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<head><title>Hamilton Community Peregrine Project WebCam</title>
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<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td
align="left" valign="top">
<img src="/hcppheaderimages/hcppname.gif" height="40"
alt="The Hamilton Community Peregrine
Project" align="left" hspace="0"></td>
<script language="JavaScript">
<!--
// Only display the 'Your Support is VITAL' link if enough room....
if (headWidth>930) {
document.write('\
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<p align="center">\
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target="HNC_DONATION_WINDOW"><img src="/hcppheaderimages/hcppsuccessanim1.gif" \
alt="Please make a donation to help \
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/hamiltonfalconwatch/"
target="_new"><img
src="/hcppheaderimages/hcppbuttonfb2.gif" alt="Join us on
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target="_new"><img
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alt="Share" border="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" height="17"
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alt="Volunteer" border="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" height="17"
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href="hcpphistory.htm?" target="news"><img src="hcppheaderimages/hcppbuttonhistory.gif"
alt="History" border="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" height="17" width="50"
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alt="Links" border="0" height="17"
hspace="0" vspace="0"></a></td><td height="17"><a
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alt="Donate" border="0" height="17"
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target="news"><img src="hcppheaderimages/hcppbuttonfacts.gif"
alt="Falcon Facts" border="0" height="17" width="50"
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<script language="JavaScript">
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frameHeight = parent.document.body.offsetHeight;
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document.write('<img src="/hcppheaderimages/falccameo.gif" height="40" width="53" \
name="falcIcon" alt="'+frameWidth+"x"+frameHeight+'" \
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<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META http-equiv="pragma" content="nocache">
<title>Hamilton Community Peregrine Project Falcon Cam #1 - Sheraton Hamilton Peregrines</title>
<script language="JavaScript"
src="/domutilsub.js"></script>
<script language="javascript">
<!--
camInterval=5100;
camJpgName="hampereg";
titleNumber2OrBlank="";
titleNumber="#1";
CHROMESAFARI=0;
LARGEzoom = 0;
CONSTANTdisplay = 0;
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NAGtest = 0;
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timerID=setTimeout('loadNewImage()',camInterval);
}
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if(FASTrefresh > 0 ) {
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timerID=setTimeout('loadNewImage()',camInterval);
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if(imageCount < 133) { // every 10 seconds until 16 min
timerID=setTimeout('loadNewImage()',camInterval*2);
}
}
} else { // NOT FAST REFRESH
if(imageCount < 61) { // every 10 seconds for first 10 min
timerID=setTimeout('loadNewImage()',10200);
} else {
if(imageCount < 79) { // every 20 seconds until 16 min
timerID=setTimeout('loadNewImage()',20300);
}
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// document.getElementById("img"+imageCount).onload="pasteNewImage()";
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"/"+camJpgName+uniqnum+".jpg";
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// document.getElementById("img"+maxCount).onload="pasteNewImage()";
document.getElementById("img"+maxCount).src=
"/"+camJpgName+uniqnum+".jpg";
}
} else { // not CHROMESAFARI
newImage.src="/"+camJpgName+uniqnum+".jpg";
}
}
}
// non-CHROMESAFARI functions (javascript moves not styles)
function pasteNewImage()
{
// NOT CHROMESAFARI (js moves)
// Block of moves NOT done for constant display....
if(CONSTANTdisplay < 1 ) {
document.images.hcppwebcamimg30.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg29.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg29.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg28.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg28.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg27.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg27.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg26.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg26.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg25.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg25.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg24.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg24.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg23.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg23.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg22.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg22.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg21.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg21.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg20.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg20.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg19.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg19.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg18.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg18.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg17.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg17.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg16.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg16.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg15.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg15.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg14.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg14.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg13.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg13.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg12.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg12.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg11.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg11.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg10.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg10.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg9.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg9.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg8.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg8.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg7.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg7.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg6.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg6.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg5.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg5.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg4.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg4.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg3.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg3.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg2.src;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg2.src=document.images.hcppwebcamimg1.src;
} // End of block of moves NOT done for constant displays....
document.images.hcppwebcamimg1.src=newImage.src;
imageCount=imageCount+1;
lastLoadComplete=0;
}
function initialImage()
{
// NOT CHROMESAFARI (js moves)
imageCount=0;
lastLoadComplete=0;
if (NAGmode > 0 && firstvisit > 0 && lastnag < 1) {
timerID=setTimeout('loadNewImage()',500);
} else {
if (FASTrefresh) {
timerID=setTimeout('loadNewImage()',camInterval);
} else {
timerID=setTimeout('loadNewImage()',10200);
}
}
newImage.onload=pasteNewImage;
document.images.hcppwebcamimg1.onload="";
}
// end of CHROMESAFARI/Not-CHROMESAFARI function defs
if (navigator.appVersion >= "4.0")
{document.write("<!-- Version: "+navigator.appVersion+" ");}
// -->
</script>
<META http-equiv="refresh" content="60">
<!-- IMPORTANT - THIS COMMENT LINE REQUIRED BY JAVASCRIPT -->
</HEAD>
<BODY bgcolor="#ffffcf"
TEXT="green" LINK="black" VLINK="black"
ALINK="black">
<font face="arial"><center>
<!-- SET RANGE OF DATES TO ENABLE CAMERA DURING NESTING SEASON
<!-- AND DISABLE IT (AND REPLACE IT WITH JPEG IMAGE WITH MESSAGE) AT
<!-- OTHER TIMES. SPECIFY RANGE OF MONTHS/DAYS FOR CAMERA TO BE ENABLED. -->
<!-- CHANGE THESE TO FIRST/LAST MONTH/DAY OF OPERATION -->
<!-- 2014 - CAMERA NOW RUNS YEAR ROUND -->
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|| \"%{TIME}\">=\"0101\"
&& \"%{TIME}\"<=\"1231\"" -->
<script language="javascript"> <!--
// START OF COOKIE HANDLING
// ... check/set the 'nag' cookie....
//
// To set the nag interval, the 'lastnag' cookie is created with an expiry date
// of the chosen time interval (currently one week). When the cookie is no
// longer 'found' in a visitor's cookie set, it is time for another nag....
// Note: changes only take effect after each visitor's set expiry date.
var expiration_date_week = new Date ();
// Test Value - 30 seconds
expiration_date_week . setSeconds (expiration_date_week . getSeconds () + 30);
// Live Value - 7 days between nags
// expiration_date_week . setDate (expiration_date_week . getDate () + 7);
expiration_date_week = expiration_date_week . toGMTString ();
var expiration_date_year = new Date ();
expiration_date_year . setMonth (11);
expiration_date_year . setDate (31);
expiration_date_year = expiration_date_year . toGMTString ();
var visit_date = new Date ();
var v_year = visit_date . getFullYear () * 10000000000;
var v_month = visit_date . getMonth () * 100000000 + 100000000;
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var v_second = visit_date . getSeconds ();
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if(document.cookie == "") {
document.cookie="firstvisit=" + visitYYYYMMDD + ";expires=" + expiration_date_year + ";";
document.cookie="lastnag=" + visitYYYYMMDD + ";expires=" + expiration_date_week + ";";
} else {
var strcookie = String(document.cookie);
// document.write("<br>Cookie: [" + strcookie + "]<br>");
var i,cookname,cookval,ARRcookies=document.cookie.split(";");
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if (cookname=="visitcount") { visitcount=cookval; }
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document.cookie="firstvisit=" + visitYYYYMMDD + ";expires=" + expiration_date_year + ";";
}
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document.cookie="lastnag=" + visitYYYYMMDD + ";expires=" + expiration_date_week + ";";
}
}
document.cookie="lastvisit=" + visitYYYYMMDD + ";expires=" + expiration_date_year + ";";
document.cookie="lastvisitwithinweek=1;expires=" + expiration_date_week + ";";
visitcount=Number(visitcount)+1;
document.cookie="visitcount=" + visitcount +";expires=" + expiration_date_year + ";";
// END OF COOKIE HANDLING
//
uniq = new Date();
uniqnum = Number(uniq);
uniqnum = parseInt(uniqnum/1000);
uniqnux = uniqnum;
if ( (NAGmode > 0 && lastvisitwithinweek > 0 && lastnag < 1 )
|| ( NAGtest > 0 ) ) {
// To insert a 'nag' (for donations) enable NAGmode at the top, and
// the web page code to load the donation plea here. The nag(s) are in
// pages named hcppnag1.htm, hcppnag2.htm and so on.
