Author Topic: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice  (Read 15266 times)

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Offline RCF

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #56 on: October 04, 2011, 19:24 »
I think the tower birdies have gone south.  I haven't seen Alice or Zeus for a few days but I did see a hawk flying and hovering very close to the tower yesterday, probably looking for prey.

Offline birdcamfan

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #55 on: October 04, 2011, 17:39 »
I had to get out a map and draw a pedigree to get it straight.

Offline GCG

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #54 on: October 04, 2011, 16:51 »
OMG! :o Don't know how you keep all the familial connections straight, TPC, and right at the tip of your fingers! :o Amazing! 8) Even when I read all the connections over very slowly, I still have difficulty following it all. ::)

I have cheat sheets for some of the more obsure ones  ;)
Incredible, TPC, you must eat, sleep and "drink" falcons. They say that the brain can concentrate on one thing (falcons) and many other things. Have you ever thought about publishing a "This is how I do it" book? ??? ???

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #53 on: October 04, 2011, 16:25 »
OMG! :o Don't know how you keep all the familial connections straight, TPC, and right at the tip of your fingers! :o Amazing! 8) Even when I read all the connections over very slowly, I still have difficulty following it all. ::)

I have cheat sheets for some of the more obsure ones  ;)

Offline Kinderchick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #52 on: October 04, 2011, 13:27 »
OMG! :o Don't know how you keep all the familial connections straight, TPC, and right at the tip of your fingers! :o Amazing! 8) Even when I read all the connections over very slowly, I still have difficulty following it all. ::)

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #51 on: October 04, 2011, 11:55 »
Here's a couple more nuggets ....

Holly is the offspring of Dakota Ace and Frieda in Fargo.  Her full sib include Bear (Terminator's first mate) and Roosevelt (Terminator's second mate) and Kate (Cowboy's mate) and her half-sibs include Sandy who has been eyeing the Radisson nestsite for the last couple of years.

Zeus' mom is Phoebe who was T-Rex's sister and Trey's aunt.

So connections and more connections on all sides

Zeus - grandfather (his parents were Mufasa & Phoebe, Terminator is his daughter, siblings include Screech & Cowboy)
Ivy - third cousin, once-removed (their grandparents were siblings - T-Rex & Phoebe)
Princess - third cousin, once-removed, in law  (not directly related - so far at least)
Cowboy - great uncle (he's Zeus' brother - parents were Mufasa & Phoebe)
Kate - aunt (Alice's sister - parents were Dakota Ace & Frieda)
Brooklyn - uncle (Terminator's half-brother - his parents were Screech & Holly)
Hurricane - third cousin, once removed (Ivy's sister) AND first cousin in law (as Brooklyn's mate)

Offline susha

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #50 on: October 03, 2011, 19:52 »
So...Alice and her grandad, eh?!?  Interesting lives, these wondrous raptors!  Thanks for the info Rose! :)

Offline Kinderchick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #49 on: October 03, 2011, 13:11 »
Thanks for that little "nugget", Rose. :) Very interesting. No, I hadn't put that together yet, either. As they say, six degrees of separation, in the human species, so I'm not surprised. ;)

Offline Rose

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #48 on: October 03, 2011, 09:18 »
 Here's a little nugget of info I gleaned from the Smiley tower site(2009) and the family tree site, Terminator is the daughter of Zeus and Holly(McKenzie nest) and Alice is the daughter of Terminator (Grand Forks site) so that makes Zeus her grandfather, Probably everyone but me knew that. I guess they like to keep the genes all in the family. Also there was several mentions of Hurricane where they hoped HE would stick around.

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #47 on: October 02, 2011, 16:48 »
I was only joking about Zeus and Alice being in Winnipeg.  ;) ;D

I wasn't expecting to find Alice nesting almost successfully with Zeus in Brandon after watching her in Winnipeg for so long this spring - so I'm not even going to guess where these two will turn up next  :D  I'll just be glad to see them wherever the turn up!

