Manitoba Falcon Cam Forum
Manitoba Peregrines => Logan Peregrines => Topic started by: birdnut on January 23, 2012, 10:06
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My heart skipped a beat this morning - not a good thing for a Monday morning.
A hawk was sitting on the rooftop of the Buhler building right above the letters the peregrines like to hang out on. Had to look twice. I think it might have been a merlin, but it was too high up to get a really good look at it.
My first thought was peregrines...this is way too early.
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A couple years ago TPC and I spent some time in late Dec ( colder than he- - ) looking for a bird that had been sighted...the Security people thought we were nuts ?? A number of years back a female wintered over and I'm sure Tracy will fill in the name and year.
Soooooooooooooo keep checking.
I don't think a Peregrine could hide in this city with out being spotted...just my thoughts.
Cheers !
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Nobody is home yet but we do have merlins overwintering in town every year now, so very likely it was a merlin, particularly since we have quite a number nesting in the HSC area.
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Spring is offically here :)- the geese are back, a falcon is back and the hot dog stand is open again.
A birdie was sitting on the letter B on the east side of Buhler yesterday at 4:00p.m.
It had a very white breast and was sitting at an weird angle that I couldn't tell for sure if it was a pigeon or our falcons. Given the early date, I dismissed it as a pigeon, but with the sighting downtown this morning, maybe it was a falcon. I have never seen a pigeon sitting on the letters before, only on the roof top. I will carry my camera with me from now on.
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Photos - every blurry photos .... :o
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Birdie most definitely a falcon:
birdie sitting on C in research on the east side of the Buhler building at 12:20 ish
He/she has a very white breast.
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Beau and Ivy are the only white-breast resident birds we have at the moment so that could support Pam's impression that the bird she saw at lunch was Ivy .... All the females in town, including that hussy Sandy, have speckles right up to their chins.
Or it could be someone just passing through ... might even be Cowboy since he knows this site so well, seems to me his breast was pretty white as well ...
Spring is getting interesting ;)
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That's great news, birdnut! ;D I know you will keep us posted! Great news about the hotdog stand being open again, too! Spring really has arrived! LOL!
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Little news from Dennis ... he was able to get a look at the HSC bird this morning as he passed through the area and it has a pink anodized band on one leg - that means its from the US Midwest. He couldn't get a look at the other leg for the coloured band so we have no idea who it is. Dennis is also of the mind that it could be a female.
We are pretty confident however that it isn't Sandy or Princess as this bird's breast is much whiter than hers. At the moment the bird's breast has a rusty wash on it (they get it during/after the breeding season) so it maybe doesn't look quite as white as we make it sound but basically we mean that the white part of the breast (wash or no) goes lower than on other birds. Sandy and Princess have barring and speckles that come up to what would look like the collarbone area on a human. Trey's barring was pale spots on his belly and white down to his belly (on a human, white to his navel).
So two mysteries:
1. Is the HSC bird the same bird Pam photographed yesterday? at a distance and with the light shining on its breast, the wash would not be visible so all we can say is that the bird has more white on its breast than Sandy or Princess or even Jules.
2. Who is this American bird? We did have an American male come visit Sandy at the Radisson nestbox last autumn after Ivy and Princess had left. If it's a male, it could be him. We have never had a non-Manitoba male nest in the province - non-Manitoba females yes, but not males. If it's a female, it looks to be a new bird ... mayhaps a relation of Kate's or Sandy's? Maybe someone from Grand Forks - a kid of Terminator's from Brandon? Or someone from even further afield?
And yes, Dennis did take a photo, but without that coloured band, we are still stuck with solving the mysteries :D
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Are 2 birds here?
He/she was sitting on the letter O of John at 12:20; still on the same spot about 10 minutes ago(2:05).
Any birdie on the nesting ledge downtown during that time?
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Are 2 birds here?
He/she was sitting on the letter O of John at 12:20; still on the same spot about 10 minutes ago(2:05).
Any birdie on the nesting ledge downtown during that time?
He/she was still/again at the same spot when I went by at 3:00. I stayed there watchig the new arrival for 5 minutes, then left while the peregrine was still soaking up the rays. I drove then to the Radisson - no bird on Trey's platform and didn't see one in the nest area, although I just drove by. Proves nothing really about whether there's a second one downtown.
Anyway, it's all getting to be fun again - the season is here!!!
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So far we can confirm only 1 bird in town so far ... its not a Radisson resident bird so it may be hanging out at HSC as its more sheltered than the Hotel and warmer at this time of the year. Since its not a resident bird, it isn't hormonally compelled to protect/stake a claim at the Radisson ... yet. There is also more food to eat at HSC, or rather, easier food ;)
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Got a look at a couple of Dennis' photos and I don't recognize this bird ... and we did some informal measurements relative to the sign etc and we think it is a female - looks longer and broader than photos of Cowboy and others on this same sign.
Hopefully she isn't just passing through and that she'll hang around long enough for us to get a look at the coloured band on her left leg!
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(http://www.pbase.com/photosbydennis/image/142089971/large.jpg)
For those who haven't checked out Dennis' photo gallery (www.pbase.com/photosbydennis) yet ..
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Out at lunch time: he/she is perched up there again today.
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If this non-resident bird has been hanging around for a few days, I was wondering if this is any indication that he/she intends to stay? How long do birds who are just passing through generally hang around, TPC? ???