document.write('<iframe frameborder=0 marginwidth=0 marginheight=0 \
scrolling="no" width="100%" height="100%" border="0" scroll="no" \
src="/hcppnag1.htm?uniq='
+uniqnum+'&'+QUERYstring+'"></iframe>');
} else { // not a nag, display regular page
if (!NOTITLE) {
if (ALTTITLE) {
document.write('\
<font size="+1"><b>Worldline Sheraton Hamilton FalconCam'+titleNumber2OrBlank
+' Live Images</b></font>\
<font size="-2"><br>');
} else { // regular title
if (LARGEzoom>2) {
document.write('\
<font size="+1"><b>Worldline Hamilton FalconCam '+titleNumber+'</b></font>\
<b>Live from the Sheraton Hamilton Nest</b>\
<font size="-2"><br>');
} else {
if (LARGEzoom>1) {
document.write('\
<font size="+1"><b>Worldline Hamilton FalconCam '+titleNumber+'</b></font>\
<b>Live from the Sheraton Hamilton Nest</b>\
<font size="-2"><br>');
} else {
document.write('\
<font size="+1"><b>Worldline Hamilton FalconCam '+titleNumber+'</b></font>\
<font size="-1"><br><span style="position:relative;top:-2;left:-0">\
<b>Live from the Sheraton Hamilton Nest</b></span></font>\
<font size="-2"><br>');
}
}
}
}
document.write('<img src="'+camJpgName+uniqnum+'.jpg" border="0" \
onload="initialImage()" ');
if (CHROMESAFARI) {
if (LARGEzoom < 1) {
document.write('height="240" width="320" \
id="img1" name="hcppwebcamimg1" \
vspace="0"><br>\
<div style="position:absolute;left:2px;top:277px">');
} else {
if (LARGEzoom < 2) {
document.write('height="480" width="640" \
id="img1" name="hcppwebcamimg1" \
vspace="0"><br>\
<div style="position:absolute;left:20px;top:517px">');
} else {
if (LARGEzoom < 3) {
document.write('height="480" width="640" \
id="img1" name="hcppwebcamimg1" \
vspace="0"><br>\
<div style="position:absolute;left:162px;top:502px">');
} else {
document.write('height="960" width="1280" \
id="img1" name="hcppwebcamimg1" \
vspace="0"><br>\
<div style="position:absolute;left:662px;top:982px">');
}
}
}
document.write('<font size="-2"><b> Web page created and maintained by \
<a href="mailto:webcontact1@falcons.hamiltonnature.org">Charles Gregory</a>\
</b></font>');
} else { // not CHROMESAFARI
if (LARGEzoom < 1) {
document.write('height="240" width="320" ');
} else {
if (LARGEzoom < 3) {
document.write('height="480" width="640" ');
} else {
document.write('height="960" width="1280" ');
}
}
document.write('name="hcppwebcamimg1" \
vspace="0" hspace="0"><br>\
<font size="-2"><b>Web page created and maintained by \
<a href="mailto:webcontact1@falcons.hamiltonnature.org">Charles Gregory</a>\
</b></font>');
} // end CHROMESAFARI/Not-CHROMESAFARI
} // end nag/notnag
// comment-out the no-js image display
document.write('<!-- ');
// -->
</script>
<IMG src="hampereg.jpg" border="0" height="240"
width="320" vspace="0" hspace="0"><br>
<font size="-2"><b>Web page created and maintained by
<a href="mailto:webcontact1@falcons.hamiltonnature.org">
Charles Gregory</a>
</b></font>
<!-- DO NOT REMOVE THIS COMMENT - needed by javascript above -->
<br></font>
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="javascript">
<!--
if (!CHROMESAFARI) {
index=2;
}
document.write('<font size="-1">');
if ( CONSTANTdisplay > 0 ) {
if (LARGEzoom < 2) {
document.write('<font size="+1" color="#0000AA">\
<u><a href="/">\
http://falcons.hamiltonnature.org/</a>\
</u></font><!-- ');
} else {
document.write('<font size="+2" color="#0000AA">\
<u><a href="/">\
http://falcons.hamiltonnature.org/</a>\
</u></font><!-- ');
}
} else { // not constant display
if ( (NAGmode < 1 || lastvisitwithinweek < 1 || lastnag > 0 )
&& ( NAGtest < 1 ) ) {
if (LARGEzoom < 2) {
document.write('\
Click here for \
<a href="/?wide'+QUERYstring+'" \
target="_top">Widescreen \
version of this page</a>.<br>');
}
if (CHROMESAFARI) {
document.write('\
Older Images will move down as new ones load.<br>\
</div>');
index=2;
while (index<maxCount+1) {
if (LARGEzoom < 1) {
document.write('<IMG src="/invisible.gif" \
border="0" height="240" \
onload="pasteNewImage()" \
width="320" id="img'+index+'" name="hcppwebcamimg'+index+'" vspace="3"><br>');
} else {
document.write('<IMG src="/invisible.gif" \
border="0" height="480" \
onload="pasteNewImage()" \
width="640" id="img'+index+'" name="hcppwebcamimg'+index+'" vspace="3"><br>');
}
index=index+1;
}
} else { // not CHROMESAFARI
document.write('\
Older Images will move down as new ones load.<br>\
');
while (index<31) {
if (LARGEzoom < 1) {
document.write('<img src="/invisible'+index+'.gif" \
border="0" height="240" \
width="320" name="hcppwebcamimg'+index+'" vspace="3" hspace="0"><br>');
} else {
document.write('<img src="/invisible'+index+'.gif" \
border="0" height="480" \
width="640" name="hcppwebcamimg'+index+'" vspace="3"><br>');
}
index=index+1;
}
} // end CHROMESAFARI/notCHROMESAFARI
}
}
// -->
</script>
<b>Web page created and maintained by
<a href="mailto:webcontact1@falcons.hamiltonnature.org">
Charles Gregory</a>
<!-- <br>Video camera supplied by Hamilton Naturalists' Club -->
</b></font>
</center></font>
</body>
</HTML>
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
<META http-equiv="refresh" content="7200">
<title>Hamilton Community Peregrine Project Falcon News - Sheraton Hamilton Peregrines</title>
<!-- ---------------------------------------------------------
<!-- IMPORTANT! This html file uses SERVER-SIDE INCLUDES code!
<!-- Do NOT use your browser's "view source" to save this page.
<!-- Do NOT edit this page using "Word" or other web page software
<!-- that "hides" the HTML code from your view. It will destroy the
<!-- code that controls the layout for mobile and public displays.
<!--
<!-- Use FTP to download. Notepad to edit. Then re-upload with FTP.
<!-- -------------------------------------------------------- -->
<!-- This page "includes" the news text file for the current year (default)
<!-- or for any year specified as "?YEAR=YYYY" in the URL query.
<!-- To edit the current year news reports, edit the file "newstext.htm".
<!-- -------------------------------------------------------- -->
<style type="text/css">
body {font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 2px;}
p {font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;}
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</style>
</HEAD>
<BODY TEXT="#008000" LINK="#000000" VLINK="#000000"
onload="getWidth();"
BGCOLOR="#ffffcc" ALINK="black">
<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE="4"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER"><span class="header">Hamilton Falconwatch News <script language="javascript"><!--
if(screen.width > 700){document.write('Updates')}
// --></script></span></B></FONT><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><BR>
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<P class="title"><B>BREAKFAST FOR TWO</B></p>
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Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023 - This morning we caught a rare sight of Judson
(foreground) and McKeever sharing a meal together. There was no sign of
any chick begging for a meal, so it is fairly safe to assume that our
summer brood has answered the call of the wild and flown away. With
plentiful food (obviously), our adult pair will stay in downtown
Hamilton over the winter, and keep possession of their prime nesting
space atop the Sheraton Hamilton Hotel.
<p>This is a good time to offer a word of <b>thanks to all our community
partners</b>, who make this project possible. Their names and
contributions are shown in the animated graphic above. Please take a
moment to look at them, and if you encounter one or more of these
organizations in your daily travels, please express to them your
appreciation for them helping promote and protect Hamilton's City Bird.
<p>And, as always, thank <b>you</b> for your support. We wouldn't be
here without your donations and volunteering. Just a reminder: We accept
donations year-round, so if now is the time when your budget can best
handle it, then please feel free to make a donation now, and the money
will be saved for next year's watch. Thank you.
<P class="title"><B>LUNCH ON THE TERRACE</B></p>
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Monday, July 3, 2023 - Early this afternoon, a chick arrived on the
nest ledge with a bit of food in its talons, and ate it while McKeever
kept watch nearby. We weren't able to identify the chick, but about
three hours later, another chick landed, and this time we were able to
identify it as Gibson by the white tape on his leg band. He didn't pay
much attention to the leftover scrap on the ledge. It's difficult to
know how much longer we will continue to spot the chicks on our camera.
They have been seen as late as August some years. But eventually they
will fly away, migrating south for the winter.
<P class="title"><B>HAPPY CANADA DAY!</B></p>
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Saturday, July 1, 2023 - This morning, two of our peregrine chicks flew
within view of our camera, and we can see that they are still playing
their chasing games with each other. One of them stopped for a brief
rest on the corner of the old Standard Life Building. Even though this
year's watch is over, this is a good time to remember that three out of
our four chicks would not be flying right now if they had not been
rescued by volunteers. We are still several thousand dollars short of
the amount of money needed to fund next year's watch. Please click the
<b>Donation</b> button above. If you work for a company that makes
donations to community organizations, please approach your management
and suggest they support Falconwatch. Let's keep this success story
happening!
<P class="title"><B>A THUNDERING FINISH!</B></p>
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Monday, June 26, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Daniel Neumoin reports:
The final day of Falconwatch began with McKeever down in the inner nest
ledge, and Judson down in the middle ledge beside the nest (left photo).
At 8:55am, the day's first rain shower hit downtown,
which McKeever rode out on the ledge (right photo). The rain quickly
passed, and, at 9:12am, we saw a parent perched on the Sheraton sign's
"h", while three chicks sat near the northwest corner of the BDC
building's roof. Soon, one of the chicks took off to the northwest
corner of the Fairclough building. At 9:20am, the other two flew to
Homewood suites to chase off a parent perched on the East duck logo,
then flew back to the Northwest corner of BDC. The chicks and
parents alternated between sitting on Fairclough and the upper
and lower roofs of BDC throughout the morning. By 10:39am, three chicks
returned to perch on the Northwest corner and air conditioners of BDC,
while the fourth chick left the roof's Southwest corner to fly above
David Braley center.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>At 11:05am, a thunderstorm swept across the downtown area. Initially
all four chicks stayed put on BDC, during the heaviest rain. As the rain
lightened up, about five minutes later, two chicks, likely to be
Kirkendall and Stipley, took off, leaving Gibson and Delta behind to
spread their wings out on the building. The former pair circled the
nesting area at high altitude in the rain, then came down to land on
Fairclough and Sheraton's upper roof when the rain stopped. The chick on
the Sheraton hopped down to perch on the middle ledge next to the nest,
where our camera could see his bands, and identify him as Stipley
(photo). He stayed there, cleaning his feathers, until 1:56pm.
<P>All four chicks were airborne again at 2:21pm. They remained close to
the nesting area throughout the afternoon, not venturing far due to the
rainy conditions. The parents spent part of the afternoon perched on
Fairclough's upper roof antennae and Homewood Suite's East duck logo.
The adults could not enjoy these spots for long, as energetic chicks
would chase them off and tail their flights. For the remainder of the
day, BDC and Fairclough were the most common perching spots for the
chicks, along with Sheraton's upper roof and Standard Life's upper and
lower roofs in the evening. Two chicks at most took off at a time,
flying together to play and talon touch. When a chick did not feel like
playing or a chick wanted to take a spot for himself, the other chick
annoyed their sibling through loud squawking and flapping until they
left the spot. From 8:00pm to 9:00pm, all chicks and parents were
spotted, with two chicks on the North upper roof and Southeast corners
of Standard life, one chick on the Southwest upper roof of Sheraton, one
parent on Homewood Suite's East duck logo, and one chick and parent on
the West ledges of Fairclough building. At 8:32pm, the day ended with
three chicks together on the Northwest corner of BDC and the fourth
chick nearby. An excellent end to the 2023 Falconwatch.
<P class="title"><B>AN UNWELCOME VISITOR</B></p>
Sunday, June 25, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Daniel Neumoin reports:
When volunteers arrived this morning the chicks were airborne. Gibson
and a parent landed on the roof of BDC at 8:37am. After Gibson took a
short flight around Stelco tower and returned, two more chicks landed on
the North roof of BDC at 9:24am. The falcons remained on the roof,
hopping on its air conditioners until parting ways at 9:39am. One chick,
that flew to the South upper roof of Fairclough, appeared to have eaten a
meal, perhaps caught by a parent or themself. The remaining chicks and
parent were spotted at full speed, circling Stelco. The parent landed on
the middle antenna of Fairclough's upper roof, while the chicks
exchanged landings on Fairclough and Stelco tower.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>At 11:00am, a juvenile red-tailed hawk was found on the ground of
David Braley center's parking lot, clumsily bumping into windows and
walls before landing. No bands were seen on the hawk. The hawk flew to a
tree beside the parking lot entrance, then Mckeever and Judson flew in
to confront the intruder. The parents showed strong aggression towards
the hawk, squawking and diving at the tree. The hawk flew along Bay
Street to a small tree on the west side of the Braley building. It then
came to ground, where a rescue was attempted, but it took flight and
collided with a window, causing it to come to ground again. The chick
was then rescued, and taken to a Grimsby rescue center, where it was
determined that the bird had no physical injuries, and identified as a
1-year-old female red-tailed hawk.
