mississauga Executive Centre to Sal and an unidentified female from south of the border.  She was the first of three to fledge that year and created quite a scene between June 27th when she fledged and July 1st when she was released on the roof of the nest building for the second time.  Her first flight on the 27th landed her in a tree where she spent the next two days trying to sort out her next flight.  She came to a low wall where she spent the rest of the day preening; something she became famous for.  She soon came to the ground where she was rescued and released to try it again.  Flight number two was described as “an overburdened 747″ that took her to three different buildings where she face planted into each in turn before landing on the sidewalk for another preen session; her solution to all of life’s little problems.  When in doubt, at least look good.  By 2006, Tonga had mastered the art of flight and was now the resident female at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan.  She has been there raising young with an unbanded male ever since.  Her prowess in flight is now so well known to all that watch and support her that she managed to cancel the banding of her two chicks for the safety of all in 2011 due to her ferocity in the air.  During her 6 successful nesting seasons at the bridge, she has celebrated a lifetime production total to date of 18 young; one of which, a male named Freedom,  is now successfully nesting at the I-480 bridge in Ohio.

In addition to this, as mentioned in the earlier post, Tonga has added another 5 chicks to her lifetime production making her a mother of 23 over the past 7 years.  This is one of the reasons why we band the juveniles and why it is so important that banding continue.  Not only does banding protect the young birds as they leave the natal nest site on migration, but provides valuable information on the dispersal and success of the young birds once they have left Ontario.  The hard data that comes with resightings, known as band recoveries, gives us real statistical information on the success rate of juveniles on a site by site basis and key data on population dynamics throughout the Great Lakes basin and beyond.  Were it not for the banding program, we would not have known about the success of Tonga in Michigan or been able to readily understand the current happenings at the MEC site today.  Thank you to all who participate in banding as it is this great work that connects the local community, the scientific community and the still recovering Peregrine falcon together.

She sounds worse than O'Connor!   Cancel 2 bandings??

Ely’s Chicks Banded and Named in Cleveland
June 01, 2012 - Toronto - King Street
Frank Butson Reports:

King St alumnist Ely had 4 chicks. She had 4 boys all banded Black/Green.
Cleveland Clinic Names:

40/R (male) Monte
41/R (male) Piedi
42/R (male) Bunts
49/R (male) Kale

We love hearing about falcons we have banded and helped at fledge time. Without them being banded we could never follow their progress. These chicks are “grand-chicks� to Windwhistler and Erin.

[MAK]

Fierce-a word that describes this species best and thank goodness they are for it's needed for their survival in the harsh natural world! Thanks for the update! 

[margaret]

You got it just right Carol...

Of course she got it right!  Are you kidding me?  Is there just one family of falcons and they are ALL related?     It just gets more amazing every year!  Disney had it right..."...it's a small world after all...".

[margaret]

Fierce-a word that describes this species best and thank goodness they are for it's needed for their survival in the harsh natural world! Thanks for the update! 

:good post:Yes, it is.

[Windwolves]

Today at MED with Bruce Massey.  Janet Still Going Strong!!

On Thursday, we officially scaled back the MEC watch as Janet, the remaining fledgling, was staying well elevated and making good landings despite the efforts of the unidentified female to chase her off. Sante, the resident male, was on top of the new female each time she made a run at Janet and was able to turn her away from the juvenile every time. This gave us the confidence to scale the watch back to evening site checks.
 Due to the heavy rains and blustery winds, we held off our first evening check on Janet to this evening and Bruce Massey was first on site in the early afternoon. After searching the area for over an hour, there was no sign of any peregrines in the area until he ventured down to Burnhamthorpe Road where he located the male and as Bruce headed back towards MEC, the adult female made her first appearance. There was still no sign of Janet and so Bruce left to check in on Holcim until we could meet up later.
 We met up at the site at approximately 6:00pm at which time we had the adult female on the nest building and the resident male sitting right beside the nest box. The female left her spot and headed over to MEC 3 where she stayed for over half an hour roosting and preening all the while looking north. Bruce decided to head north towards Janet’s last known location and I took the south to southeast sector. While Bruce was walking north of the condos near the nest site, the adult female took off straight north and was flying above another peregrine. He walked across the bridge that spans the 401 and called me when he reached Eglinton where he had three raptors perched on three separate condo towers in the complex. Once I arrived, a quick peek with the scope revealed the adult female on the south tower, Sante the resident male on the center tower and a Red Tailed hawk on the north tower. The adult female left her perch on the south tower and headed west between the buildings and when I checked around the center building, all of a sudden I had two females in the air both circling the building. JANET!! She landed on the eastern face of the center tower of the Hwy. 10 and Eglinton condos and I quickly moved into position to see her. She was on a balcony 21 stories up and thanks to Sante I was able to find her. He did several flights that brought him fanning up in front of her as he tried to get her to move. No luck. This attention by the male brought over the adult female that was now diving Janet with the male harassing the adult female in defense of his chick. The adult female was successfully turned off by the male from attacking the chick but she was still in the mood for a fight so she took it to the Red Tail who at this point had not moved an inch on the north condo. She made a dozen stoops and contacts with the hawk and at one point the male joined in the fight. The hawk was flipping upside down like a jumping bean in an effort to address this pair as they continued to attack it. The bird finally laid belly down on the roof until the peregrines gave up the battle.
 It was at this point that Sante left the building and headed east on a hunt while being chased by the adult female. He was successful in catching a meal and made one pass in front of Janet before heading back to the MEC complex. Janet remained on the balcony edge until the rain began to move in and she made a short flight landing on another balcony on the same building but slightly higher. As the rain began to really come down, she took one last flight out and around to the south of the condo and landed on the building behind it just shy of the rooftop. This is where she decided that bed was in order and she was asleep by the time Bruce and I had cycled back to find her. I must tip my hat to Bruce for his incredible work in following and finding Janet as she flew well out of the territory to the north. He did this all on foot no less!! We were very pleased to see Janet after Friday’s storm and that she is staying high and flying well. We will be back out tomorrow for another check on her and how things are progressing in her offsite training.