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If this non-resident bird has been hanging around for a few days, I was wondering if this is any indication that he/she intends to stay? How long do birds who are just passing through generally hang around, TPC? ???
Sandy stays a month or longer in the fall ... Cowboy and Kate hung around for months after they abandonned their nesting attempt ... Alice used to hang around all summer before she met Zeus. Not all peregrines are breeding birds, there is always a sizeable population of non-breeding birds that "float" (they are called floaters in fact) - and they don't seem to be in any hurry to set up a territory but the are generally the ones who move in if a resident bird fails to return. Trey was a floater for a couple of years before taking over the Radisson territory - old enough to breed but didn't instead just hung out downtown (not to close to his parents) until Simba didn't return.
But to answer your question about this bird - it could be just hanging out where the food is plentiful and there are nice places to roost until such time as she decides to move on or is moved on or decides to find a man (by fair means or foul) - two days, two weeks, two months, ten years ... at the moment, there is no resident pair in the area to move him/her along ...
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Very interesting, TPC. Learned something new. Didn't know about "floaters" and certainly didn't know that Trey had been a "floater" for a few years. I don't know why, but I always thought that Trey took over the Radisson nest by fighting for his position in the nestbox and "the best man won". Glad I got that straight. Thanks! :)
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Looks like the female who has been hanging out here is also the female being spotted at the Radisson ... at least that's what it looks like from the photos. No id yet, other than it is an American female ...
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Looks like she is busy with her friend downtown and doesn't come to 'burbs anymore.
Haven't seen her or any other birdie since Thursday morning.
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Some birdie finally came back to visit HSC - yesterday at 2:00 p.m. some bird was sitting on the letter n, but I was driving and couldn't get a good look. Will take another look at lunch time.
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We think Smiley was out at HSC this morning/afternoon because:
1) He's the only bird (male or female) we have observed in town with a W in his band number (ever)
2) He's big for a male, or in comparison to our males, but his nestmate-sister, Alice, is huge and his mom Terminator is no tiny miss either
3) He's still around which we wouldn't be surprised about since he only lost his chance to win Jules' affections in the last couple/three days
It could still be the female that was evicted from the Radisson by Princess but I would have expected that female if she was indeed injured during the fight to stay way clear of the Radisson territory - and we haven't seen a third bird in the downtown area (and we've been looking) since Princess returned home. If the evicted female wasn't injured it has been long enough that she could easily have moved along to pastures less Princess'.
We'll try to keep an eye on him/the site and if we get a better look at his bands, we will of course let y'all know!!
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I'm going to say Smiley...some lunch date photos with Smiley at the Diner have been added.
http://www.pbase.com/photosbydennis/west_wpg_2012
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Maybe the female that was here will want Smiley a a mate. :) :)
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Maybe the female that was here will want Smiley as a mate. :) :)
Do you mean the female that was here last year, bev? :-\ If you do, that was Kate and she died last August, apparently after hitting a building. Also, I don't think her mate, Cowboy has returned to Winnipeg this season.
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no, I think it was posted that maybe another female was spotted here. Maybe Sandy???I will go back and read in case I misunderstood. I knwo that last yer female here died. Sad :'(
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Go back to page 1. It was TPC that was discussing this.
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Hopefully Smiley will find a "friend" but not at HSC (sorry HSC gang!) it is too close to the Radisson to be anything but stressful for adults and chicks alike. As for who he might find, well I'm not sure that the female that was at the Radisson prior to Princess' return is still around, we haven't had any sightings/reports of lone peregrines for quite awhile. If it was Sandy, this will be her second spring eviction so chances are she will go where she went last year when the same thing happened to her. But, it is only the beginning of April and birds are still on their way home ... so who knows who might fly through and catch his fancy ...
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Go back to page 1. It was TPC that was discussing this.
Ah, yes, thanks for reminding me of this other female, bev. :) I had forgotten about her. But it sounds as if she has not been spotted lately, so may just have been passing through town, as TPC has noted.
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What nobody was out today looking skyward...nobody driving past cranking their neck out the window while stopped at the light/driving down Portage. I drove all the way back from Elie to only find Jules perched where she shouldn't be perched ???
And then a run down town to see one perched in the nest box after finding nothing at HSC.
So after I finished my coffee break it was back to work.
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No falcon sighting this week at all at HSC... this evening at 7:00ish there were 7 crows on the rooftop just above letters on the Buhler building.
I have been checking the CSC building on a daily basis - no falcons there, just lots and lots of pigeons.
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Do they ever nest at the University TPC???
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Do they ever nest at the University TPC???
We have five university campuses in the province (4 in Winnipeg and 1 in Brandon) as well as (at least) 3 big college college campuses (2 in Winnipeg, 1 in Brandon) that are all near past/present nestsistes.
Here at HSC there is the U of Manitoba's medical campus - in fact, the building they sit on, is the Buhler Building and it is part of the campus rather than part of the hospital itself. As for the other campuses, we used to have a pair nest at the other U of M campus (U of M has two) but it was abandonned when T-Rex left his wife Burnsie to shack up with Madame at the Radisson. T-Rex is Ivy's grandpa, so it appears the "lov'em-and-leav'em" gene jumped a generation and missed Trey.