<P>After that excitement, the peregrines resumed their normal activity.
Throughout the early afternoon Gibson and Delta tended to stay closer to
downtown, while Kirkendall and Stipley often flew farther away, around
the city. Gibson and Delta landed on BDC for a short rest at 12:32pm.
All four chicks briefly landed on the West railing of Fairclough
building at 1:15pm, visited by a parent bringing food. When the meal was
done, the flights resumed. Gibson and Delta landed on BDC, 3:53pm, then
Gibson took off with Kirkendall for a long flight that included circling
high over circle Stelco tower at 4:19pm. Later on they were joined by
another chick to playfight high above David Braley's parking lot and
Stelco tower.
<P>Around 6:36pm, one parent and two chicks landed on BDC
after the parent dove at the chicks midflight. Another chick landed
on the roof of Stelco tower at 6:52pm, taking off and returning after
flying with a parent above Fairclough building. The last hour was spent
perched on the roofs of Stelco tower and BDC, changing places while also
landing on Fairclough building. Around 8:41pm, two chicks took off South
of BDC with one landing on the Northwest corner of BDC, while another
chick remained on the Southeast corner of Fairclough building until
9:00pm.
<P class="title"><B>CATCHING THEIR OWN FOOD!</B></p>
Saturday, June 24, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Marzuk Gazi reports:
At 7:45am this morning, there were two falcons spotted on the south face of
the roof of the Fairclough building, there were another two spotted soon
afterwards on Stelco tower. By 9am, there was a parent along with a chick on
the south face of the Standard Life building with the other three chicks on
the northwest corner of the roof of BDC accompanied by a parent who was
sitting on the railing above them. At 9:30am, a falcon was seen coming
into downtown from the south with prey and was quickly joined in the air by
two from the BDC building and following a food transfer, flew out of view.
There was a chick spotted leaving the Thomson building as it attempted to
hunt a pigeon soon afterwards.
<P>The chicks were seen throughout the morning
making low flights and attempting to hunt smaller birds in the downtown
area, often landing on the David Braley building, the Art Gallery or City
Hall. By 9:45, there was one chick on the roof of the BDC building and
another on the roof of the Fairclough building. Stipley would be on the
south face of the lower roof of the Art Gallery while a parent sat on the
roof of the David Braley building nearby calling loudly to it. The calling
went on for a long time before Stipley flew away and a parent flew over to
reveal that there was prey where Stipley had been sitting. The parent took
the prey over to the Homewood Suites building, soon joined by three chicks.
After dressing the prey, they all took off and flew out of view.
<P>Afternoon, the chicks would favour the BDC, Fairclough and Stelco
buildings, though one remained low, on the roof of the art gallery until
1:13pm when it flew off and seemingly continued to try to hunt near the
McNab bus terminal. The other 5 falcons was seen at times with a parent
on the "S" of the south facing Sheraton sign, a parent and a chick on
the roof of the Fairclough and one on the southwest window ledge of the
19th floor of Stelco tower. At about 1:30pm, the missing chick flew over
to the south face of the Fairclough building with prey in it's talons,
enticing the other chicks to fly as well. Considering that the parents
has not moved recently and the fact that the prey was being dressed on
the roof of the Fairclough, we can be sure that the chicks caught the
prey! After the chick finished the meal, it flew over to BDC to join the
other chicks who had settled there after all of their flights. There
were three chicks seen on the roof of the BDC building at 2pm with the
last chick finally spotted soon afterwards.
<P>They remained there for much
of the afternoon until 4:45pm when two of them would take flight and
circle over the building, catching a thermal and flying so high that
they went out of view. They were periodically spotted flying far to the
east but eventually returned to BDC by 6:30pm. At 7:30pm, the chicks
were eating food on the southwest corner of the roof of the BDC
building, accompanied by a parent who was spotted on the roof soon
after. They remained there until 8:15pm. Three of them flew to the south
face of the Fairclough building where they would remain until nightfall.
The last chick was seen to fly off east of the Fairclough Building and
was only spotted again at 8:45pm on the northeast corner of the upper
roof of City Hall.
<P class="title"><B>MASTERING THE SKIES</B></p>
Friday, June 23, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Daniel Neumoin reports:
At 7:15am, a chick sat on the upper roof of the Sheraton hotel eating a
breakfast snack, while another chick perched on the corner of the 22nd
floor of Stelco tower. Soon after, another chick joined the first on
Sheraton's roof, eating the same meal. The chicks remained stationary
for the next hour, perched on the South corners of Sheraton's upper
roof. At 8:31, the pair moved to the roof of Stelco tower, while the
fourth chick was spotted on the Northwest corner of Fairclough building,
likely being Delta. Kirkendall and Stipley played their routine game of
talon touching at 8:40am, later joined by Gibson at 8:54am. By 9:11am, both
parents sat on Sheraton's roof - Judson on the Sheraton logo's "h" and
Mckeever in the nest, while one chick perched on the Northwest corner
of the 21st floor of Stelco tower, and Gibson and Delta sat together on
the Northwest corner of BDC.
<P>From 9:00am, to 11:am, the males showed high activity, flying far
distances from the nest and high altitudes. At 9:37am, one chick flew
past the others on Stelco tower, luring one of them into the air to join
a game of talon touching "tag". the flight and talon each other. At
10:03am, Gibson took off from BDC, circling above Fairclough building at
high altitudes, then chased off a parent from their perch on the
Sherwood Suites east duck logo, finally looping to the North roof of Standard
Life building. Kirkendall and Stipley continued their playfights until
briefly landing on the Northwest corners of Stelco tower's 22nd floor
and Fairclough building at 10:34am, then leaving to chase a parent
passing by. The chicks eventually settled on BDC and Stelco tower, while
Delta remained on Fairclough building pancaked on the Northwest corner.
The two parents perched on the North and East duck logos of Sherwood
Suites.
<P>Due to the afternoon rain, the chicks settled on BDC to wait out the
weather, only flying to other buildings when needed. While the other two sat
exposed to the weather on BDC, two chicks visited the top balconies of the
apartment complex West of Sherwood Suites at 3:54pm, finding cover from the
rain. Minor flights occurred from the pair on BDC after 4:15pm that looped
around the building, only to land in the same position. After the rain, the
falcons took flights to Fairclough, Standard Life and BDC buildings, while
Delta returned to perch on Fairclough's roof. By 5:45pm, two chicks
joined Delta on the Southwest ledge of Fairclough building, while one falcon
sat on BDC's west roof, and the two remaining falcons perched on Standard
Life's upper roof.
<P>At 7:14pm, the males flew together heading Southwest above David Braley
center, chasing a group of three pigeons. Although the pigeons outflew the
chicks, the males tailed closely to the group, looping above City Hall and
headed Northeast. The chase gave a perfect opportunity for a parent to
snatch a pigeon midflight while distracted, heading off to Standard Life
building with the prey. The parent allowed the chicks to grab the prey,
dropping it for a midflight food transfer on the way to Standard Life
building. The hunt caused excitement for all the chicks, taking off
and playfighting to celebrate the catch. The males and parent split into two
groups that flew West and East, reuniting after having returned from their
playfights. One pair had briefly landed on the roof of the constructed
building and even on the East ledge of the blue-tinted condo Northwest of
Sherwood Suites. The males returned to Fairclough at 7:48pm, perching with
Delta as they calmed down from excitement. From 8:00pm to 9:00pm, the chicks
spent the last hour flying to and from Fairclough building and the Southwest
logo of BDC. The day ended with Delta on the South extension of Fairclough
building and the males on the first two letters of BDC's Southwest logo.
<P class="title"><B>CHICKS CHASE A HERON!</B></p>
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Thursday, June 22, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Marzuk Gazi reports:
At 7am, there were two chicks sitting on the Fairclough building, one on
the upper roof of the Sheraton and one on Standard Life. In the next two
hours, all 4 of the chicks were seen flying over downtown. There was
a lot of talon touching and chasing each other. By 9:35am, two of the
chicks had settled on the lower roof of the Standard Life building with
another on the north west corner of Fairclough. The last chick made
it's way to the Standard Life building without our knowledge and emerged
at 10am when it was forced to fly to BDC by a harassing group of gulls,
one of which would chase him part way to BDC. At 10:30am, one of the
chicks was seen eating on the northwest corner of the lower roof of the
Sheraton. Soon after this, all four of the chicks were seen in the air,
dive bombing and chasing each other. At 11:05am, three chicks briefly
visited the Sheraton (photos). They soon flew again, and finally settled
down, with two chicks on the northwest corner window ledges of the
Stelco building on the 24th and 22nd floors and another on the letter
"p" of the "dpai" sign on BDC. The last chick landed on the roof of the
Fairclough building and later moved to the east facing duck on the sign
of the Homewood Suites building.
<P>They remained there until 3:20pm when a parent was seen coming into
downtown, prompting all four chicks to take flight. After much chasing
and talon touching, two of the chicks were seen on the east side of the
roof of Standard Life eating a meal. The other two chicks were spotted
soon after on the William Thomas building, east of Jackson square, along
with a parent. They would sit on the building occasionally, taking turns
flying high in the air and divebombing other birds, practicing their
hunting. They flew back over the centre of downtown at 3:40pm and were
joined by the other two chicks in the air. Two of the chicks settled on
the east side of Standard Life around 4:25, and soon after a parent
dropped them a meal. All four chicks were seen flying again soon after
the meal was finished. At about 4:45pm, two of the chicks boke off
from their game of tag to dive towards a passing heron, which hurried off
northwards, away from the chicks who were so small in comparison!
<P>The chicks were flying around constantly throughout the evening,
often trying to chase what they may be beginning to realize is a
potential meal. At 6:35pm, a chick flew onto the northeast corner
of the upper roof of the Standard Life building holding a meal which may
have come from a parent as there were many falcons in the air just
before this, though a food transfer was not seen. It was soon joined by
another chick to finish the meal. After more long flights, at 7:25pm,
all 6 of the falcons could be seen flying and soon they would settle.
One chick landed on the east face of the upper roof of the Standard Life
building, another was on the north east corner of the Fairclough
building accompanied by a parent and the other two chicks were on the
southeast and southwest corner ledges of the 24th floor of Stelco tower,
with a parent on the 19th floor's southwest corner. After a lot of
flying, all 4 of the chicks would spend the night on the west face of
the BDC building, with 3 sitting on the roof and one on the "p" of the
"dpai" sign.
<P class="title"><B>HUNTING SKILLS IMPROVE</B></p>
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Wenesday, June 21, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Daniel Neumoin
reports: At 7:00am, two chicks and a parent were observed flying about
downtown, eventually landing on the East upper roof of Standard Life
building. A chick and the other parent perched on BDC, and Delta
remained sitting in her new favourite spot on the Fairclough building.
