From our friends at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation comes the happy news that Rhea Mae (2006) and her mate Tiago have begun their 2009 nesting season at the Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto, Ontario. From the CPF’s Linda Woods we received word that Rhea Mae has laid two eggs– the first on the 26^th, and a second yesterday on the 29^th. Here are some pictures that Linda sent along:

web cameras at the Sheraton on-line, so with a bit of luck you’ll be able to watch Rhea Mae and Tiago raise their second brood of peregrines soon!

Photo courtesy of Marcia Lyman
There’s plenty of excitement closer to home too! Over the past few weeks our volunteer falcon watchers have observed a second pair of Peregrines in Rochester. The two falcons have made their home at an abandoned building in the nearby suburb of Brighton. The building is a few miles away from the downtown area. The location is far enough removed from downtown Rochester to avoid any territorial disputes between Mariah and the newcomers. An unbanded female had definitely been using the building as a territorial base, along with a couple of males. The first appeared to be a banded falcon with adult plumage, but he hasn’t been seen for a few days. Recently a sub-adult male appeared in his place.

Last Saturday afternoon (28 March), falcon watcher Marcia Lyman observed this sub-adult male and the female perching on the building, flying around it, and calling to each other. Using a spotting scope, Marcia was able to read the black and green leg band on this tiercel. You can imagine her surprise when she saw the band number, 22/R, in her scope– it was our very own “Z-man”, Zephyr! Here are a couple of pictures that Marcia took:

As you recall from last year, Zephyr was the first of Mariah and Kaver’s 2008 brood to fledge, and he showed himself to be a masterful flier almost from his first day in the air. On Sunday a group of watchers found Zephyr and his lady friend on a nearby State Hospital building, so we have high hopes that Zephyr might be here to stay, and that the two of them will establish a nest. Like the Kodak tower, the building in Brighton it is tall, with few other structures nearby, and it offers a commanding view of the surrounding area. There is woodland and water in close proximity, both of which should provide ample food supplies for a new falcon family.

First year falcons like Zephyr don’t often don’t produce viable young, but it is possible that the Z-man and this female could end up with a nest of their own this year. There’s no power at the site and it is close to a medical facility where the privacy of the residents is a prime concern, so we’re not yet sure how much photography will be allowed at this site. But we’ll keep watching this new pair, Rochester’s second, and we’ll be sure to bring all the news to you!

This entry was posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 12:29 PM and is filed under Journal, Offspring Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.