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I thought someone had nested at one of the sites,. YOu must have mentioned that a ways back
thank-you
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No birdies seen at HSC/CSC for a couple of weeks now. :'(
Tracy, The 4 returnees seem not to like to hang out here this year, so would it be a good guess that the birds seen at HSC last year all season were probably Kate and Cowboy?
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No birdies seen at HSC/CSC for a couple of weeks now. :'(
Tracy, The 4 returnees seem not to like to hang out here this year, so would it be a good guess that the birds seen at HSC last year all season were probably Kate and Cowboy?
Once Cowboy and Kate decided not to renest, they would have free to move more freely around town and we know they were around until later in the summer because of the date of Kate's death. As for it only being Cowboy or Kate at HSC, can't say that for sure, it could also have been Radisson birds though I suspect that it was mostly Cowboy and/or Kate simply because the Radisson birds are pretty consistently in the area around the nestbox when they have chicks.
After he was evicted from West Winnipeg we spotted Smiley but that was before incubation began at the Radisson. The lure of sitting in the sun on that sign (and the fly-by takeout) is undeniable for peregrines. Once there are nests however, it appears everyone keeps a polite distance from each other and each other's nests - probably why you haven't seen anyone hanging around Birdnut. Jules isn't incubating yet, but HSC is probably not a polite distance from the Radisson now that Princess is on eggs.
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The birds must be reading the forum...after complaining yesterday that they haven't been here for weeks...guess who's here this morning???
Two birds were canoodling on the smoke stack antenna of the HSC power house. The male took off when he was done, the female is still sitting there. :) :) :)
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The birds must be reading the forum...after complaining yesterday that they haven't been here for weeks...guess who's here this morning???
Two birds were canoodling on the smoke stack antenna of the HSC power house. The male took off when he was done, the female is still sitting there. :) :) :)
Now this is interesting - it won't be the Radisson pair as canoodling time is over for them. Might, just might be the West Winnipeg pair because they were still canoodling the day before yesterday and they do like to hunt north of there OR it could be someone else entirely - either arriving late or have just found each other ...
Birdnut, please do let us know when and where you spot the birds - that antennae is too high for us to get band numbers so unless they help us out we may only be able to identify who they aren't by a process of eliminiation!
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Friday before Earth Day and Earth Day were spent trying to track down Birdnut's "young couple". We found them quickly on Friday but they hung around for only a few minutes before they were off and we don't know where. But Dennis did get photos and we were pretty sure about the band numbers and their identities then, but since it had been so quick and the lighting not optimal for Wowzer, we thought we would try again on Sunday (Earth Day - nicer weather forecast and quieter around HSC. At first, couldn't find anything anywhere, it was so depressing!!! Then we found the WW birds (see the WW thread), but still not so much as a peak at the HSC birds. Did get to check out the site again (we did the same thing last year) to check out possible locations for nestboxes and still no birds. Then we were off to the Radisson to clean camera lens (see the Radisson thread) and back past the HSC locations and still no birds. We were very depressed. Dennis had wonderful photos of Jules and Beau (relatively calm) and Ivy and Princess (madder than wet hens) but a big hole where the HSC birds were suppose to be. Then (you knew this was coming) we caught sight of them at a distance hunting lazily on the wing so we basically tracked them as they flew until they decided, finally, to land and eat their lunch - well, her lunch, he was supervising. Then off they went again and they turned up at one of "their spots" and canoodling commenced. And it was in the afterglow that Dennis and Wowzer were able to get more band photos that helped to confirm their identifications.
Our 2012 HSC lovebirds are Cowboy and Jolicoeur
They are doing all the right things, but no idea if they will nest however, she's not yet 2 years old. But that is old enough - Princess, Alley, Radisson, Terminator and Hurricane were all 2 the first time they nested - Holly in Brandon was 1.
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Cowboy's family tree
hatched at the McKenzie Seeds Building in Brandon in 2000
parents are Mufasa (released in Brandon 1991) and Phoebe (hatched at the Radisson in 1991)
Mufasa was a captive-bred bird from the CWS facility in Alberta, Phoebe is the offspring of Pop & Maud and a sister of T-Rex, aunt of Trey.
Cowboy's siblings (known to have survived/nested) include: Rebel (Saskatoon 1996-98), Ja (Winnipeg 1997), Zeus (Brandon 2002, 2004-06, 2008-09, 2011), Simba (Radisson 1998-99), Tramp (Regina 1999), Keener-Screech (Brandon 2007) and Lady (Moose Jaw 1999)
Jolicoeur will be his second mate so far as we know - he's old enough, he could have had more.
First mate was Katherine/Kate (see 2011 thread for her family tree).
Likewise, we don't know if he has successfully raised young yet (do have ha request in to some folks though, just in case).
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Jolicoeur's family tree
hatched from the First National Bank (now Bank of the West) in Fargo, North Dakota in 2010.
parents are Dakota Ace (1997 Sioux Falls SD) and Miracle (2004 Sherco Plant MN)
Dakota Ace was a captive-bred bird released and Frieda was a wild-hatched female. Dakota Ace is still the resident male in Fargo.
Jolicoeur's full-siblings (known to have survived/nested) include: Audrey Jean (Minnesota 2010), Sandy (Radisson Interloper 2009-2011, maybe 2012).