At 7:36am, Judson was spotted on the center ledge on the south side of
the Sheraton. At 7:59am, Stipley chased him off, then settled down for a
rest for the next hour and a half. In the meantime, Delta landed near
the south east corner of the lower Sheraton roof. At roughly 9:30pm,
Delta and Gibson were brought a meal on that corner, which they picked
at for the next half hour. Just before 10am, Delta took off, leaving
Gibson to finish the meal. Three chicks and a parent were then seen
flying, talon touching and circling around the Sheraton and adjacent
buildings. Stipley and Kirkendall flew to the BDC building, while Delta
landed on the West ledge of Fairclough, at 10:15am. One of the parents
perched on the Northwest 18th floor corner of Stelco to watch over the
nesting area.
<P>Due to the sunny weather conditions, the chicks showed little
activity in the afternoon, choosing instead to sit in the shade. In
spite of the heat, the males occasionally took off to play. Their games
displayed advanced technique compared to previous flights, integrating
fast dives and high flights as they touched talons with each other. One
chick eventually landed on the North ledge of Sheraton hotel's lower
roof facing away from the sun, joining another chick on BDC building's
Southwest logo at 2:23pm. This chick made loops notably close to the
ground Southeast of City hall, but returned to the BDC logo on the west
side, before making another dive from the building.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>At 4:22pm, a chick circled around the nest, then landed on BDC,
joining another chick on the North corners. These chicks would take off
past the nest at 5:16pm, joined by a parent in flight. The falcons
looped around the nest, above David Braley centre's parking lot and near
Standard Life building, diving when turning on corners and briefly
landing on Sheraton's upper roof. The parent appeared to catch a pigeon
mid flight, delivering it to Gibson who was pancaked on the middle ledge
of the Sheraton's south side, next to the nest. Shortly after, the
parent dive-bombed to Summers lane and flew East. Gibson de-feathered
the prey himself. Around 5:30pm, Stipley and Kirkendall were making
flights to and from BDC, with more talon touching and looping at high
altitudes. Gibson remained in his spot on the middle ledge eating leftovers,
visited by Stipley around 6:00pm (photo).
<P>At 6:45pm, a chick took off from Standard life, heading towards City
hall, followed by a parent and Gibson. They all chased after some birds,
including a seagull, and one of the chicks was seen in a stoop. But we
don't know if a chick or an adult caught the prey. It initially looked
like a chick had been successful, but, when the three returned to the
Sheraton, it was the adult seen dressing the meal and feeding it to one
of the chicks. The chicks took off at 7:05pm, circling around the
Sheraton until landing back on Standard Life. During their last-hour
flights, the chicks kicked out their parent each time they perched on a
roof. By 9:00pm, Kirkendall and Stipley settled on the BDC building,
Delta on Fairclough and Gibson on the Sheraton lower roof.
<P class="title"><B>MORE HUNTING PRACTICE</B></p>
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Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Marzuk Gazi reports: At
7:15am, this morning, there was a chick spotted on the roof of the
Sheraton which seemed to be eating something while the other three
chicks were on the roof of the Fairclough building. At 8:30am, a parent
brought another meal and after a lot of flying, two chicks landed on the
lower roof of the Sheraton and were eating a meal while a third chick
was sitting on the upper roof of the Sheraton and the fourth was on the
roof of the Fairclough building again. At 9:14am, Stipley landed on the
nest ledge. Delta perched near the south east corner of the Sheraton,
while Gibson rested in his favorite spot under our cameras. Kirkendall
was seen on the southwest corner of the Fairclough building, and then he
flew over to a southwest corner ledge on the 19th floor of Stelco tower.
At 12:10pm, Stipley flew over to north side of the roof of the BDC
building. Delta took off at 12:30, and Gibson around 1:00pm. After some
impressive flying from all 4 of the chicks, which included talon
touching and chasing, they would all come to rest on the north edge of
the BDC roof by 1:10pm.
<P>Around 1:20, one of the chicks took off from BDC to circle high over
downtown before it was seen divebombing and chasing a smaller bird.
After a few more flights from the chicks, at 1:45pm, another flew high
over the art gallery to dive down in an attempt to hunt a pigeon below
and barely missed the prey. After this, for much of the afternoon, 3
chicks would be seen on the west side of the BDC building, sitting close
on the "p" of the "dpai" sign. By 3:30, all 4 chicks would be seen on
the roof of the BDC again. Around 4pm, 3 chicks would leave the BDC for
a long and impressive game of tag which saw all 3 of the chicks talon
touching and dive bombing each other. They would often be lost to our
sight only to return and land on the BDC once more. At 6:08pm, a chick
flew south, high over the Sheraton before diving down and stooping a
pair of pigeons who were resting on the roof of the art gallery before
they were scared into flying off frantically!
<P>After all 4 of the chicks had returned to the roof of the BDC, all
near the northwest corner, Judson moved over to sit atop an antenna pole
above them at about 7pm. At 7:25pm, one of the chicks flew up and pushed
Judson off, to take his place on the antennae pole. Judson flew to the
southwest corner of the Fairclough building. The chick gave chase, and
Judson was soon pushed off that roof too. Judson was followed by this
chick as he tried twice to land on different parts of the roof of BDC,
pushed off each time, while the other chicks sat still and watched.
After this, Judson flew out off sight, and the chick remained on the
roof of the BDC.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>At 7:55, a hungry group of chicks were finally fed. While chasing
McKeever, who had food, one of the chicks managed to get a piece of the
prey, which it took to the upper roof of the Sheraton to eat. In the
meantime Gibson landed on the south wall of the lower roof. McKeever
landed near him with the food, and Gibson got so excited, flapping his
wings, that he slipped off the ledge, down into the interior of the
roof. He spent a couple of minutes trying to hop up, eventually flapping
and climbing the cables for the McMaster camera, to get fed on the ledge
(photos).
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>About 10 minutes later the other three chicks clued in to what was
happening, and all landed on the south wall, driving off McKeever (left
photo). Delta claimed the meal at first, but eventually all the chicks
would share some of the meal, with McKeever watching them from various
spots nearby on the roof (right photo). By 9:02pm, Gibson and Stipley
had flown to sit on the "dpai" sign on BDC. Kirkendall and Delta would
also leave the Sheraton soon afterwards.
<P class="title"><B>A RISKY LOW FLIGHT</B></p>
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Monday, June 19, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Daniel Neumoin reports:
The day began with two chicks circling near the nest and another perched
on the Fairclough building. After briefly landing on the BDC roof,
three chicks and a parent took flight again at 6:10am, eventually
landing on top of Stelco tower at 6:20am. The rest of the early morning
saw the chicks flying to and from Stelco and BDC, until landing on the
Standard Life building's upper roof at 8:20am. The parents flew east to
hunt, then returned to oversee their chicks from Sheraton and Stelco. A
feeding was brought to Gibson and another chick on Standard Life at
8:00am (photo). Gibson finished and left at 8:30am.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
<P>Throughout the morning, Kirkendall and Stipley, in typical fashion,
took off frequently to play tag. Talon-touching and making large,
high-altitude loops above the David Braley center's parking lot and
distant regions from the nest were largely incorporated into their
games, with high-speed maneuvering and loud squawking during their
flights. They made numerous brief landings, mostly on the tops of BDC
and Stelco, with occasional stops on Fairclough and Standard Life.
Gibson and Delta joined them around 9:17, when the pair flew close, and
for a moment we had all four chicks in the air. The chicks also got
their parents involved in their games through chasing and mimicking
their actions, taking dives and sharp turns around buildings.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>At 11:45am, Real Properties security personnel reported that a chick
had briefly landed on the Southeast construction bars beside Stelco
tower's entrance. They said that they saw the chick take off to the
east, at first flying low over traffic, but then gaining height as it
turned north along James Street, out of sight. We made a quick check of
the area, just to be sure the chick had not come to ground again, and
didn't find it. Needless to say, we felt a bit of relief when we located
all four chicks and their parents at the same time, at 3:55pm. Two
chicks and a parent perched on BDC, Gibson under the cameras on the
Sheraton (photos), Delta on the Southeast corner of Standard life
building, and the second parent on the 24th story of the Northwest
corner of Stelco tower. With the chicks now flying so high, it is
becoming more difficult to see their bands and identify them
individually, and harder to keep them all in sight. So these moments
when we see all six birds are very reassuring.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>Gibson remained perched under the cameras until 8:30pm, while Delta
pancaked on the Fairclough building, making occasional flights to BDC,
Standard Life building, and one stop on the Sheraton (left photo).
Kirkendall and Stipley perched on BDC for a short break, until flying
again with Delta and a parent at 6:45pm, splitting into two groups and
heading off to play. Three more meals were brought to the chicks, one
delivered to Kirkendall and Stipley on BDC, another at 8:40pm to the
Sheraton lower roof. It was probably intended for Gibson, but Stipley
flew in and claimed it (right photo). Gibson took off at that time. A
final meal was delivered to a chick on Standard Life. The parent tried
to demonstrate how to defeather prey, but the chick impatiently grabbed
the food before it could finish. The day ended with Delta perched on the
Northwest corner of Fairclough building, Gibson flying about near the
Standard Life building and Kirkendall and Stipley flying from the
Sheraton to BDC.
<P class="title"><B>FIRST ATTEMPTED HUNT!</B></p>
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Sunday, June 18, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Marzuk Gazi reports: The
chicks spent much of this morning flying around, playing and talon
touching with each other, practicing take-offs and landings on the
Standard Life building and the Sheraton. At 7:12, our webcam spotted two
chicks on the east wall of Standard Life. A couple of minutes later,
McKeever landed on the middle ledge of the Sheraton and was quickly
chased off by Gibson (left photos). At 7:59, Judson landed on the ledge
west of the nest and spent several minutes inspecting the inner gravel
(right photo). At 8:16am, Mckeever landed on the roof of the Homewood
Suites building. In the next half hour, two chicks came in for landings
near her. One of them missed their first attempt, and flew up to the top
of the tall apartment building on the corner of Jackson and Caroline
Streets, before returning to land on the Homewood Duck. The other two
chicks were seen sitting on the Standard Life building.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<p>At 8:40am, Mckeever returned to the Sheraton, landing on the middle
ledge next to the nest. At 8:57, Stipley landed and drove her off the
ledge. She circled back and landed beside the chick a minute later (left
photo). She stayed with him a couple of minutes then took off (middle
photo), and flew up to land on the "S" of the Sheraton sign above him.