Offline RCF

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #46 on: October 02, 2011, 11:29 »


As for Alice and Zeus being in Winnipeg, its technically possible given the distance but this isn't a location they have been spotted at ... I think it would be more likely we would see them near the Grace Hospital since that is where they met and "dated" this spring or perhaps near the University of Manitoba where Alice spent the previous summer.  Be assured, when we see birds we try to see bands and try to get photos, so if they do pass through, we might get lucky and be able to confirm where your newest charges have wandered off to RCF!  :D

I was only joking about Zeus and Alice being in Winnipeg.  ;) ;D

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #45 on: October 01, 2011, 21:29 »
I am assuming that somebody who works there reads the forum because the crow's nest is now gone and others have also been cleaned up, except the one catwalk at the top of the tower which has quite a bit of poop art.  Hmmmmmm, I wonder if it's peregrine poop art? I didn't see Zeus or Alice today, so maybe birdnut saw them at HSC yesterday...........well you just never know do ya?  :D

We asked them to remove the crow's nests - when don't want to encourage crows or other hawks to use the nests next spring and we want to encourage any peregrines to use the nestbox when they arrive next spring.  And no, the plan isn't to but the box on the catwalk because access is restricted and we prefer to have the ability to access a site quickly if we need to - particularly at a new site since we don't know how the birds will interact with their surroundings, all we can do is look around and make a best guess based on what little behaviour we have observed to date. 

As for Alice and Zeus being in Winnipeg, its technically possible given the distance but this isn't a location they have been spotted at ... I think it would be more likely we would see them near the Grace Hospital since that is where they met and "dated" this spring or perhaps near the University of Manitoba where Alice spent the previous summer.  Be assured, when we see birds we try to see bands and try to get photos, so if they do pass through, we might get lucky and be able to confirm where your newest charges have wandered off to RCF!  :D

Offline RCF

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #44 on: September 30, 2011, 18:06 »
It looks like there's an old nest or something on the platform where she's sitting.

It's an old crow's nest on a grate catwalk

I am assuming that somebody who works there reads the forum because the crow's nest is now gone and others have also been cleaned up, except the one catwalk at the top of the tower which has quite a bit of poop art.  Hmmmmmm, I wonder if it's peregrine poop art? I didn't see Zeus or Alice today, so maybe birdnut saw them at HSC yesterday...........well you just never know do ya?  :D


Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #43 on: September 29, 2011, 13:16 »
It looks like there's an old nest or something on the platform where she's sitting.

It's an old crow's nest on a grate catwalk

Offline birdcamfan

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #42 on: September 29, 2011, 07:07 »
It looks like there's an old nest or something on the platform where she's sitting.

Offline RCF

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #41 on: September 28, 2011, 20:49 »
Alice is still here, she was laying down on the lower catwalk halfway up the tower when I first saw her and then she sat up. It was very gusty here this afternoon and she would be out of the wind in that spot.  I was on the southeast side of the tower and because she was much lower on the tower I could see her much better. :)

« Last Edit: September 28, 2011, 20:52 by Rapidcitymbfan »

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #40 on: September 27, 2011, 13:32 »
I suspect that Zeus & Alice and Brooklyn & Hurricane will all leave about the same time - that way they prevent each other from "visiting" each others' nestsites ...

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #39 on: September 27, 2011, 13:30 »
It really is too far away even with my binos, so I can't really tell.  I used to be able to get closer to the other side but since the flooding this spring the road has been blocked to get to that area.  :(   On the bright side, I did see both Zeus and Alice this afternoon.

With luck next year there will be no (or less) flooding for access!!   I suspect that lighting (morning vs afternoon light) could be a big deal at this site because of the distance ... but I'm sure you will soon figure out the best spots and times :)

Offline Kinderchick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #38 on: September 27, 2011, 12:57 »
So great to hear that you spotted both Zeus & Alice, rcf! 8)

Offline RCF

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #37 on: September 26, 2011, 18:17 »
Alice has quite alot of brown on her and always looks muffed up on the head with white feathers showing ... could you see that from your vantage point RCF?  I know there is quite a distance to the tower from the closest spot ...