Jolicoeur's half-siblings (known to have survived/nested) include: Holly (Brandon 2004-08), Copper (Minnesota 2005-09), Lewis (Minnesota 2005 & 2010), Dakotah (Minnesota, 2005-09), Bear (Grand Forks 2007-08), Roosevelt (Grand Forks 2009-11) and Kate (HSC 2011).
She has not had any previous mates nor any nestings, successful or otherwise.
Pronunciation: (phonetically) Jolie-CUR - it's French so add an accent folks
Translation: Pretty Heart
How did she get her name? I belive she was named after a very popular president of Concordia College in Moorhead Minnesota. Her name was Dr Pamela Jolicoeur and she died at age 65 after a stroke in June of 2010 - right before the chicks were banded I believe. I've emailed my contact to see if she had a closer connection to the peregrine project in Fargo or if there was a (more) specific reason the chick was named after her. I think its a great name, it will be nice to see if she lives up to (the translation) of her name..
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And sorry :o, yes, Dennis has photos of these two!!!
(sorry Dennis!)
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I'm calling her Joli for short...
Should get a look at her soon at your in-box this evening...anyone wishing to be added to the Peregrine Phanatic e-mail list send me an e-mail and you can be added.
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That's VERY exciting news! :D So Sandy is a full sibling and Holly from Brandon and Kate from last year are half siblings. All in the family! ;)
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She is beautiful! Good eyes Cowboy! Whistle whistle....good lookin' couple of birds! Make some young fluffy cuteness! GO!!! ;D
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Wonderful news about Cowboy and his new girl Joli !! :)
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As pretty as she is (and she is) Cowboy is the amazing bird in town right now - pretty sure he broke a couple laws of physics today :o going after ravens nesting where he and Joli were canoodling. I think he doesn't like crows, he was doing some dangerous attack runs on crows at another nearby location on Friday. If there are big black birds around, he's the sherriff and its the wild-west that's for sure! Cowboy is the perfect name for him!! But seriously, he's a seriously scary attack artist, I'm just hoping he doesn't decide on a flat, wide-open roof to nest on - I haven't been hit in a few years but he could/would I think do it with a fair bit of glee. Actually, watching him attack the ravens today, getting hit by him might be a badge of honour I would gladly wear. Think that's the only way I'm going to get anywhere near him - or rather him near me!!
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As pretty as she is (and she is) Cowboy is the amazing bird in town right now - pretty sure he broke a couple laws of physics today :o going after ravens nesting where he and Joli were canoodling. I think he doesn't like crows, he was doing some dangerous attack runs on crows at another nearby location on Friday. If there are big black birds around, he's the sherriff and its the wild-west that's for sure! Cowboy is the perfect name for him!! But seriously, he's a seriously scary attack artist, I'm just hoping he doesn't decide on a flat, wide-open roof to nest on - I haven't been hit in a few years but he could/would I think do it with a fair bit of glee. Actually, watching him attack the ravens today, getting hit by him might be a badge of honour I would gladly wear. Think that's the only way I'm going to get anywhere near him - or rather him near me!!
Wasn't his sibling Keener-Screech a bit of an attack artist too? Maybe it runs in the family. ;D
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Wasn't his sibling Keener-Screech a bit of an attack artist too? Maybe it runs in the family. ;D
Your memory is good RCF - yup, Keener-Screech and Cowboy are more along the lines of Trey, T-Rex and Mufasa all of whom had very good talon targetting skills. And that's actually how Keener-Screech got his hyphenate name. He'd been named "Keener "when he was a baby but I didn't have a record of his name so when he turned up during one of Zeus' sabbaticals, and started threatening Dan's very existence (Dan goes up the ladder for the chicks) screaming the whole time (the bird nor Dan ;)), he got the name "Screech". Seemed wrong not to acknowledge both his names as they were both appropriate for different times in his life.
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Great news, three pairs in town.
I seem to recall that the HSC is considered the Radisson territory, and even if it is only the fringe of the Radisson territory, isn't it also close to the West Winnipeg territory?
Do you think that the close quarter territories are a sign of the improving population of the peregrines? That there are more falcons looking for territory? Yay, that would mean that all of the recovery projects' hard work is now paying off.
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I seem to recall that the HSC is considered the Radisson territory, and even if it is only the fringe of the Radisson territory, isn't it also close to the West Winnipeg territory?
It is both Dupre. HSC site is sort of the tip of a triangle with WW and Radisson being on the bottom. We are hoping to install two, perhaps three new nestboxes in new and former territories and they are all further away from each other. If Cowboy and Joli return next year, perhaps they would pick one of these new territories and then they don't have to be stressed. Princess and Ivy aren't stressed which is good, Cowboy and Joli are pretty quiet like Cowboy and Kate were last year so perhaps the extra year will give them the confidence to you raise young with less stress. We'll just have to see what 2012 holds for these two ...
Do you think that the close quarter territories are a sign of the improving population of the peregrines? That there are more falcons looking for territory? Yay, that would mean that all of the recovery projects' hard work is now paying off.
Close quarters is just close quarters and not a good thing because the habitat may or may not support more pairs. Looking at all the possible sites we've scoped out we think that 5 pairs is a max for the city based on land base. Four of those five also have sufficient food supplies so shouldn't be a problem. The fifth site is a new potential site and it looks good but we don't know it as well as the other four. If we had two pairs in Brandon, five in Winnipeg, perhaps one or three in a couple of other spots in southern Manitoba and I would be a very happy camper. Maybe by the project's 40th anniversary (2021). ;)
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I could take a pair or two to Steinbach when we visit there in the fall. ;D
good news here.