Stipley remained on the ledge for the rest of the morning. The other
three chicks stayed on the west side of the roof of the Fairclough
building, not moving through the heat of the mid-morning. At 10:43am,
one of the chicks took off, briefly visited Stipley on the Sheraton
(right photo) and then flew over to the southeast corner of the lower
roof of the Standard Life building, where it appears she found a bit of
food. The other two chicks from Fairclough soon flew over to the
Standard Life building as well.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>Around 11:30, while Delta and Kirk played tag and flew back and forth
between the BDC and the Fairclough building, Gibson landed on the I-Beam
below our cameras on the Sheraton. Stipley took off from the middle
ledge and a few minutes later landed beside Gibson (photo). Gibson took
off at 11:47, and Stipley left the Sheraton shortly after that. All four
chicks then flew over to the BDC building, where they would try to find
shade from the afternoon sun. They made occasional flights to Fairclough
and Stelco buildings, often with long, looping flights high over
downtown. Through the afternoon, the parents were hardly seen, despite
the chicks being very vocal at times. At 6:45pm, we saw what seemed to
be one of the chicks following a parent heading west far from downtown.
<P>By 7:49pm, after all of the chicks were in the air together for some
time, they all landed on the north face of the BDC. At 8:03pm, one of
the chicks flew over to the east side of the upper roof of the Sheraton,
joined in the air by a parent who passed food to the chick
talon-to-talon. One of the chicks left the roof of the BDC building soon
after and was found again far east of the BDC at 8:25pm on the antennae
structure on the roof of the Landmark Place building (100 Main Street)!
Soon after, all 4 chicks could be seen flying over the MacNab bus
terminal, stopping on the CIBC building, the Scarfone Hawkins building
or the Fairclough building. At 8:42pm, one of the chicks left the roof
of the Scarfone Hawkins building and was seen dive-bombing and chasing
after a smaller bird just south of the building. It's first attempt to
hunt! By 9:00pm, the chicks had returned to the north side of the roof
of the BDC building. It appeared they would settle there for the night,
but one of the chicks flew over to the middle ledge on the south face of
the Sheraton, and spent the night there.
<P class="title"><B>MID-AIR FOOD EXCHANGE</B></p>
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Saturday, June 17, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Marzuk Gazi reports:
By 6:10am, this morning, all of the chicks could be seen, as well as the
two parents. Two of the chicks were accompanied by a parent on the upper
roof of the Standard Life building while the other two, along with the
other parent, sat on the northwest corner of the roof of the Fairclough
building. By 6:55am, all 4 of the chicks had moved over to the upper
roof of the Standard Life building where they were dropped a meal by one
of the parents. They would all continue flying, playing tag and talon
touching throughout the morning except for Stipley who seemed to spend
the entirety of the morning on the west face of the lower roof of the
Sheraton, starting around 9:30am. He was often not visible to watchers,
only being seen intermittently throughout the morning and early
afternoon.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<p>At 10:30am, one of the parents was on the "h" of the south facing
Sheraton sign with a meal, when it was pushed off by a chick who would
go on to dress and eat the meal. Soon afterwards, at 10:50am, Gibson
found food in the ledge beneath that spot, which he would pick at (left
photo). The chicks would continue flying occasionally through the heat
of the late morning, spending the rest of their time resting in whatever
shade they could find. At 11:48, the chicks became excited by a parent
who flew in from the south with prey in it's talons. Two chicks would
take to the air to follow it and the parent would drop the food mid-air
in front of the Sheraton, causing one of the chicks behind her to snatch
it from the air with their talons. Delta would be the one to catch this
meal. She then landed on the east side of the lower roof of the Sheraton
building to dress and eat it. When she had eaten her fill, Kirkendall
flew in at 12:41 and finished it (middle and right photos).
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>There was more talon touching and flights throughout the evening,
with Stipley still being intermittently spotted on the west face of the
lower roof of the Sheraton before flying around the side of the upper
roof to land at a spot beneath our cameras, on the same roof, at about
4:45pm (photo). He would be enticed to go into the nest at 6:04pm by a
parent who brought food for him there before leaving. The other chicks
would spend much of their time on Stelco Tower or the Fairclough
Building. By 6:40, there was a chick on the southeast corner of the
lower roof of the Standard Life building and another on the southwest
corner. A parent would bring a meal over to the one on the southeast
corner of the roof before flying over to the southwest corner to bring
the rest of the meal to the other chick. While Stipley joined his
siblings in the flights and long games of "tag" over downtown, one of
the other chicks would remain on the highest window ledge of the south
face of Stelco tower for much of the evening.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>By 9pm, all 4 of the chicks could be seen on Stelco Tower, there were
two on the southwest corner of the gratings above the roof of the
building, one chick still on the window ledge on the south side of the
building and another on a window ledge on the same floor, but on the
west side of the building. Soon after 9pm, Kirkendall flew over to the
ledge just west of the nest ledge and, soon after, one of his siblings
would fly over to the far western ledge next to it, where they settled
down for the night (photo).
<P class="title"><B>DARING AEROBATICS</B></p>
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Friday, June 16, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Daniel Neumoin reports:
This morning started with early flights for three of the chicks and one
of the parents, while Stipley sat on the ledge next to the nest, eating
breakfast (photo). By 7:14am, the chicks settled with one perched on the East
ledge of Fairclough building, two together on the Southeast corner of
the upper roof of Standard Life building and Delta sitting on the upper
roof of Sheraton. At 7:19am, a parent visited the pair on Standard Life
building, dropping off food for them. At 7:30am, Delta and the pair on
Standard Life took off, with Delta moving to the Southeast corner of the
Standard Life and the other two chicks landing on the West corners of
Fairclough building. The adults dropped off some food on the Sheraton,
then landed on the Sheraton sign and the Northwest corner of Stelco.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
<script language="javascript"><!--
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<P>After three hours of quiet, the action picked up at 10:55am when the
three males took off Standard Life and Fairclough together, chasing each
other around the sky. They made several landings, quickly followed by
more take-offs, occasionally landing for longer periods on Stelco and
Fairclough. Each flight displayed impressive technique and stamina,
circling around the buildings adjacent to Sheraton and performing fast
dives. Kirkendall and Stipley lead the flights talon touching and
playing "tag" with each other, while Gibson tailed the pair, sometimes
perching on a building to catch his breath. The males would also get
a parent involved in their play, chasing them off the ledge and
following their paths. Around 1:05pm, the males circled out in a radius
that took them past City Hall on the south side, and the Federal
Services building to the west, before returning to perch on Stelco
tower. They stayed there until 3:56pm, when they both flew over to the
BDC building.
<P>Delta demonstrated considerable improvement in the strength and
agility of her flights. Alternating with long rests on Shertaon and
Fairclough throughout the day. When the males took off, Delta briefly
involved herself in each flight, taking off and landing after a brief
interaction with the males. She eventually made a long flight to BDC
after 4:00pm, perching with her brothers on a metal bar. Thirty minutes
later the chicks all flew back from BDC, spending the rest of the day on
or near the Sheraton. The males would take smaller flights between
Stelco and Standard Life or Fairclough, while Delta would continue
flying on Sheraton upper roof and Fairclough's ledges. By 9:00pm, the
day ended with the males perched together on the Southeast corner of
Standard Life, while Delta rested on the Sheraton upper roof.
<P class="title"><B>MEALS SHARED AND STOLEN</B></p>
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Thursday, June 15, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Daniel Neumoin
reports: The morning started off with one adult perched on the Northeast
corner of the BDC building, along with three chicks midair and the
remaining chick perched on Fairclough. Another landed there at 6:28, and
we identified the pair as Stipley and Delta. Kirkendall and Gibson
settled on the East ledge of the Sheraton lower roof at 6:36am. Around
8:10 they moved to the ledge immediately west of the nest ledge. A
parent brought them a meal, then took up watch on the Southwest corner
of the upper roof, above them. Kirkendall and Gibson, shared the meal
(left photo). When they were finished, Gibson was seen cleaning his beak
on the roof edge (right photo).
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>At 8:26, Gibson took off, and made a short flight over to the
southeast corner of the Standard Life building. Another chick was
spotted on the northeast corner of Standard Life. Delta was on the East
lower roof. An adult kept watch over them from a window ledge seven
stories down on the Northwest corner of Stelco tower. The chicks would
remain stationary throughout the morning, occasionally walking and
stretching their wings in between periods of standing and pancaking
(photo). The silence would be broken when the chick on the northeast
corner of Standard life took off North of the Sheraton, taking a loop
towards Fairclough. The chick failed to land on the Northwest top window
ledge due to its slant, causing the chick to fly towards Sheraton.
Kirkendall and a chick next to the I-beam took off East together at
11:17am. The latter landed on the Northwest corner of Fairclough.
Kirkendall landed on the North face of BDC, sitting between the leaves
of the Canadian flag logo.
<P>Throughout the next three hours, chicks flew to and from the
Fairclough building and the nest, playing occasionally on the East roof
of the Sheraton. Two or three chicks would take off simultaneously,
briefly crossing each other's paths before flying off in different
directions. Two feedings were brought to the chicks on the Sheraton at
12:50pm and 1:30pm, while another feeding was brought to a chick perched
on the East duck logo of Sherwood suites. By 3:00pm, three chicks
settled at the Southwest corner and South ledge of Sheraton, and on the
Southeast corner of Fairclough, while Kirkendall remained sitting on the
BDC logo.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<p>At 6:43pm, an adult brought a meal to the south east corner of the
Sheraton lower roof. Delta, who had been there all afternoon, claimed
the meal quickly. The adult took off as Stipley came in for a landing.
Stipley then started to chase Delta along the roof ledge, trying to get
the food. After a couple of minutes, Stipley out-maneuvered his sister
and successfully stole the food and mantled it. Eventually he relented
and shared the meal with Delta.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>The rest of the evening was relatively calm. The chicks were idle for
long periods and then flew a few brief flights. There was some playful
behaviour between two during the flying periods. Only one shaky landing
witnessed: A chick had attempted to land on the nest but was blocked by
Stipley so the chick changed course to the lower roof by the cameras.
The night ended with 3 chicks on the Sheraton and one on the south side
of the fairclough.
<P class="title"><B>SPECTACULAR FLIGHTS</B></p>
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Wednesday, June 14, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Daniel Neumoin
reports: The day started off with Delta in the nest, one chick on the
upper roof of the Sheraton and two others on the Fairclough building.
One meal was delivered to Delta at 6:37am (photo). At 7:35am, she made a
brief flight from the nest, flying west, looping and landing on Standard
Life. By 8:19am, Kirkendall and Stipley were perched on the Sheraton, while
Gibson and Delta sat on Standard Life. Throughout the day, the chicks
demonstrated their improving flight skills. Each takeoff was followed by
long loops and far glides before landing. Their altitude was improving,
often reaching up to the roof of Stelco tower. Flights were reaching
farther as well. Out to City Hall to the south, and points equally
distant east and west, looping back each time to land on a building near
the nest. The chicks also practiced talon touching, where two chicks
would fly together in the air, grabbing each other's talons. This
develops the their skills in snatching a target midair, crucial for
hunting birds.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>From about 11am to 2pm, Kirkendall and Gibson perched or pancaked
under our cameras (photo). They were stirred from their resting spot by
being brought a meal at 2:15pm. After that they began more flights.