It really is too far away even with my binos, so I can't really tell.  I used to be able to get closer to the other side but since the flooding this spring the road has been blocked to get to that area.  :(   On the bright side, I did see both Zeus and Alice this afternoon.

Zeus


Alice

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #36 on: September 25, 2011, 23:11 »
Alice must like this spot, she was perched here on Thursday.  I only saw one birdie, maybe Zeus has migrated already.


Alice has quite alot of brown on her and always looks muffed up on the head with white feathers showing ... could you see that from your vantage point RCF?  I know there is quite a distance to the tower from the closest spot ...

Offline Kinderchick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #35 on: September 25, 2011, 21:10 »
Thanks for the photo of Alice, rcf. :-*

Offline RCF

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #34 on: September 25, 2011, 20:03 »
Alice must like this spot, she was perched here on Thursday.  I only saw one birdie, maybe Zeus has migrated already.

« Last Edit: September 25, 2011, 20:06 by Rapidcitymbfan »

Offline Kinderchick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #33 on: September 24, 2011, 08:46 »
Oh, that's so great that you spotted Alice, rcf! Now all we need is a photo from you.  ;) :-*

Offline RCF

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #32 on: September 24, 2011, 08:41 »
I went out to the tower and had a look on Thursday hoping to see a peregrine.  I did see one flying and then land on the tower.  I'm pretty sure it was Alice and not Zeus since I could see through binos the birdie was very large and the breast not so bright.  8) :)

Offline bcbird

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #31 on: September 23, 2011, 21:59 »
I remember thinking her boyfriend looked like one of the "old" birds (Phoebe, T-Rex, Trey, Cowboy).


I thought Dennis' photo of Zeus showed off a very handsome bird, on par with the rockstar Trey.

Offline susha

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #30 on: September 23, 2011, 20:03 »
then come spring everyone comes back all hopped up on hormones and the fun starts again (I mean the PF's not the forum members).

 ;D ;D

Offline birdcamfan

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #29 on: September 23, 2011, 18:03 »
What an interesting story of these two. It seems so unlikely that they will meet in this big wide country and then come spring everyone comes back all hopped up on hormones and the fun starts again (I mean the PF's not the forum members). It's hard to believe.

Offline dupre501

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #28 on: September 23, 2011, 15:47 »
Thanks for updating us TPC. Keeping my fingers crossed for next year  :)

Offline susha

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #27 on: September 22, 2011, 20:50 »
What a great story!  I truly hope Zeus manages to get back next year and set up housekeeping with Alice.  Thanks for the edification, rcf and TPC :)

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #26 on: September 22, 2011, 01:36 »
It is very likely that that was the case RCF - and I very much remember thinking that the male we saw in the spring of 2010 was Zeus.  Nice to know that he was driven off rather than meeting a more tragic end that's for sure.  And interestingly, he has a habit of sabbaticals - 2010 would be his third I believe - should have called him "Houdini" he disappears and reappears so much!  

Zeus was hatched in Brandon in 1995, but didn't nest until 2002, could be he was off nesting somewhere else and took over in Brandon when his father Mufasa didn't return.  So far as we know, Alice (Grand Forks) is Zeus' fourth mate after Ita (Regina), Holly (Fargo) and Hurricane (Radisson), and other than perhaps Ita, he taught his ladies what to do and did a good job of it, so if he wants to take a year off now and then, more power to him.  He is as of this year, our oldest breeding peregrine - not our oldest however, we did have a male that fledged from Winnipeg in 1986, spent his life doing something somewhere and then died in 2004 (18 years of age) only a couple/few kilometres from where he was released.