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I could take a pair or two to Steinbach when we visit there in the fall. ;D
Its a nice offer Bev, however Steinbach is missing a couple of key features for a nest site I'm afraid.
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A new gallery has been started for Cowboy & Joli
http://www.pbase.com/photosbydennis/hsc_2012
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Some birdie was hovering over the Canadian Blood Services building on William Ave this morning around 9:15.
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Some birdie was hovering over the Canadian Blood Services building on William Ave this morning around 9:15.
Most likely Cowboy or Joli as everyone else is incubating ...
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is west winnipeg incubating too?
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Two birds are soaring over Williams Ave - I have a great view of the back of Children's Hospital from my 4th floor. Came from the west and circled around over the work site of the new Women's and went back west again.
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Nice photos Dennis. Joli is a very pretty girl (as far as falcon's go) :D
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She is a very striking girl!
Great photos Dennis.
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Some birdie Jodi ?? was sitting on the "r" in research last night at 5:00ish. The letter is right at the edge of the building. Last year Cowboy liked sitting on the letters more in the middle of the name. Or the cover on the letter "J' in John was broken last October and has not been repaired, so maybe they don't like the brightness.
This morning a very white breasted bird is sitting on the rooftop above the letters, basking in the sun.
Lots and lots of whitewash spots on the ground below. Their location is also different then last year's art work. Last year they were on the ground in front of the east facing wall, this year they are around the corner, on the south facing wall and farther out. From Dennis's picture, that red rail projects out onto the sidewalk much farther than the letters do. Look out down below...this is the spot where the smokers go for their smoke because there is an hot air vent on that south facing wall.
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Look out down below...this is the spot where the smokers go for their smoke because there is an hot air vent on that south facing wall.
Maybe they will get the hint to stop......................well maybe in that location anyway. :D
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I noticed a few birdie parts on the ground under there last year.
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I just came out of the Manitoba Clinic and heard the familiar screeching above. I looked up and a PF did a couple of circles of the power building and headed over to Buhler. Once I crossed Notre Dame, I could see 2 PF's flying beautifully, really fast, dipping and weaving closer to the Children's side of HSC. What a treat!
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What a treat indeed, bcf!! Lucky you!! ;D
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How do the words to that song go?... "Love is in the air!" LOL! ;) ;)
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Yes it was a treat. It makes me envy all those downtowners who are able to watch from their offices every day.
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Few more photos have been added.
http://www.pbase.com/photosbydennis/hsc_2012
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I love image #0034, Dennis! :D
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I love image #0039-1 ;D
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They are all great!
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Last night at 4:00ish, some birdie landed on the "r" in research with lunch in his claws.
He enjoyed his supper and sent feathers flying everywhere.
This morning the rain let up a bit and some birdie was sitting on the roof of the Buhler building right above the letters on the east side.
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Some birdie needs his mother to come clean up after him:
Dead whole pigeon lying in the street - must have dropped it in flight.
Wing bits lying out in front of the Buhler building.
A white shore bird with dark brown spots half eaten on the ground below the east facing letters - made a day trip to Oak Hammock Marsh??
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Some birdie needs his mother to come clean up after him:
Dead whole pigeon lying in the street - must have dropped it in flight.
Wing bits lying out in front of the Buhler building.
A white shore bird with dark brown spots half eaten on the ground below the east facing letters - made a day trip to Oak Hammock Marsh??
I know what you mean birdnut. I see all sorts of dead birdie parts and whole dead birds at the McKenzie site. Lots of shore birds........not many pigeons though. :)
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Nope, not a day trip. ;)
Last year (on August 4) TPC posted this on the Radisson forum:
Oak Hammock Marsh is about a one hour drive from the Radisson Hotel, but only about a 5-10 minute flight for the birds (straight line). It's north of the City, about 20 minutes from the City limits and is the last remnant of the old St Andrews Bog.
That's why TPC always says they have large territories.
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Some birdie has been sitting on the smoke stack antenna since 9:00 this morning.
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Birdie/Birdies spotted all day yesterday.
One spent the morning on the smoke stack antanee.
When I went out at lunch, one was sitting on the east facing letters.
When I came back from lunch, one was sitting on the red rails under the roof top (see Dennis' picture). I think this might have been Joli - looked like a bigger bird.
When I went home, one was sitting on the broken letter J.
This morning one was sitting on the south facing letters.
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We were chasing birds (Cowboy & Joli ) on Sat morning...finding one at HSC we think it was Cowboy...by the time I got Wowzer set up the bird was gone. They do like the building to eat at as by the evidence found on the ground below the signs.
Never did find a second bird...so you just never know, when or where :-\ ???
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They do like the building to eat at as by the evidence found on the ground below the signs.
Dennis, did you see the shore bird? any idea what it is/was?
Some birdie sitting out in the rain on the HSC smoke stack antenna this AM. Seem to like that perch for the mornings. I am guessing it is Cowboy by the size.
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They do like the building to eat at as by the evidence found on the ground below the signs.
Dennis, did you see the shore bird? any idea what it is/was?