While chicks and parents would occasionally perch on the lower roof,
they mostly stayed on the upper roof, with Delta remaining there
hovering or pancaking for most of the day. Two other chicks and an adult
joined her late in the afternoon. Standard life saw more action, having
the most landings and takeoffs, as well as feedings delivered at 4:30pm
and 8pm. The chicks would play their typical games on the building's
upper ledge, chasing off other chicks seeking to land, even chasing off
an adult from the Northeast corner at 7:23pm.
<p>The Fairclough building was also occasionally used as a perch, both
by chicks and adults. Although Kirkendall and Stipley were easily able
to land on the roof, Gibson would fail to land repeatedly when swooping
up, instead bumping against the wall and then flying back to Sheraton or
Standard Life building. Stelco tower was mainly used by the parents for
a high view of the nest and city, but around 4:30pm Kirkendall and
Stipley surprised us by both landing at the very top of the building on
the southwest corner, where they remained for more than an hour. The day
ended with Delta on the Sheraton upper roof, one chick perched on
Fairclough building, one sitting six floors down from the roof of Stelco
tower and Gibson flying above Summers lane.
<P class="title"><B>DELTA SPREADS HER WINGS</B></p>
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Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Marzuk Gazi reports:
There were no chicks on the Sheraton at the beginning of this morning,
meaning Delta had made her first successful flight! By 5:35am, there
were 3 chicks spotted on the Standard Life building, 2 were on the
southeast corner of the lower roof and the other was nearby on the upper
roof. The last chick was spotted soon afterwards at 5:46am on the
northeast corner of the new McMaster construction site. The chicks would
be seen flying to the nearby buildings for much of the morning, spending
much of their time on the Fairclough or Standard Life building. They
were seen playing tag and talon touching. By 6:59am, there were three
chicks on the lower roof of the Sheraton where an adult brought them
food. 2 chicks were fed by a parent on the southeast corner of the lower
roof of the Sheraton at 8:26am before the parent brought the remains of
the meal to the one chick that was still on the southfacing ledge of the
lower roof of the Sheraton. All of the chicks had collected on the
Sheraton by 9:15am, where they would spend much of the day. There were
two on the south ledge of the upper roof and two on the south ledge of
the lower roof but they would all move down to the lower roof by 10:50am
(photo).
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>At 11:26am, the chicks were brought an undressed meal. Stipley
claimed it, but then stood over it for a while looking a bit confused by
all those feathers (photo). He eventually figured out that no one else
was going to dress it for him, and he started tearing into it himself.
At 1:40pm, a parent left another meal which Gibson tore apart and ate
before Judson returned to feed the last of the meal to Kirkendall at
2:10pm. Perhaps influenced by the rain throughout the afternoon, the
chicks wouldn't leave the roof of the Sheraton until after they were
brought food by a parent at 6:15pm. Shortly after, all but Delta were
seen flying and the other three chicks would often land on the
Fairclough building before returning to the Sheraton. At 8:25pm, two
chicks were seen playing tag again, around the Sheraton before they
landed back on the roof. Delta made a short flight from the southeast
corner of the lower roof of the Sheraton to the nest at 8:30pm. By 9pm,
all 4 chicks had returned to the nest. We thought they were settled for
the night, but later on, when checking the cameras, we noticed one of
the chicks had taken off about 15 minutes after watchers went home.
<P class="title"><B>RAINY MORNING, WINDY AFTERNOON</B></p>
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Monday, June 12, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Daniel Neumoin reports:
The day started off rainy, with Delta huddled beneath our cameras on the
lower Sheraton roof and Gibson perched on the Southeast corner of
Fairclough, flying to the Northeast corner at 8:20am. At 8:04am, the
parents were perched on the letters of the Sheraton sign, monitoring the
nest. At 8:20 one of them flew to the duck logo on the east side of
Sherwood. Kirkendall joined Delta on the Southeast corner of the
Sheraton lower roof, and Stipley perched on the Southeast corner of
Fairclough. With the heavy morning rain, Stipley and Gibson perched
under the railings of Fairclough, finding a small roof to stay dry
under. Kirkendall and Delta stayed out in the open bearing the rain. Two
feedings were delivered to them at 9:40am and 10:59am. At 11:08am,
Stipley and Gibson flew to the nest, then joined Kirkendall and Delta on
the south east corner to wait out the rain (photos).
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>At 2:03pm, after the rain passed, several gusts of wind caused Delta,
then the other chicks to hover off the Sheraton roof, leading to first
one male and then the next taking off towards the Standard Life
building. In a few minutes, all three males were flying around that
building, practicing their landings, playing games and squabbling. One
example of a game resembled tag, where two chicks would take turns
chasing each other along the roof ledge. Another game involved two
chicks perched on the ledge chasing off a third one that would attempt a
landing. The parents kept watch from the Sheraton, Fairclough and
Sherwood.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>As the day went on, each male frequently took flights, circling in
the air and perching on Fairclough, Sheraton and the new McMaster
building under construction, stopping only for a brief period of gusting
winds around 5:50pm, when they all huddled together on the Northeast
corner of the Standard Life roof. Kirkendall was observed making a long
flight, hovering midair while the wind pushed him back. He would
occasionally perch on the I-beam near Delta, only to take off shortly
after. Stipley showed the most frequent flights, taking off almost
immediately every landing. He also flew furthest and highest, flying
over City Hall and perching seven floors down from the top of the
McMaster building. Gibson would stay closer to the Standard Life
building, eventually joining Delta beside the cameras. Although no
takeoffs have been observed from Delta, she still showed signs of future
flight, frequently hovering on the South ledge of the lower roof
accompanied by short flights along the ledge. By 8:51pm, all
the chicks were near the cameras, with three perched on a metal bar
perpendicular to the camera beam. After some shuffling from the nest to
Standard Life building, the day ended with all four chicks in the nest
(photo).
<P class="title"><B>LONGER AND STRONGER FLIGHTS</B></p>
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Sunday, June 11, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Marzuk Gazi reports: The
day began with 2 chicks found on the lower roof of the Sheraton and one
seen on the southeast corner of the roof of the Standard Life building
at 5:45am. At 6am, Kirkendall made a flight from the roof of the
Sheraton all the way across downtown to the north face of the roof of
the BDC building! The last chick was spotted on the northwast corner of
the Fairclough building. At 6:25am, it took off to circle with a parent
and land on the roof of the Sheraton. At 6:50am the chick on the
Standard Life building flew to Fairclough and then returned to the roof
of the Sheraton to join the other two chicks already there. The three
were fed by a parent shortly thereafter. At 7am, one of them, identified
as Stipley, flew over to the east side of the upper roof of the Standard
Life building. Kirkendall left the BDC building to fly over to the North
roof of Fairclough where he was joined by a parent who left food for
him, before joining Stipley on the upper roof of the Standard Life
building. At 7:30, Gibson flew over to the southwest corner of the upper
roof of the Standard Life building. At 7:46 Delta was brought a meal on
the south edge of the Sheraton lower roof (left photo). By 8:48am,
Stipley had moved down to the southeast corner of the lower roof of the
Standard Life building (right photo) while his two brothers were being
fed on the upper roof. At 11:30am, Gibson was dropped food which he
picked apart and ate. There was another feeding on the lower roof of the
Sheraton at 12:50pm which Delta ate along with Kirkendall and Stipley,
who had moved over to the roof of the Sheraton by then.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<p>Through the afternoon, all but Delta would be seen flying to Stelco
tower, the Fairclough building, Standard Life and the roof of the
Sheraton. By 5pm, all 4 of the chicks had moved over to the southeast
corner of the Sheraton lower roof (left photo), and, at 6:23pm, all but
Delta, who sat just west of them on the ledge, enjoyed a meal dropped
off to them (right photos). The chicks would spend the rest of the
evening on the lower roof of the Sheraton, flapping their wings in the
rain when it came down. At 8:06pm, Kirkendall flew back to the nest
ledge and was brought food from a parent soon after. He would be joined
by Gibson at 8:39pm while Delta would spend the rest of the evening in
her usual spot, tucked away in the corner below the cameras. At 8:27pm,
Stipley made a flight to the south face of the Standard life building,
before going on a series of flights, including landing on the north face
of the upper roof of Homewood Suites, eventually ending the night on
McMaster's new construction site. He had found a place to perch on a
beam on the southeast corner, just below the lowest of the green bands
which run around the building.
<P class="title"><B>STRONGER FLIGHTS</B></p>
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Saturday, June 10, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Marzuk Gazi reports:
At the start of the day, we found Kirkendall in the nest (photo), Delta and
Stipley on the south edge of the lower roof of the Sheraton and Gibson
still on a window ledge three windows above the pool deck on the
Sheraton. At 6am, the chicks on the roof of the Sheraton were fed on the
southeast corner. At 9:45am, Gibson left the Sheraton, heading east
along King Street and disappeared out of sight. While Gibson was being
searched for, Kirkendall left the nest and flew over to the north side
of the roof of the Fairclough building, before moving over to the west
side of the same roof. He then left Fairclough to fly over downtown and,
after a failed landing, ended up atop the gratings on the roof of Stelco
Tower, facing westwards, at 11:26am. Around 12:25pm Gibson was spotted as he
emerged from behind the Standard Life building, flying in front of the
Sheraton and landing on the Thomson Building. He would remain there for
some time before flying to a window ledge on the west side of Stelco
tower, 12 stories high where he would spend much of the afternoon.
<p>Kirkendall left Stelco around 2:10pm, circled over downtown and
eventually landed on the upper roof of the Sheraton. He moved down to
the nest quickly to retrieve some food which had remained in the scrape
to pick apart and eat. Kirkendall moved to the southeast corner of the
lower roof of the Sheraton at 2:20pm, shortly before an adult brought
food to the 3 chicks that were there. Again at 2:40pm, a parent was seen
bringing prey to the roof of the Sheraton without having dressed it
which the chicks were seen to pick at. Finally, at 4:55pm, Gibson was
seen to leave the window ledge of Stelco tower and fly over to the
southwest corner of the upper roof of the Sheraton where he would
stretch his wings and call loudly. Near the same time, Kirkendall left
the Sheraton roof to fly east and was only seen again when he returned
to the southeast corner of the upper roof of the Sheraton.
