The Parent Trap - Day 1

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away .... just kidding though there would be times over the next couple of days when that is exactly how it would feel. The usual window for peregrines to re-nest is about two weeks (14-16 days) and usually they lay fewer eggs second time around so the time frame is pretty consistent. Fourteen days from Black Friday was June 20th. Since it had been a horrendous year in terms of weather and since Princess and Trey had lost their young relatively late in the reproductive cycle, I was happy to give them a bit more time before confirming that they really were out of time and we all were out of luck for chicks at the Radisson this year. As time passed and there was no re-nesting, what was noticeable was how "attached" to the Hotel Trey and Princess were. When other birds have lost their nests, some pretty much take off, only returning occasionally to their territory. Trey and Princess were the opposite, they were all over the Hotel much of the time and they were still displaying nesting behaviours such as making nest scrapes. They were however, very quiet, which to me suggested that they would not be re-nesting. In the past at the Radisson, when there has been a re-nest, the site has been aggressively defended in the interval between nestings. Trey & Princess were on site but not defending. And so I began to incubate a plan of my own ...