The "shorebird" was a killdeer ...
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Yep...what TPC said :-[
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The honeymoom continues....
Stood watching the birds for about 45 minutes at supper time last night.
I came out of my building a 1/2 block away and heard the two of them right away.
I didn't see them right away, but feathers were slowly drifting down onto McDermot Ave. Joli was on the Buhler building eating supper. Cowboy showed up a few minutes later and spent sometime on the south facing letters. Jodi finished supper and then moved to the ledge right at the edge of the top of the building. They were carrying on quite the loud conversation. Then Cowboy flew up to where she was sitting and canoodling happened. When Cowboy was done, he flew onto the concretete pad just under the red rails and disappeared. Joli joined him there for about 5 minutes, yelling at each other the whole time. Joli left first and did a few circles around all the buildings and then Cowboy joined her and I lost them as they flew north between buildings. I did hear them again, but didn't see them. It sounded like they were up on the Buhler building again.
Seeing them both together, you can really tell them apart by size and colour. Joli is bigger and much lighter colour than Cowboy. Cowboy is by far the noisier one of the two.
Got pictures with my cell phone, but the very grainy.
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Great report Birdnut!!
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I thought you were going to say, "when Cowboy was done he had a smoke and went to sleep". I didn't sleep last night so lots of weird humor going on in my head.
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I thought you were going to say, "when Cowboy was done he had a smoke and went to sleep"...
LOL, bcf! ;)
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No falcons about for a couple of days now, but yesterday at noon a crow was up on the Buhler building eat - cleaning up after Joli?
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I swear the birds are reading the forum.... some birdie sitting up on the Buhler building when I came back from lunch. Just making sure the crow doesn't eat all of their stash.
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I was at HSC today but didn't see or hear any falcons. . . having said that, I didn't put forth much of an effort to look for them.
I did managed to see a momma duck and 14 newly hatched ducklings. There is a small garden area surrounded by buildings - it's behind the Rehab hospital (not sure what other buildings. I was talking to the staff who said that she must have made a nest in the greenery. They told me that someone from Ft. Whyte will be coming around tomorrow to pick them up (unless Cowboy & Joli are reading the forum and get to them first :-X)
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I was at HSC today but didn't see or hear any falcons. . . having said that, I didn't put forth much of an effort to look for them.
I did managed to see a momma duck and 14 newly hatched ducklings. There is a small garden area surrounded by buildings - it's behind the Rehab hospital (not sure what other buildings. I was talking to the staff who said that she must have made a nest in the greenery. They told me that someone from Ft. Whyte will be coming around tomorrow to pick them up (unless Cowboy & Joli are reading the forum and get to them first :-X)
Ducklings are awfully small and probably not worth the effort ...
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Thank goodness for that! But what the parents?!? I'll bet they'd be a nice tasty break from Pigeon :P
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Thank goodness for that! But what the parents?!? I'll bet they'd be a nice tasty break from Pigeon :P
So close to the buildings and on the ground, unlikely the peregrines will take the risk of injuring themselves trying to hunt down low. And if the duck is a mallard, that is really too large for most peregrines, particularly not when there are so many easier things to hunt.
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I hope the ducklings and their parents will be o.k. I don't wish their death, as food or otherwise. I don't know who the someone from Fort Whyte is who is supposed to come by, but I hope their intentions are good.
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I hope the ducklings and their parents will be o.k. I don't wish their death, as food or otherwise. I don't know who the someone from Fort Whyte is who is supposed to come by, but I hope their intentions are good.
If its Fort Whyte, their intentions are very good and everyone will be very happy at FW or if they decide to release them elsewhere, they will choose a good location for the family.
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Dennis took a major detour when he was doing some errands to day and he did a long sweep through the HSC/CSC territory looking for either/both of the birds. They haven't been settling which might be because Joli is only 2 years old and not ready to breed yet or they just haven't settled yet. And no, they haven't settled yet. Dennis spotted both Cowboy and Joli sitting together hanging out, so they may have laid an egg, but I would have expected to see them covering (not incubating) it given the amount of rain and much cooler temperatures, but then again, she's young still and may not know better. And no, we don't know where they are nesting - where Dennis found them is just one of the places they hang out sometimes.
We've been keeping track of their time here and we do make periodic visits to the rooftops they like to visit, but no joy yet. We will keep doing this through the summer if needs be just in case. Not too late for them yet, so they still have time and we still have time to find their nest when they do.
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Are there any recent sitings of Cowboy and Joli? Last post was May 19th. Maybe successful pairing in 2013 for this pair. ???
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Are there any recent sitings of Cowboy and Joli? Last post was May 19th. Maybe successful pairing in 2013 for this pair. ???
We aren't sure. They are being very elusive right now - sometimes we can catch sight of one or the other, almost never both at the same time right now. We have continued with rooftop checks in the area and being elusive might mean they are going to try nesting so we will have to go back and check all the possibles (and if necessary some of the nearly impossibles). Jules and Beau get a little hard to find when they start nesting in the evil location, so we are hoping that Cowboy and Joli are the same.
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Are there any recent sitings of Cowboy and Joli? Last post was May 19th. Maybe successful pairing in 2013 for this pair. ???