<p>Many times through the evening, Kirkendall would fly long looping
circles of downtown Hamilton before landing on the Fairclough Building,
Stelco Tower, or the Standard Life building, often spending a short time
there before returning to the upper roof of the Sheraton. At 6:25pm,
Stipley and Delta, who remained on the lower roof of the Sheraton all
day, flapping and helicoptering, were fed by an adult. At about 6:45pm,
an adult was heard calling loudly as it took off from the Sheraton and
this seemed to encourage Kirkendall and Gibson to fly onto the east
facing side of the roof of the Standard Life building. Gibson was seen
eating a meal that a parent had dropped for him on the southeast corner
of the Standard Life building at 7:05pm. At about 7:50pm, Kirkendall
flew back to the upper roof of the Sheraton, just above the nest ledge
where he would spend a few minutes before gracefully hovering down into
the nest where he would spend the night. At 8:10pm, Gibson left the
Standard Life building to circle over downtown, failing to land on the
Fairclough Building before finally landing on a west facing window ledge
on the 21 st floor of Stelco tower. This is where the chicks would spend
the night, with Kirkendall in the nest, Stipley and Delta on the lower
roof of the Sheraton and Gibson tucked away in the corner of a west
facing window ledge 21 stories high on Stelco Tower.
<P class="title"><B>GIBSON TAKES HIS FIRST FLIGHT</B></p>
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Friday, June 9, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Daniel Neumoin reports:
Before the rain began, Kirkendall and Gibson were resting on the nest
ledge (photo), while Delta sat under the cameras on the Sherarton lower
roof. The rain prompted some vigorous flapping, as it helped wash the
last of the white chick down out of their feathers. The adults would
monitor the nest from the Southeast corner of the lower roof and from
the Fairclough building. Food was dropped off food at the nest at 6:52am
and for Delta at 7:54am. Gibson and Delta would remain stationary for
most of the day, with Delta wandering on the lower roof.
<p>At 7:56am, Stipley was found perched on the West side of Standard
Life building, on a fifth floor window ledge, looking in the windows. As
the rain passed, he would bide his time pruning his feathers, flapping
his wings and ocasionally crying. Meanwhile, two more feedings were
delivered to Kirkendall by Mckeever, and Gibson was beak-fed by a
parent. At 1:23pm, Gibson made the leap, and took a long first flight,
gliding past the art gallery and landing on the third highest window of
the David Braley center's Southeast corner. After that, he showed little
sign of movement, eventually pancaking on the ledge.
<p>After some wing exercises, Stipley took off from the Standard Life
building towards the FirstOntario Center (Copps coliseum) at 1:44pm,
briefly attacked by a seagull midflight. At 2:03pm, he was located on a
15th floor window ledge on the North side of Sheraton, near the
southeast corner. Twelve minutes later,he took off again, landing on
the North side of the Standard life building, two stories from the top.
With each flight he gained a bit more height. A total of 17 stories up
from his starting position.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<p>At 4:30pm, Kirkendall would take a brief flight, landing on the
Southeast corner of the Sheraton lower roof. Shortly after, Stipley
would take off once more, finding his way back to the roof by Kirkendall
by 5:30pm (photo). The pair would remain close together for the
remainder of the day, perching and sitting beside each other. At 5:59pm,
Gibson would attempt a glide back to the nest, flying a straight path
and landing on the second window from the Southwest, three stories from
the ground, on the front of the Sheraton (south). This position gives
falcon watchers some concern, because of Gibson's lack of experience
gaining altitude. The day ended with Kirkendall and Stipley making short
flights from the lower roof back to the nest. Delta settled down in her
usual spot tucked into the corner below the cameras, and Gibson remained
perched on the window.
<P class="title"><B>STIPLEY HAS MORE ADVENTURES</B></p>
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Thursday, June 8, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Marzuk Gazi reports:
The morning started with Kirkendall and Gibson in the nest, Delta on the
south facing ledge of the Sheraton roof and Stipley on a window ledge on
the south face of the Standard Life Building, on the 11th floor.
Mckeever brought a meal to the chicks in the nest at 5:55am. At 7:45am,
more food was delivered. Kirkendall ate some first, then Gibson came
over to pick at it for several minutes. At 8:24 a parent came over to
pick it apart for him and feed him. At 7:50, Delta was brought some
food. At 8:38am, Kirkendall left the nest to join Delta on the lower
roof of the Sheraton (photo) where he would spend much of the day on the
beam which holds camera 2, or helicoptering along the edge of the roof.
At 12:18pm, a parent left food for the two of them, which was partially
eaten before one of the chicks knocked the food off the edge.
Thankfully, they did not try to retrieve it.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<p>Around 2:55pm, Stipley took flight from the Standard Life building,
flying to the lower roof of the Sheraton to join Kirkendall and Delta (photo).
At 4:26pm, food was left for them, and it was quickly seized by Stipley
and taken off the ledge and onto the roof below where he presumably ate
the meal. At 4:55pm, an adult was seen feeding Gibson 'beak-to-beak'.
Throughout the afternoon, the parents were seen watching their chicks
closely, often landing on the Sheraton or Stelco tower. At 6:25pm,
Stipley was helicoptering on the south ledge of the lower Sheraton roof
as Kirkendall had been all day and he missed the ledge, falling a few
stories before attempting to fly to the Fairclough building with an
adult behind him. He failed to gain the elevation that was required to
land there but ended up on the north side of the roof of the Thomson
building.
<p>Stipley took off again at 7pm, flying towards Stelco tower, where he
tried to land on one of the north west corner ledges. After this, he
turned away and, in quick succession, tried and failed to land on the
north side of the Sheraton, the east face of the Standard Life building,
and a south facing window ledge of the Sheraton. He finally made a
successful landing on the south facing side of the FirstOntario Centre.
At 7:25pm, he was harassed by a group of seagulls flying close to him
very vocally but they soon left. At nearly the same time, a parent left
food on the nest ledge which Kirkendall ate. At 7:45pm, a parent brought
a meal to the nest without having dressed it first and Kirkendall picked
it apart and ate some of it before the parent returned at 7:56 to
carefully feed the remainder of the meal to Gibson.
<P class="title"><B>STIPLEY MAKES LONG FLIGHTS</B></p>
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Wednesday, June 7, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Daniel Neumoin
reports: The morning started off slow and smoggy, with Kirkendall,
Stipley and Gibson in the nest, and Delta under the cameras at the west
end of the Sheraton lower roof. Kirkendall was filled with
energy, frequently performing wing exercises, while Delta took time to
relax, pancaking at various spots on the ledge. The adults kept watch
from the Standard Life and Fairclough buildings, and dropped food off at
the nest at 6:15am and 7:08am, with a feeding for Delta at 7:25am
(photo). The parents would visit again at 9:35am, circling around the
nest and perching on the lower roof near Delta.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<p>At 10:59am, Kirkendall was seen rushing back and forth along the
ledge, flapping and helicoptering. At 1:37pm, he decided that was enough
practice, and, as a parent approached the nest from the east with food,
Kirkendall dove off the ledge at the adult, flying straight and taking a
left turn behind the Sheraton's east side. Eventually he would return to
his favorite perch on the I-beam beneath Camera 2 (photo). At various
times througout the day Stipley hid out from the sun in the corner of
the scrape, sometimes making us wonder if we had missed him taking
flight again. After two meals at 2:45pm and 3:11pm, Stipley was showing
higher activity, joining Gibson in wing exercises. This would continue
for most of the afternoon, with more food brought at 3:40pm and 5:26pm.
<p>At 5:45pm, Stipley took off East towards the art gallery was briefly
lost to our sight. With the help of webmaster Charles Gregory on the
webcam, and the on-street volunteers, Stipley was confirmed to have
circled back and landed on the Thomson building East of the Sheraton,
perched on the Southwest corner. Stipley would pace and flap his wings
along the West side of the building while a parent would come and visit
him. At 8:03pm, Stipley would take an impressive flight from the Thomson
building to the Northeast corner of the David Braley center's top roof,
crossing the entire parking lot in one flight. After flapping his wings,
Stipley would make a final flight towards the Standard Life building,
landing on a window ledge three floors down on the south side. Perhaps
he was hoping to get back to the nest, but he then decided to settle down
there for the night. The day ended with Kirkendall and Delta together on
the Sheraton lower roof below our cameras, and Gibson on the nest, the
only one of our chicks yet to take flight.
<P class="title"><B>KIRKENDALL HOPS BACK TO THE NEST</B></p>
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Tuesday, June 6, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Marzuk Gazi reports:
Kirkendall and Delta spent the night on the south ledge of the lower
roof of the Sheraton while Gibson and Stipley remained in the nest. At
6:21am, the chicks in the nest were fed their first meal of the day and
shortly after, at 6:38am, the chicks on the roof were brought a meal as
well. The feedings continued through the morning with the chicks on the
roof being fed once and the chicks in the nest being brought two meals.
The afternoon brought more feedings, with the chicks in the nest being
fed at 12:30pm and 3:34pm, followed by a feeding for the chicks on the
roof at about 3:45pm. Kirkendall spent much of the afternoon on the
I-Beam beneath Camera 2 occasionally exercising his wings (photo) while
Delta stayed on the south ledge nearby. Stipley spent most of his time
tucked under the overhang of the nest ledge, while Gibson was seen
flapping and helicoptering across the ledge.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<p>Shortly after 6pm, a parent visited the southeast corner of the lower
roof of the Sheraton to leave a meal for Kirkendall and Delta. At
6:45pm, both of the parents were seen flying low in front of the
Sheraton, touching talons as they seemed to be fighting over something.
Soon after, they were both seen on the Homewood Suites Building with
McKeever sitting on the sign on the north side. She had what looked like
a dove in her talons which she took her time in dressing and then
eating. Around 7pm, the chicks on the roof were drawn to the
south east corner as a parent flew in with one last meal. As the chicks
were settling down for the night, Kirkendall made a quick, short flight
from the beam where he had spent the afternoon, back to the nest
ledge (photo). This left Delta alone on the lower roof edge. She
would spend the night as close to her brothers as possible, tucked
into the same corner by the cameras where she started her day.
<P class="title"><B>STIPLEY RETURNS TO THE NEST</B></p>
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Monday, June 5, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Daniel Neumoin reports:
The day started off with Gibson in the nest and the other three chicks
still resting on the wall of the Sheraton lower roof closest to the
nest. After much vocalization by the chicks at 5:44am, one of the
parents landed on the Southeast corner of the roof to monitor them. At
6:21am, what we first thought was an adult, did a short jumping flight
from the lower roof to the nest. It took us a few minutes to get a close
look and realize that it was actually Stipley who had made a very nice,
smooth, gliding flight to rejoin Gibson. The adults patrolled the area
for the next two hours, dropping off food in the nest at 7:32am.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<p>Gibson and Stipley spent the rest of the day on the nest, while
Kirkendall and Delta spent their day at various locations on the lower
Sheraton roof. All the chicks were seen occasionally flapping their
wings whilst holding onto the ledge or wall, strengthening their wings
for better flights. Kirkendall showed the most activity, alternating
between long perches on the I-beam supporting Camera #2 (photo), and
walks on the South wall of the lower roof. Delta spent most of her time
perched on the ledge beside the camera. She was seen exploring the
interior space of the lower roof a couple of times, sitting on pipes and
roofwork (photo). Gibson would remain relatively quiet throughout the
day, taking rests in the nest and perching on the nest ledge with
occasional wing flaps. Stipley showed more activity than his brother, up
on the outer ledge most of the day with more frequent wing exercises.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<p>The parents kept an eye on their chicks from perches on the various
buildings nearby the Sheraton - Fairclough, Stelco and Standard Life.
