As we reported previously reported, Jemison’s recovery has been going very well. She’s been moved to a larger flight cage so that she can exercise her wings in preparation for an eventual release. The rehab specialist taking care of Jemison says that she continues to be feisty and she takes lots of baths in the water bowl provided for her!

We don’t yet know when Jemison will be ready to be released, but we do know that she won’t be released back here in Rochester. The biologists at the DEC have determined that Jemison’s safety could be jeopardized if she’s released in Rochester because so much time has passed since she was injured and taken away. It’s likely that by now Archer and Beauty wouldn’t recognize Jemison if she were returned here. If the adults were to treat her as an intruder she could be re-injured or at least forced out of the territory under unfriendly circumstances. We know everyone was hoping for a different outcome, but releasing Jemison away from Rochester will give her the best chance for safely making it through these next few months, which are crucial to her development into a full-fledged adult. We’re in close contact with the rehabber and the DEC so we’ll make sure to get more information as it becomes available.

Jemison’s release is still some way off though, so in the meantime here are a couple more pictures with those beautiful falcon wings outstretched…

After spending much of July in the neighborhood of Brampton, Ontario, Quest decided to end the month by going eastward. She passed by Toronto on her way to Pickering. We’re pleased to see that in her third year, Quest and her transmitter are still going strong, though we’re wondering when (and where!) she might settle down to start a family of her own.

Quest continues to enjoy her time inland. As with the previous week, she has spent most of her days in Brampton, Ontario. She took one trip west into the Toronto suburbs, but it seems like she’s feeling comfortable staying away from the water for now.

According to the latest from the rehabber taking care of Jemison she is beginning to heal. The broken bone in her shoulder is re-calcifying. Calcium is essential for bone strength so this is very good news. She’s feeding herself, another good sign.

The next stop for Jemison is a two-week stint in a large flight cage where she can exercise her wings. Then more x-rays will be taken to see how things stand.

We’ve heard from the rehabber taking care of Jemison. She’s doing very well, and she’s scheduled for an x-ray tomorrow. The radiograph should give them an idea of how well Jemison’s broken bone has healed. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear the results of the x-ray.

It appears that Quest has decided to move north of Toronto for a while. Her most recent few days’ locations have placed her in nearby Brampton, Ontario. The satellite view of the map there shows parkland and plenty of multi-story buildings (including the local Police station), so it would appear that she has good perches and at least the potential for plentiful prey.

If you’ve been following the reports from our volunteer fledge watchers, you know that Jemison got into trouble flying on the Friday before the July 4th holiday and had to be rescued. If you haven’t been following the news, you can catch up HERE.

The Veterinarian who is taking care of Jemison performed an x-ray today and the results are in. Jemison has a break in her right coracoid bone, part of her shoulder. Her long-term prognosis is uncertain right now, but there’s good reason to be optimistic. In young birds like Jemison bones heal fast, so as long as the bone heals in the correct position, she has a good chance of flying again.

As you can see from the picture above, Jemison’s right wing is much closer to the normal position than the drooping that our watchers witnessed this past Friday when she was rescued.

The Vet also reports that Jemison is feisty and eating well, all good signs. He plans to feed Jemison a diet that includes additional calcium to help with bone growth and healing.

Other than a visit to Port Hope a few days ago, Quest has been spending all her time in the Tornoto area. In particular, it looks like she’s been hanging out at some high buildings near the Toronto Public Library, which overlook the Tam O’Shanter Golf Club. Maybe she’s working on her short game.

When Quest isn’t looking for birdies on the links, she’s been out at the waterfront in nearby Pickering. It looks like there’s a large industrial complex that she’s been using as a base for her amphibious operations.

After what turned out to be just a day trip to the Port Colborne nest site, Quest went back to her familiar territory in and around Port Hope. She stayed there a couple of days, then decided to go on a sightseeing tour around Toronto. Besides getting into the city itself, it looks like she was also checking out Pickering and Mississauga, Ontario. The heat doesn’t seem to have bothered her much, if at all. She’s moving right along, showing no signs of settling down.

Seneca & Cheyenne

From falcon watcher/photographers Chad and Chris over at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s Falconcam site comes this wonderful picture of Seneca posed with her eyas, which has been unofficially named “Warrior”. Two eggs hatched at Seneca’s improvised nest site under the Brookpark Road Bridge, but the second eyas did not survive. Seneca and her mate Cheyenne have been doing a fine job of providing for their young nestling. You can see a marvelous example of an aerial food exchange between Cheyenne and Seneca, also photographed by Chad and Chris, on the CMNH Falconcam Forum.

Quest

It seems like Quest may be taking a break from her constant traverse of Lake Ontario’s north shore. A majority of her location readings have placed her in or near Wesleyville, Ontario. As with last summer, she’s been making her base of operations at the power station there. She spent much of last summer near this power plant, so time will tell whether she stays or decides to strike out again.

Rhea Mae & Tiago

Rhea Mae’s three eyases were banded last week at the Sheraton Centre hotel in downtown Toronto. It turned out that all three were tiercels, or male falcons. The three were named Scribe-Star, Legacy & Lorenzo (pictured left to right, above). Several Rochester Falconcam fans and team members attended the banding, and they even provided the name for Legacy. Click the picture above for more photos and a video of the banding, courtesy of “Big Frank” Buston and our friends at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation.