We have received some very good news from our friends at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation. Quest no longer has her transmitter. Rfalconcam Forum member Donna Cook was able to capture some pictures of Quest taken by the Harlequin falcon cameras. She immediately noticed that something was missing. The transmitter antenna we were so used to seeing on her back was gone. She shared the pictures with other members of the forum and members of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation (CPF).

– Picture of Quest from the Harlequin Falconcam

Many thanks to Donna and CPF Member, Bruce Massey, who positively identified that it was Quest at the Don Mills nest site and that she no longer had her transmitter! Here is Bruce’s report.

Quest Has Shed Her Transmitter and On Site with a Potential New Suitor
December 21, 2014 – Toronto – Don Mills

Posted on December 21, 2014 10:53 pm

Here are some images of a young Quest with her transmitter in 2008. She did a lot of wandering her first year and made lots of friends, especially in Nantucket and Cape Cod.

We continue to receive transmitter readings from our friends at the DEC and it looks like Quest is on the move. She’s still spending time at the Duncan Mill Rd nest site, but taking trips along the north side of Lake Ontario. So where has she been over the past seven days? You may recognize some of the locations she’s been visiting.

On October 30, we received three readings;
12:45 – Pickering
14:49 – NW of Cobourg & Port Hope
20:47 – Lennox Power Station

October 31
22:06 – Lennox Power Station

November 2nd
06:51 – Quest & Kendal’s Nest Box – Duncan Mill Rd.

November 3rd
20:59 – Quest & Kendal’s Nest Box – Duncan Mill Rd.

November 5th
10:50 – Quest & Kendal’s Nest Box – Duncan Mill Rd.

November 6th
15:33 – Lennox Power Station

Beauty laid her third egg today. We’re not exactly sure when, because she spent a lot of time in the nest box and she didn’t let us see what was going on. Both Beauty and Archer have been on the eggs most of the day. That might be due to the cooler weather, or it could signal the start of “hard” incubation. If that’s the case, then we should be able to expect one more egg, for a total of four. Since the most recent pair of eggs have come at a more-or-less typical peregrine pace, if Beauty does lay another egg we should see it in the next 2 to 3 days.

In other news, the recent location data from Quest’s satellite transmitter has been nearly stationary for the past several days. Some observers began to speculate that perhaps her transmitter had finally fallen off. But earlier today our friends at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation posted that two falcons, one outfitted with a transmitter, had been spotted on a commercial building in the city of York, Ontario Canada, just east of Toronto. The address for the sighting matched exactly to the location data we’ve been getting from Quest, and Bruce Massey, one of the CPF volunteers, was able to confirm her ID band numbers! It turns out that Quest has been hanging out with a handsome tiercel. Read the full account from CPF watcher Tracy Simpson HERE. Needless to say we’re thrilled to learn that Quest may finally have found a place to settle down, and that she could be starting a family of her own. We’ll keep a close watch on this story, and bring all of the details to you as we learn more!

Quest has continued to stay around Prince Edward Point with frequent trips into nearby Kingston Ontario this month. Recently our friends at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation posted about Quest visiting the Kingston Harbor on January 4. Happily CPF observer Rachel McRae was able to get some pictures of Quest. We’re reprinting them here with her kind permission.

We’re working with the CPF to see if they have larger pictures they can share with us, and if we can get them we’ll bring them to you.

Quest is looking great, and both she and her transmitter seem to be going strong! CPF reporter Big Frank also let us know that workers at the Pickering Nuclear Power plant have been seeing Quest in the past few days, so she may be returning to familiar ground. Be sure to check back for updates.

Quest must be having a good time at Prince Edward Point because her transmitter data display some of the closest clustering that we’ve seen since we began tracking her in 2008. In fact, many of the locations over the past two weeks have been so close together that we thought she might have finally ditched her transmitter.

There are a few data points that are spread far enough apart to show us that she’s still moving around. But one thing we can say is that she’s not moving very far. Except for a trip to Kingston on the 26^th, she’s moved only a couple of miles. It looks like Quest has found a cozy place to stay for the winter, and that she’s content enough not to wander. Unless she decides to make another significant move– back to Pickering or the Lennox power station for instance– we may be in for a boring winter.

No surprises for Quest. She’s been bouncing between Pickering and Prince Edward Point for the past several weeks, but the most recent few days’ locations have placed her squarely at PEP. The weather’s been pretty nasty and cold, with one of the lowest temperature sensor readings we’ve seen recorded on the 15^th, a chilly 9.65°C. Hopefully Quest is finding someplace to stay out of the wind and keep herself warm.

As she’s done in the past, Quest threw us a curve ball. After weeks at Pickering, she suddenly decided to take a trip east to Prince Edward Point. She stayed a couple of days then returned to Pickering, but not before making a stop-over in Port Hope on the 18^th. Maybe she decided to take a flight down memory lane now that she seems to be settling down.

Quest’s latest location data are all clustered in the immediate area around the Pickering Nuclear Power plant in Pickering, Ontario Canada. Not only that, but just this past weekend she was spotted there by Rochester Falconcam watchers Joyce and MAK. They tell us that Quest was once again seen in the company of a male peregrine, and that they were both acting very comfortable with each other.

Even better, Joyce took some pictures! Here’s a few for you

Quest (below) and Male (top) on Water Tower

Quest on the water tower

Male falcon taking off

And finally, a shot of Quest passing overhead. Her transmitter is clearly visible in this picture.

Quest in flight

We’re very pleased that we’ve finally gotten some pictures of Quest to share with you, and we’re grateful for the efforts of Joyce, MAK, and all the other watchers who have made the long trip to Pickering Ontario in search of our intrepid peregrine. It seems like she’s pretty comfortable at the power plant, and if she has found a mate in this male, we may even be able to look forward to some nesting activity next year. We’ll keep our eye on Quest to see if she decides to make this her permanent home.

Quest’s westward move proved to be short-lived. She has returned to Pickering, with the vast majority of her September data clustered in the area immediately around the Pickering Power Generating station. We assume her male friend is still accompanying her.

Since Quest seems to be settling in, we’re hoping that someone at the plant or birders in the area will be able to get a look at where she might be nesting. If we have any readers in the Pickering/Ajax/Tornoto area, it looks like you’re almost guaranteed to be able to spot Quest near the power station these days. If you do, send us a note to let us know what she’s doing.

Quest closed out August near the Pickering nuclear station, but the first few days of September find her back in Scarborough. We can’t say whether she’s in the company of her tiercel friend, but it would be interesting if she were. Unlike much of August when Quest’s transmitter showed her ranging in a diffuse area from Scarborough south to the lakeshore, she seems to have settled into a tight pattern of movement between Pickering and Scarborough.

Perhaps she’s scouting possible nesting locations, or maybe she just finds successful hunting in these two places. If there are any birders in the Scarborough area, keep an eye out for Quest. We’d love to hear about it if you see her!