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!

Playing a hunch, local Rochester Falconcam members “Shaky”, Carrie, Carol and Kathy made an impromptu trip to Pickering, Ontario over the weekend to look for Quest. Her transmitter data have been very consistent over the past several weeks and they were hoping to find her.

The team’s good fortune was rewarded on Saturday when they located her at the Pickering Nuclear Generation Plant on the shore of Lake Ontario! Because of the high security around the facility (pictured above) and it’s shear size, the watchers weren’t able to get close enough to see her antenna, but positional data from her satellite transmitter placed her at the plant at the same time as the sightings, so all the available data point to this falcon being Quest.

Not only that, but it looks like Quest may have found herself a mate! The watchers reported that she was flying with a smaller falcon, making “ee-chupping” sounds typical of mated pairs, playing “talon tag” in the sky, and generally acting friendly toward each other. Unfortunately they weren’t able to get a picture of Quest, but Carol Phillips posted some pictures that show the male falcon. He appears to have a very white breast. You can see Carol’s picture album by clicking here.

It remains to be seen whether Quest and her tiercel will make the Pickering Power station their home, or choose another location. We’re in the process of contacting the Canadian Peregrine Foundation for assistance. Obviously a nuclear power plant is a sensitive location, so we’re hoping that if Quest does decide to settle down there, the CPF can work with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and Ontario Power Generation to erect a nest box on the site. It’s probably too early to make those kind of plans right now, but it’s good to know that Quest is beginning to build a family.

We don’t recommend going to the plant to see her, but if you decide to try for a look, be aware that security is extremely tight at this sensitive location. Our watchers were questioned multiple times over the weekend by security personnel from various agencies. In these times of heightened terrorism awareness it’s might be best to steer clear of the power plant. Quest’s transmitter data show that she’s been visiting the area around nearby Tam O’Shanter Park quite frequently. That would seem to be a better place to try to view her in our opinion.

True to form, Quest has remained in Toronto’s eastern suburbs for most of August. She’s opened up her travels a little though, wandering back toward Pickering, Eglinton East and Murphy Village, to name a few of her stop-overs. Satellite images of the area show a lot of green space and high buildings, so she’s certainly feeling right at home, or at least comfortable enough to want to stay a while.

Scarborough, Ontario has been Quest’s home for all of August. It looks like she’s settled into a routine, moving between Tam O’Shanter Park and East Point Park on the Lake Ontario shore. Timestamps from her transmitter show that she’s spending the nights inland, near the Tam O’Shanter golf course. The lakeside locations all have daytime timestamps, so it’s likely she’s spending her days harassing the shorebirds. With this kind of consistency, it’s possible that an enterprising local birder could stake out these parks and get a look at her. Any takers out there? If you see Quest, we’d love to hear about it. And we’d really love to see a picture of her!

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.

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.

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.