We aren't sure. They are being very elusive right now - sometimes we can catch sight of one or the other, almost never both at the same time right now. We have continued with rooftop checks in the area and being elusive might mean they are going to try nesting so we will have to go back and check all the possibles (and if necessary some of the nearly impossibles). Jules and Beau get a little hard to find when they start nesting in the evil location, so we are hoping that Cowboy and Joli are the same.
Are they still around??
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We believe so and they have recently become secretive so we are now hunting to see if they are actually nesting ... that's all the news we have so far ... we are keeping our fingers crossed though!
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Just left HSC and there is a PF sitting on the broken J of the John Buhler building (faces east). I waited a long time to see if s(he) would fly off to the "secret place" but no such luck and I wanted to get home after a long day at work.
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I have not seen any PF around HSC since the end of May, but this week the evidence of visitors has shown up....on three different days, wing parts blowin' in the wind.
When I left work at 6:15 last night, I spotted one on the east facing letters of the Buhler building. This was a smaller bird, so it might have been Cowboy, not Joli. But I think this bird was much darker than he is.
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A PF is sitting on the antenne of the HSC smoke stack this morning - 10:30 a.m.
Why did I take my binoculars home?
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0600 this morning two were sitting on the broken j and the e facing east on the Buhler building. One quite dark and one with a whiter breast.
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0600 this morning two were sitting on the broken j and the e facing east on the Buhler building. One quite dark and one with a whiter breast.
Huh, interesting ... two birds ... hmmmm
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Yesterday I saw (what I think was) a PF flying high over Evergreen Place. Watched him/her fly north & went down in the vicinity of HSC.
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There was a fire on the 6th floor of the Buhler building yesterday at 5:00 ish.
I think it was Cowboy sitting on the east facing letters, sceaming for somebody to turn off the annoying alarm.
It was a very white breasted, smaller bird. Also Cowboy was the one that was so noisy last year.
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There was a fire on the 6th floor of the Buhler building yesterday at 5:00 ish...
:o Hope everyone, including our PF's are okay.
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The fire wasn't big - just one lab got a little damage.
but it brought out lots of cute firemen :)
Some birdie is sitting up on the HSC smokestack antenna this morning. By size, I am guessing Joli.
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Really? What time? I looked at about 0600 when I came to work and didn't see anyone anywhere today or on Monday.
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It was about 8:45am yesterday. He/she was there for about 1/2 hour.
No birdie about in the rain this morning.
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One birdie(I guessing Joli) likes to sit on the antenna of the HSC smokestack in the mornings until the sun comes around. Cowboy can be spotted regularly in the evening on the Buhler letters when the letters are not in the sun.
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Nice to hear you're still spotting these birds, birdnut. I guess they didn't nest this year, though. Am I right? :-\
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Over the last week I have spotted both birds around HSC, but not at the same time.
However last night at 5:00 both birds were sitting on the east facing letters of the Buhler Centre. When you see them both together, you can really see the size difference between them. Also Cowboy's white breast is very visible from the ground.
>>>>>I guess they didn't nest this year, though. Am I right?
I am guessing not - I am only seeing one bird at a time or when I do see two, their colouring is definitely not a young one's.
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I was thinking about these two when I drove past the virology lab on Arlington yesterday. Funny how they haven't been hanging around there. I look every time I drive by expecting on to be on the front edge of the building. I haven't had the joy of seeing these two around the HSC for a couple of weeks either. Maybe after vacation I'll go up to my sister's office and have a gander. I hope they'll still be around.
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During our travels today, we came across one bird on the Buhler sign in the rain this morning and my size it looked like Joli. We cambe back later and both Joli and Cowboy were on the sign - we got a peak at Cowboy's band and saw Joli's purple FWS band (we use silver) but not her coloured band but it couldn't have been anyone else. We also buzzed by all the spots this pair likes and couldn't see any sign of a late nest, so it looks like Cowboy isn't a daddy yet but not his fault, Joli is a 2010 hatch, so still a bit young.
If they both come back this next year, she will definitely be a good age for a first nest. And we do have plans for a couple new nestboxes around town for next year so perhaps they will choose a box even though it won't be at HSC. If they do stick with HSC we'll see what we can do - there are a couple of places that could work in a pinch.
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Found this article when I was doing some reading up on the Mississauga peregrines ...
http://www.mississauga.com/article/1357037--peregrine-falcons-keeping-a-low-profile
Glad to hear there are other secretive pairs out there!!!
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Interesting article about the secretive falcons.
I also liked the description of the banding day for a different nest.
"While the peregrine parents were distracted, the chicks were removed from the nest, taken on an elevator ride down to the lobby of the office building, and banded. They were then returned to the nest."
Pity the person on distraction duty!
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Found this article when I was doing some reading up on the Mississauga peregrines ...
http://www.mississauga.com/article/1357037--peregrine-falcons-keeping-a-low-profile
Glad to hear there are other secretive pairs out there!!!
Neat story! Thanks.
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Found this article when I was doing some reading up on the Mississauga peregrines ...
http://www.mississauga.com/article/1357037--peregrine-falcons-keeping-a-low-profile
Glad to hear there are other secretive pairs out there!!!
From BCAW
Here is more information on these secretive peregrines in Mississauga. the resident female was injured by another female peregrine and is in rehab.