[BIGFRANK]

Bruce Massey was on site at the Holcim nest checking in on Storm, Caspian and their four little ones. In the time that Bruce was there he was able to observe that the wee family has become much more moblie and is none the worse for wear after the rainy Friday that we just experienced. Three of the chicks were visible at the edge of the nest ledge and one of the adults was perched on a stair railing on the building. We look forward to watching the young ones taking their first flights soon!!
  Storm is the chick of Marco and Angel at Sunlife in Etobicoke.

[BIGFRANK]

Canada Square Peregrine report June 2 2012
 
After very little activity on Thursday and no observation yesterday, due to the rain, I thought I should get out and check on the peregrines.
 
When I arrived at 5:10 pm Haven was sitting on the wall above the nest on Canada Square and Stormin was on the south face of Rio-Can. It was very cool out and both peregrines looked *chilly* and fluffed up against the weather. After twenty minutes of no activity, the sun came out and that was Haven’s opportunity. She flew off. Two minutes later, she was on the northwest corner of the *black building* over the TTC garage, plucking feathers madly from a pigeon. It was the feathers floating in the breeze which alerted me to her whereabouts. Shortly thereafter she grabbed the food parcel and flew south off the black building before turning and beginning to climb back to the height of the nest ledge. It was a bit of a struggle but she managed.
 
Stormin kept his distance and ten minutes after Haven had disappeared on the nest ledge he flew to the northwest corner of the black building in the hopes of finding scraps. All he managed to find were some feathers. He took off alongside the building flying south, around the bottom end of it and out of sight.
 
Fifteen minutes later I was still looking for him and heard chup-chup-chup twice. It appeared to come from the nest but I was not sure. I scanned all around but could not see the reason for the chatter.
 
Eight minutes later Haven flew to the south face of RC, followed by Stormin who perched one floor higher than she was. I did not see him fly from the nest but I wonder if he had arrived at the nest when I heard the chup-chup-chup? Haven did not stay long before flying to the ledge on one of the windows on the concrete wall on the west face of Canada Square. It appeared to me that she had a drink of water. Is this possible? I guess there were little collections of water left in places after the rain from yesterday. Haven then returned to the RC building, same perch. Once more her stay was short lived and she flew back to the wall at the nest. Stormin flew around the RC building and headed north on Yonge Street. It took almost half an hour for Stormin to return and when he did he sat right at the top of the southwest corner of Rio-Can. Haven spent the whole time on her perch on Canada Square above the nest. At 7:15 I left them in those same places.
 
BIGFRANK’s note: Its very possible Lyn saw Haven drink some pooled water. Peregrines dont need to drink water, they get their moisture from the blood of prey, but they will drink water infrequently and also bathe.

[carly]

Of course she got it right!  Are you kidding me?  Is there just one family of falcons and they are ALL related?     It just gets more amazing every year!  Disney had it right..."...it's a small world after all...".

As per Kate over at Beauty's birthplace:

Peregrine falcons choose mates from a relatively small gene pool.  They were extinct east of the Mississippi only 35 years ago and have rebounded thanks to a captive breeding program begun in 1974 from the few remaining available adults. I don’t know how many pairs were bred at that time but I’ve heard it was about 20.

If you go back through Beauty and Unity's family tree, they go back to Aurora and Bandit.   Aurora was a Canadian bred bird and part of the hack/release program here to repopulate the pefa's.  Millie (Mariah & Kaver's grand daughter) paired up with Bandit and Aurora's grandson Swifty!  

Windwhistler and Marco's mom Alberta was also part of the release program, bred at Wainwright, Alberta and fostered in Hamilton as part of the breeding program.  Windwhistler's second mate (when he was two timing) was Wind - who is also descended from Bandit and Aurora.

Madame X' can also be traced back to US falconer's bird. I'm not sure how many pairs were used in Canada as part of the North American release program but records say that by 1970 there were only 90 Anatum peregrine falcons left in Canada.

 

[BIGFRANK]

By the time the breeding program started up in Canada there were only 6 Peregrine Falcons left in Canada from Alberta to the east coast. Thats 6 individuals. They were in Alberta. Northern Canada still had some at that time.
  Over 4000 Peregrines were released in Canada and the US. Because of their mortaility is so high it took a very long time for them to come back as far as they have. Its easy to see why so many Peregrines are related. The recovery started with so few pairs.