As for this year, we think he was here in Winnipeg with Alice, I remember thinking her boyfriend looked like one of the "old" birds (Phoebe, T-Rex, Trey, Cowboy).  Could be why he didn't take a stab at the McKenzie Seeds site - he didn't get to Brandon until the end of May/beginning of June, by that point the Brandon chicks were hatching and both Hurricane & Brooklyn were definitely hopped up on hormones.  Also, Alice started nesting not long after, so Zeus and Alice didn't waste any time once they arrived - they just found a spot (not ideal as it turned out but not too too bad) and set about what he does best and what she could be very good at - she's a smart bird from what I've seen over the last couple of years and I suspect (knock on wood) that we will see more of her - not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination!

Offline RCF

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #25 on: September 21, 2011, 20:49 »
Great news!  The possibility of another nest in Brandon is very exciting!  Would Zeus have tried to get together with Hurricane and then was chased off by Brooklyn, TPC?  Or is there any way to know that at this point?  It's good to know he's still around in any case!

In 2010  I saw what was possibly a peregrine chasing another peregrine, not really sure if it was friendly or not. They were moving very fast and turning upside down and grabbing talons and kakking loudly as they flew by.  Rose and I were pretty sure Zeus was here before Brooklyn got here.  TPC was out here one day and she also thought it looked like Zeus.
Quote
from TPC -  I should note that the male that was around when I was in Brandon, looked & behaved very much like Zeus and Dan in Brandon witnessed a bit of a dust-up on April 30th.


So I think Brooklyn did chase off Zeus in 2010, plus we didn't see anything like that this year.  We only saw Brooklyn and Hurricane this year..........not even a visitor passing through.
« Last Edit: September 21, 2011, 21:22 by Rapidcitymbfan »

Offline susha

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #24 on: September 21, 2011, 19:24 »
Great news!  The possibility of another nest in Brandon is very exciting!  Would Zeus have tried to get together with Hurricane and then was chased off by Brooklyn, TPC?  Or is there any way to know that at this point?  It's good to know he's still around in any case!

Offline Jo

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #23 on: September 21, 2011, 19:20 »
Wow - what an amazing update. This all sounds like a plot for a steamy drama.

Thank you Dennis for sending the pictures that motivated me to go looking for the story to go along with them.

Sounds like Zeus still has it goin' on!  8)

Offline photosbydennis

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #22 on: September 21, 2011, 19:16 »
Can be seen at this link...first 2 photos.

http://www.pbase.com/photosbydennis/brandon_2011

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #21 on: September 21, 2011, 16:59 »
This is wonderful news!  :D  Thank you so much for the update TPC.  RCF and Rose are going to be busier next year?  Or will the location be kept under wraps like the WW pair?

 :-*

When we actually have a safe location for the nestbox there shouldn't be any reason not to make the location public ... and yes, it could mean RCF and Rose are busier next year - or at least we can hope that that is the case :), don't want to count our birds before they return to nest ...

Offline BirdLover

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #20 on: September 21, 2011, 12:47 »
This is wonderful news!  :D  Thank you so much for the update TPC.  RCF and Rose are going to be busier next year?  Or will the location be kept under wraps like the WW pair?

 :-*

Offline Saoirse

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #19 on: September 21, 2011, 11:12 »
This is such great news! Thanks for sharing the whole saga of Alice's summer.

Offline Moonstar

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #18 on: September 21, 2011, 10:29 »
A nice story with good news and sad news.  Nice to know Zues is alive and well.  Nice to know Zues and Alice had a couple of chicks.  Sad tho that the chicks didn't make it.  Hopefully next year will be a better one.

Offline Kinderchick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #17 on: September 20, 2011, 20:20 »
Well, well, hearing about Alice and Zeus in Brandon is absolutely extraordinary news! ;D

Offline Doreen

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #16 on: September 20, 2011, 19:55 »
We followed through on our trip and Dennis was able to get some more photos of both the adults.  From those photos we were able to identify Alice's "boyfriend". And once again we have proof that Manitoba peregrines just get better with age - at 16 years old (and our oldest male peregrine), Alice's mate this year is none other than Zeus, the resident McKenzie Seeds male prior to Brooklyn!