Janet the last surviving juvie made a few big flights today, keeping her altitude and going long distance both. She made it back to the nest building eventually.
http://www.peregrinefalcon-bcaw.net/viewtopic.php?p=192694#p192694
It has been both tragic and fascinating to see this story unfold. It has become quite obvious now as we review all of our fledge watch notes and connect the dots as they say, that this rough adult banded female has been responsible for the premature fledgling and death of the other two much younger siblings produced at this nest site - (named Jennifer & Skyreach), in addition to the injury of the resident adult female mother as they battled for the territory.
http://www.peregrinefalcon-bcaw.net/viewtopic.php?p=198899#p198899
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I looked twice a day every day this week for these two and not a peek. Maybe they have left the area or maybe I'm just looking at the wrong time of day with the decrease in early sunlight. Has anyone else seen them?
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On the way out to Gimli on Sunday Aug 19th. spotted both Cowboy & Joli perched close to each other...this was 4 flaps and a glide from HSC, so they are still around.
They did have company over head...one of the Radisson kids perhaps made 3 circles and was calling ( you my mama ) the juvenile then headed North.
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I looked twice a day every day this week for these two and not a peek. Maybe they have left the area or maybe I'm just looking at the wrong time of day with the decrease in early sunlight. Has anyone else seen them?
I have seen one or both birds later in the evening - again last night at 5:30 - looked like Cowboy sitting on the east facing Buhler letters.
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I'm hoping that Cowboy and Joli return next year, she'll definitely be old enough to nest and as this is his second year coming back here, there's a good chance he'll return again. This is of course, so long as they both survive the winter. We do have plans to install at least one new nestbox in town so maybe these two will choose that site instead and then they don't have to be secretive.
And no, I'm not keeping this "new" site a secret or a mystery, just not giving out details at the moment since we don't have all the details worked out and given problems we've had in the past with new sites, I'm not going to let the cat out the bag until I'm actually sure I've got a cat in there ;)
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Sounds like you are keeping it a secret to me... ::) :-X
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Sounds like you are keeping it a secret to me... ::) :-X
Dennis' comment made me check my last post ... I should have included that the new nestbox site is not near HSC/CSC. The idea is to ensure enough room between nestsites that the resident pairs aren't in open competition for sites. Would prefer not to have to clean blood off nestbox cameras again next year!!
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Great to hear they are still around. thanks for the update!
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Sounds like you are keeping it a secret to me... ::) :-X
Dennis' comment made me check my last post ... I should have included that the new nestbox site is not near HSC/CSC. The idea is to ensure enough room between nestsites that the resident pairs aren't in open competition for sites. Would prefer not to have to clean blood off nestbox cameras again next year!!
sounds good to me. I am in favor of no blood ;)
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The really white breasted bird is sitting on the east facing letters again this morning.
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Both birds still around and still together....
Yesterday at 3:30ish, Cowboy was sitting on the east facing "J." As I came around the corner, he started squawking loudly and Joli came and sat on the same letter with him.
I watched them for awhile, but had to leave before they took off.
I was just out at lunch and they were both sitting on the letters again.
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The really white breasted bird is sitting on the east facing letters again this morning.
Cowboy, Ivy and Beau have the whitest breasts among the birds around town but they all have salmon/rusty coloured post-breeding season washes so could be either one in the right light. Ty has a whiter breast than Ivy, less than Beau but I wouldn't expect to find him so far away from his kids yet. Of the four, he would have the least amount of wash on his breast right now, so technically could be the whitest.
Basically, could have been Cowboy, Ivy or Beau. Or maybe a non-breeding bird like Smiley from Grand Forks who was there in the spring, Sand from Fargo who usually turns up at this time of the year or even Ms Hanky-Panky (if she's not Sandy) from this spring. Interesting to speculate on who it might have been ... :)
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Two birds sitting on the east facing side of the Buhler building this morning at 9:00 - the white breasted one up on the letters, the other on the roof top.
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Two birds sitting on the east facing side of the Buhler building this morning at 9:00 - the white breasted one up on the letters, the other on the roof top.
Now that sounds like Cowboy and Joli - she likes the rooftop both for eating and hanging out ... all the others who visit have tended to hang out on the letters exclusively ...
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Moved around since 9:00, but both still here at 10:30.
And the pigeons are spooked, I keep on seeing the flock flying pass my 4th floor window.
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Both birds still hanging around - they were both on the east facing letters yesterday when I went home and are there again this morning.
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Still both hanging around at lunch time.
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Still both hanging around at lunch time.
Glad to hear they are still around! :)
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Resting up for the long trip south???
It was raining a bit at HSC when I went home last night at about 4:30. Joli was sitting on the top row of letters facing the wall. Smart cookie was my thought, "just let the water run down my back." Cowboy was on the lower letters and a little more protected by the letters.
I was downtown for the early evening and drove by here again at 7:00. Joli was still in the same spot and in the same position. A good 2 1/2 hour nap!!!
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Cowboy was up on the east facing letters last night while I was waiting for my ride to pick me up from work. He took off to the north and all of a sudden a huge flock of pigeons came flying south. My ride showed up before he came back, so I don't know if he caught one.
Haven't seen Joli since Tuesday, Sep 25.
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I did not see any birds at HSC yesterday all day, but some birdie looking like Cowboy was up on his favorite letter at 1:00 p.m. today. Each time I have seen any birdie this week, it has always only been one bird at a time.