MISC. CANADIAN NESTS ~ 2011

SusanE · **Posted:** Fri Dec 31, 2010 3:34 pm

PLEASE START YOUR NEW 2011 POSTS HERE! :canada

SusanE · **Posted:** Sun Jan 09, 2011 1:25 pm

Toronto Residential -- Update from Mathew:

Jan 4, 2011 - First post of 2011

Well well well, where did we leave off here?

Apologies to dedicated followers of this blog, I left you hanging for quite a while. No offense was intended by this, as I've explained to many of you in person, life went way off the rails and at the same time I didn't have any definitive falcon info to pass along.

As of now, two adults are regularly being seen around the building. There were 3 including a juvie up until sometime in September (as far as I recall), but I didn't manage to ID any of them so nothing got reported.

Within the past week I managed to capture some shots of two adults one frigid morning at the old/original nest ledge. I knew one was Mom, but had to wait quite a while for the other one to lift his leg so I could ID him. Guess who... no big surprise, it was Jack.

In the months to come, I will definitely keep you posted on any developments with the falcons, but perhaps in a less frequent way than in the past. If/when courting/mating begin, I will try to monitor and report.

At the same time, I would greatly appreciate if those who have eyes, ears, and optics, could share in the monitoring process, I don't always appreciate being the one person monitoring the birds.

Lastly, I don't know how things will work out this year, but I am hopeful that the "falcon workgroup" created last year will re-emerge and help with the tasks carried out through the nesting season. It worked out smoothly and effectively last year, hopefully this approach can be used again. We know now a lot of what to expect, and are more comfortable with the process, as usual all volunteer efforts are helpful and appreciated.

All the best in 2011 and I'll do my best to keep you posted on any developments here at the nest site.

For Mathew's pictures:

kittenface · **Posted:** Sun Jan 09, 2011 1:27 pm

Thank you Susan for bringing that over aren't those just great pictures? Sure
hope things work out with the watch group

ljames · **Posted:** Sun Jan 09, 2011 7:12 pm

Is that Jack with the leg lifted? Well he is a handsome little devil. :lol:

Beth · **Posted:** Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:14 am

Toronto Residential
Feb 7, 2011 - Early February update from Mathew

This morning, and frequently over the past few weeks, two falcons are on site.

Last week, Fred reported seeing a confrontation between our female and another large bird, and eventually Mom returned to the building and is fine.

Reviewing the blog entries from previous years, it seems right that our birds are starting some subtle courtship antics, and in the next few weeks it wouldn't be surprising to see mating take place. In 2009 the first mating was witnessed March 5th, in 2010 it was February 23rd.

One factor that influences the friskiness of our birds is sunlight. The more consecutive days of sun we have, the more the hormones start stirring, so watch the weather and you can probably start guessing when things might heat up in the falcon department.

In previous years the first observed mating didn't necessarily mean eggs followed, but it did mean that once the mating started, Jack was a busy boy, mating at both our nest location as well as his Bloor & Islington home.

At the current time, our falcons are using both the "new" and "old" nest ledges. If I had to guess I'd say they prefer the old/original nest ledge.

SusanE · **Posted:** Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:02 am

Thanks for bringing that update over here, Beth!

catwoman · **Posted:** Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:38 am

Interesting that sunlight affects the canoodling--I hadn't heard that before, but it makes sense. Thanks, Beth!

Beth · **Posted:** Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:05 am

Latest News from Mathew...

Feb 16, 2011 - Routines have changed

As alluded to in the last post, it's about that time, and the falcons have start behaving differently. In the past week I've noticed food offerings in the form of smaller birds Jack (I assume) is bringing to Mom, lots of squawking, and more alarm calling and territory defending.

Today at lunch I noticed something and looking back at the history again, you can piece together where this is going... (see here) What I saw was Mom out a ways sitting in a tree, and Jack (again, I assume) was sitting on a ledge preening. In the past this is where she likes to hang out prior to being mounted... ;) I didn't witness any mating because I was only out there for a few minutes, but if I had to bet, I'd say mating has been taking place, or at least they're thinking about it.

Location-wise, this is at the southmost end of the property, where they are indeed spending more time now.

Beth · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:32 am

Feb 24, 2011 - First Observed 2011 Mating! Update from Mathew...

Well yee haw, after seeing Mom perched on a branch a few days in a row, today was the first time I actually observed mating. It only took about 4 seconds, and then the male flew off in a westward direction. Mom remained on the branch.

It seems probable that this has been taking place for a few days at least, no way to be sure.

Looking back at the observation log, I see that last year mating was taking place, and over a month passed and eggs were still not present, so this mating doesn't mean anything concrete.

Going forward, the most telling signs of whether or not there are eggs is from a) seeing eggs, or b) seeing birds 'changing guard' once incubation begins. If you see either let me know and likewise I'll do the same.

catwoman · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:05 pm

Thanks for posting Mathew's report, Beth! :smile:

Wizzz · **Posted:** Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:40 pm

Hi !
I was in London, Ontario last week and I saw this falcon on the TD tower, thought I'd share...

No time to find out if he/she had a mate...!

Eve

skygirlblue · **Joined:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm **Posts:** 64399

WOW....great catch...I wonder who it is?

Wizzz · **Posted:** Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:23 pm

Thanks ! Hope we have more news this year on the CPF website... !

Beth · **Posted:** Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:18 am

Latest News from Mathew - Toronto Residential
Mar 13, 2011 - Might we have some eggtivity?

catwoman · **Posted:** Wed Mar 16, 2011 8:03 pm

Thanks, Beth! :thumbegg:

Beth · **Posted:** Mon Mar 21, 2011 1:53 pm

Mar 18, 2011 - Friday update from Mathew - Toronto Residential

As far as I can see, there aren't any eggs anywhere yet, but moments ago it was pretty interesting to see one of the falcons defend the site from a Canada Goose. The goose was flying by, making the usual honking noises when suddenly the tune went sour. I looked up and sure enough saw a falcon finishing a warning buzz.

The goose took off and moments later two falcons were spotted at the southern nest ledges.

SusanE · **Posted:** Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:58 pm

Thanks for the update, Beth.

Beth · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2011 8:19 am

Mar 23, 2011 - Mathew update...

Taking shelter, or is something else happening?

I try to check on the south nest ledge daily via grainy, almost-useless video signal, and today I spotted a falcon tucked into the corner.

It's possible this is due to the snow blowing around, but it's also possible this means something else. It's difficult to know for sure what's going on up there, but if this persists in the days to come, we'll know that incubation is underway.

645PM update - Mom (assumed) is fairly glued to the ledge. Around 5 I spotted her take a few minutes away from the corner but still on the ledge, and then later I caught Jack coming to perhaps offer to help with incubation (again assumed), but Mom didn't move. Jack eventually took off.

Link to the photos...
http://www.asic.ca/falconcam/

bev. · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:06 pm

Thanks BEth.

Beth · **Posted:** Sun Mar 27, 2011 10:40 am

Mar 26, 2011 - Mathew Update...

Morning mating, afternoon corner-sitting

At 7:30am I managed to catch a brief mating episode on the peak of the south building. Around noon Mom was in the corner. Given the quality of the video feed, I won't likely be able to see eggs, so it's all about monitoring her activity.

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MISC. CANADIAN NESTS ~ 2011

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