Plans are in the works to install a nestbox in a more accessible location not far from exposed site Alice & Zeus chose this year.  It's outside the range of the McKenzie Seeds site so we have real hopes for a new nestsite here.  

It would be wonderful to have a second pair in the Brandon area, so keep your fingers crossed folks!

Wonderful news, the possibly of 5 nesting pairs in Manitoba. What could be better.  ;D

Tracy, will you or Dennis post some pictures so we can see them too?

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #15 on: September 20, 2011, 17:23 »
Here's an end-of-season update on Alice ...

Alice followed her boyfriend out west in the first half of June which coincided with the late arrival/movement of waterbirds into the province (Kate & Cowboy started disappearing at the same time).  We didn't know where they had ended up until someone spotted chicks on the catwalk of a tower in Brandon. Shortly after that, one chick disappeared from the nest, leaving just one.  Finally employees at the site were able to take some photos and we were able to confirm they were indeed peregrines - but better than that, one photo showed that it was our lost Alice! 

We made plans to visit the site a couple of days later but right before we were to arrive, there was a report that the second chick had died, which was unexpected as the chick was obviously older than banding age in the photos from the previous week.  We suspect that this chick was probably the victim of a predator - most likely a Great Horned Owl or maybe even a Red-tailed Hawk (not generally a predator) as they have been known to nest in the area.  The site they chose is very well protected, only something avian could get to them.  Though the losses are sad, this is Alice's first nesting season and managed to get a chick close to fledging age and the what she has learned/experienced this year will make it just that much easier for her next year.  Still would have been nice for her to have a successful nest first time out.

We followed through on our trip and Dennis was able to get some more photos of both the adults.  From those photos we were able to identify Alice's "boyfriend".  And once again we have proof that Manitoba peregrines just get better with age - at 16 years old (and our oldest male peregrine), Alice's mate this year is none other than Zeus, the resident McKenzie Seeds male prior to Brooklyn!  Zeus looked good, much much smaller than Alice who is large compared with all our other resident birds.  Alice is still sporting a lot of juvenile plumage for a two year old bird, but Jules did too so likely next year she will be less brown/more grey.

Plans are in the works to install a nestbox in a more accessible location not far from exposed site Alice & Zeus chose this year.  It's outside the range of the McKenzie Seeds site so we have real hopes for a new nestsite here.  Not much concrete information to share at the moment, too new a site and there is alot of work to do before next spring to get the site, box and safeguards (including cameras) installed before (hopefully) the birds (Alice & Zeus or another pair) return next spring.   

It would be wonderful to have a second pair in the Brandon area, so keep your fingers crossed folks!

Offline photosbydennis

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #14 on: June 14, 2011, 21:01 »
I didn't see any thing last week on 3 trip's past  :(

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #13 on: June 14, 2011, 10:29 »
TPC have you seen any sign of her?? I haven't seen her at all... 2 weeks ago i think was the last time I saw her very briefly....   

Not in the last week, but I haven't been back to her old stomping grounds either, will have to take the long way home tonight ....  ;)

Offline BigBird

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #12 on: June 13, 2011, 16:33 »
TPC have you seen any sign of her?? I haven't seen her at all... 2 weeks ago i think was the last time I saw her very briefly....


Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #11 on: May 23, 2011, 09:47 »
No sign of "Alice" or her companion for the last few days.  Certainly nothing this morning.  We'll go and check "Alice's" 2010 hangouts again this week just to see if she need a change of view ...

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #10 on: May 12, 2011, 21:03 »
I think that was a...Dennis get your butt and "Wowzer" out there and get me some Band #'s post   ???

hugs for Dennis & Wowzer  :-* ;D

Offline photosbydennis

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #9 on: May 12, 2011, 18:28 »
I think that was a...Dennis get your butt and "Wowzer" out there and get me some Band #'s post   ???

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #8 on: May 12, 2011, 11:23 »
I've seen "Annie" everyday for the last 2 weeks (give or take)... it was like clock work, both evenings and mornings she was there... but not last night... I actually didn't see anyone there, and there's been a few passing by over the last week or so...

Maybe she chose a male... and they are off doing there thing....


"Alice"  ;) is who we think this female is ... we think she's a 2009 Grand Forks daughter of Terminator from Brandon.  We first met "Alice" last summer when she spent a couple of months in south Winnipeg.

And if folks are wondering why Annie sound familiar, Annie was the name of one of our West Winnipeg chicks last year.

Thanks for keeping an eye on "Alice" and her gentleman caller - we hope the clouds will clear and we can get a better view at them and their band numbers!

Offline BigBird

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #7 on: May 12, 2011, 11:12 »
I've seen "Alice" everyday for the last 2 weeks (give or take)... it was like clock work, both evenings and mornings she was there... but not last night... I actually didn't see anyone there, and there's been a few passing by over the last week or so...

Maybe she chose a male... and they are off doing there thing....
« Last Edit: May 13, 2011, 08:32 by BigBird »

Offline carly

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2011, 18:33 »
Wow...it's a falcon explosion in your city  :-*

Offline Rose

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2011, 18:27 »
Any more word on the big stranger? ::)

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #4 on: May 04, 2011, 09:13 »
Too bad we can't tell her there is an opening at the GRE Elk River site and she wouldn't need to hide.

Elk River seems to be taking care of itself  ;)
But we are keeping an eye on this female for exactly the same reason, if Mr GRE can find a new lady friend, perhaps "Alice" can find herself a boyfriend ...

Offline dupre501

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2011, 19:00 »
Too bad we can't tell her there is an opening at the GRE Elk River site and she wouldn't need to hide.

Offline Kinderchick

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Re: Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2011, 13:54 »
That is a very interesting report on "Alice", the newer girl in town, TPC. Waiting to hear more. :)

Offline The Peregrine Chick

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Tower Nest - 2011 / Zeus & Alice
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2011, 10:24 »
We had a bird in south Winnipeg for a chunk of time in May/June/July.  We think she was a 2009 wild-hatch female from Grand Forks by the name of Alice.  "Alice" was not particularly cooperative last year, she only ever gave us hints at her leg band despite all our best efforts.  One of Alice's distinguishing features is that she is a large peregrine falcon - even for a female.

We had reports of a bird in the exact location she spent time last year about 7-10 days ago.  Its not a spot that has been used by birds in the past, not even when we had a pair in the south Winnipeg territory.  Shortly after that, we started getting a few reports of a bird (singular) hanging out further down Portage Avenue.  We caught sight of the bird and it turned out to be Beau, not surprising given that both Beau and Jules tend to wander west and south during their courtship period. 

When we got reports again late last week, we wondered if Beau was still wandering that far when we knew that Jules wasn't.  So off we went on Saturday in the rain and the wind.  Some would say not very good weather for bird watching and they would be right - hard to see when your field glasses or lens is covered in raindrops and the light is so poor you can't distinguish detail at a distance.  It is however better weather if you are hunting down something in particular - our birds mostly don't like to fly in the rain, so they find a spot and park themselves.  And that is what we were looking for. 

We checked on the WW birds and they were wet and miserable and trying to stay out of the driving rain.  Next we found the "bird" and our first thought was "wow, that bird is big".  Sound familiar?  The light was too poor to get a look at anything and bird was not going to help us in the least.  We suspect that this bird is "Alice" and she is alone (we scoured the area).  We suspect that since the Radisson birds are on eggs and the WW birds have started to settle in one area, and she doesn't have a mate, that she feels more comfortable hanging out at the fringes of the WW territory.  Bit like Cowboy and Kate in fact.  "Alice" is quiet and has chosen spots that while not hiding, don't wave a flag at the nearby, broody, resident pair.

Now that we have some days with sun on the forecast horizon we'll see what we can find out about "Alice".  We will be able to rule out our suspicions very quickly by the band colour - her band colour combination is unlike all the other birds we have in Manitoba at the moment.

More news as we have it!