They would occasionally drop food, met with plaintive cries from the
chicks. The first feeding occurred at 1:30pm, dropping off food for
Gibson and Stipley at the nest. A second feeding at 3:46pm brought food
for Kirkendall, followed by a delivery for Delta at 4:37pm. A fourth
catch was brought to feed Kirkendall again at 5:19pm, where the parent
would feed the chick and eat alongside him. A final evening snack was
brought to the nest, satisfying the chicks for the day. The day ended
with one parent perched on Standard Life building and the other on the
Southeast corner of the Sheraton, where the latter would exchange cries
with the chicks.
<P class="title"><B>KIRKENDALL FLIES BACK TO THE SHERATON</B></p>
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Sunday, June 4, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Marzuk Gazi reports:
This morning, the chicks were in the same places they were the night before.
Stipley and Delta were on the east side of the lower roof of the Sheraton.
Gibson was still in the nest ledge and Kirkendall was on the highest window
ledge on the east side of the Standard Life building. The parents were seen
flying by Kirkendall as they had been the day before, unable to feed him as
he paced near the north side of the ledge. Food was dropped at the nest
ledge at 7:27am for Gibson and at 11am, Stipley was brought a meal which
Delta soon joined to share. Stipley spent much of the day flapping
vigorously near the south east corner of the Sheraton roof. Gibson spent
much of the morning and afternoon looking over at his siblings from the east
corner of the nest ledge and flapping.
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<p>Kirkendall spent much of the day pruning his down feathers, often
being very vocal towards the parents. At 5:10pm, after hanging on for
over a day, he finally left the ledge, flying eastwards towards the
Sheraton and over to the upper roof of the Sheraton, gaining
considerable elevation during the flight. A parent had flown over to the
east side of the gratings atop the roof of the Standard Life building to
watch the struggle, but afterwards, flew off, probably to hunt. A parent
landed back in the same location on the Standard Life building soon
after to dress a meal but the other parent was first to drop food on the
south east corner of the Sheraton roof, at 5:53pm. Delta was first to
the food, then Kirkendall flew down from the upper roof to join her. At
5:56pm, a hungry Kirkendall is seen mantling (spreading his wings over)
the food to prevent his sibling from reaching it (photo).
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<p>The other parent left the Standard Life building to feed Gibson at 6.
There was another feeding for two of the three chicks on the roof of the
Sheraton just after 7:30pm. After that there was no significant activity
until all three chicks moved west along the south (front) edge of the
Sheraton roof towards the nest and settled together in the corner
closest to the nest ledge, under our cameras (photo captured early Monday
morning). The two parents ended the night perched on the east side
grating on top of the Standard Life building, watching over their
chicks.
<P class="title"><B>VIDEO OF KIRKENDALL ON WINDOW LEDGE</B></p>
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capimage1('Kirkendall on Standard Life','gallery2023/230603Kirkendall_on_SL_Duquette1.tHUM.jpg');
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Sunday, June 4, 2023 - Courtesy of Brandon Duquette, here is a photo and
video of Kirkendall, shot from inside the window of the Standard Life
building where Kirkendall was perched, Saturday at 1:10pm. The video shows
McKeever repeatedly gliding past Kirkendall with food, in an effort to
tempt him to fly. Thank you, Brandon!
<p>
Watch it here: <a
href="http://falcons.hamiltonnature.org/videos/20230603Kirkendall_on_SL_Duquette.mp4" target="_blank">Kirkendall 20230603</a>
<P class="title"><B>AN EVENTFUL DAY!</B></p>
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Saturday, June 3, 2023 - Falconwatch Coordinator Marzuk Gazi reports:
After Delta's rescue earlier in the morning, she, along with Kirkendall (who
had been rescued the day before) were released onto the roof of the Sheraton
hotel at 8:05 in the presence of an unhappy peregrine parent. With the
parent overhead encouraging the chicks back towards the nest, Kirkendall
moved along the south ledge of the Sheraton to make an attempt to jump into
the nest. At 10:05, he seemed to slip from the ledge and glided to the
highest window ledge on the east side of the Standard Life building. Despite
the parents loudly flying by to encourage both of them back towards the
nest, he would remain there while Delta remained on the Sheraton roof for
much of the afternoon. The other two chicks would remain in the nest, though
one was up on the ledge considerably more than the other. At 2:01, Mckeever
was seen bringing a meal to the roof of the Standard Life building above the
ledge where Kirkendall was perched, hoping to coax his flight.
<p>Stipley seemed to be blown off the nest at 3:55. After gliding above King
street, he landed in an empty area of the parking lot of the David Braley
building, where he was quickly rescued by a group of volunteers.
After being assessed by the rescue team, he was deemed to be healthy. He
was returned to the roof at 5:30 while two parents circled vocally above. A
parent, thought to be Mckeever, settled on the south east corner of the
lower roof of the Sheraton from where she would watch over the chicks.
Kirkendall remained on the ledge on the Standard Life building throughout
the day, having moved along the ledge to the north side. Delta and Stipley
were seen on the south ledge of the Sheraton, Delta having moved to the west
side towards the nest. Gibson was seen flapping, but he remained in the
nest for the night.
<P class="title"><B>STIPLEY GLIDES AND IS RESCUED!</B></p>
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Saturday, June 3, 2023 - <b>4:15 Update</b>: At 3:55pm, Stipley was
cleaning his feathers standing at the edge of the ledge with his
brother, when it looks like a gust of wind knocked him off balance
(photo) and sent him on a long gliding flight across King Street. He
landed in the David Braley parking lot, in front of the Falconwatch home
base, and was quickly rescued. His flight was described as "graceful" by
watchers on the ground, with a very gentle landing. So we have no
concerns about his health. We're going to be taking him back up to the
roof, to join his sister, soon.
<P class="title"><B>KIRKENDALL AND DELTA RETURN!</B></p>
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Saturday, June 3, 2023 - <b>9:00 Update</b>: This morning at roughly
8:25, our two wayward chicks were returned to the roof of the Sheraton
Hamilton Hotel. Kirkendall immediately started exploring the roof, while
Delta sat still for a few minutes, to assess the situation. Eventually
they both ended up in the south east corner area, climbing metal pipes
of the old window-washing system (photo). One of the adults (far right)
is keeping close eye on them.
<P class="title"><B>DELTA RESCUED</B></p>
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capimage1('Kirkendall at the Owl Foundation','gallery2023/230603KirkendallAtOwlFoundationThumb.jpg');
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Saturday, June 3, 2023 - The official on-street Hamilton Falconwatch
kicked off today, with the second rescue of the season. Delta was found
to be in good health after spending the night near street level. Once
again, it was decided to take the chick out to the Owl Foundation for a
check-up. With the two of them out of the nest, it has been decided to
return them both to the Sheraton roof today.
<p>We want to thank the people who have begun to fill in the empty
shifts on our volunteer schedule. We never imagined things kicking off
so early, so we very much appreciate having multiple eyes on the chicks
at all times.
<P class="title"><B>DELTA SNEAKS OUT OF THE NEST!</B></p>
Friday, June 2, 2023 - <b>10:30 Update</b>: Late in the afternoon,
Falcon Watchers started to feel a bit concerned that they were only seeing
two chicks on the nest ledge. Initially we thought the third chick was
just hiding under the overhang at the back of the scrape, as usual.
But, as the evening wore on, and we continued to only see two, we began
to wonder if another chick had managed to sneak out of the nest. So a
search was conducted of the walkways and ledges around the front of the
Sheraton, and we eventually found Delta sitting on the edge of a second
story roof on the east side of the old Standard Life Building, just above the
Anchor Bar patio. She stayed there the rest of the evening, and we're
hoping she will stay put until tomorrow when the on-street watch
officially begins at 5:30 am.
<p>Did we mention we need volunteers? We need volunteers. Tomorrow. The
way our luck is going, the other chicks just might decide to try and fly
as well. And they really don't have the feathers for it yet. So keeping
track of them is vitally important at this time.
<P class="title"><B>KIRKENDALL DOING WELL</B></p>
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Friday, June 2, 2023 - <b>4:30 Update</b>: Kirkendall is in excellent health,
and did not suffer any injuries from his (mis)adventure today. He will
be kept at the Owl Foundation for a few days, allowing more time for him
to fully grow his flight feathers and shed the last of his white chick
down. He will then be returned to the roof of the Sheraton hotel.
Hopefully this minor delay will help make his second flight more
successful than the first! This photo was taken by Ryan Iverson at the
Sheraton Hamilton Hotel, just after Kirkendall was rescued. THANK YOU!
<P class="title"><B>KIRKENDALL RESCUED!</B></p>
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capimage1('Kirkendall, a minute before he left the ledge','webcamsaved2023/ho0602135648_1Thumb.jpg');
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Friday, June 2, 2023 - Just before 2pm, Kirkendall either had a slip, or
maybe he decided his wings were working well enough to try flying.
Either way, he left the ledge, and glided downwards until he reached
ground level. He was initially rescued from traffic by Marouane Fattoum,
who was passing by when the chick landed on the street in front of the
Sheraton Hotel. Kirkendall was brought inside the hotel, where he appeared to be
in good condition. He is being taken to the Owl Foundation for a
full check-up, just to be sure. All this, of course, one day before the
official on-street watch begins!
<P class="title"><B>A BRAVE CHICK</B></p>
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Sunday, May 28, 2023 - Yesterday we spotted a chick hopping up on the
ledge to get better access to a meal that McKeever had brought to the
nest. Today, we saw this again. This time we got a closer look, and
could see it was Gibson (white tape) who made the leap (middle photo).
He stayed up on the ledge for about ten minutes, most of that time on
his own, as McKeever jumped down into the scrape, fed the last bits of
the meal to the other chicks, then flew away.
<P class="title"><B>BREAKFAST IS SERVED!</B></p>
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Friday, May 26, 2023 - It has been a week since our four chicks were
banded, and the feedings haven't slowed down. We can see their dark
brown flight feathers starting to come in. In the next week the chicks
will lose the majority of their white chick down, and then they will
begin testing out their wings. And the on-street falcon watch will
begin!
<P class="title"><B>THE CHICKS ARE BANDED</B></p>
<script language="javascript"><!--
capimage1('Kirkendall','gallery2023/2023BandingKirkendallThumb.jpg');
capimage1('Gibson','gallery2023/2023BandingGibsonThumb.jpg');
capimage1('Delta','gallery2023/2023BandingDeltaThumb.jpg');
capimage1('Stipley','gallery2023/2023BandingStipleyThumb.jpg');
// --></script>
Thursday, May 18, 2023 -
Here are some screen-captured portraits of our chicks, taken from the
banding video, which is now available for viewing. Click here to
watch it:
<a href="videos/banding2023video.mp4" target="_blank">2023 Banding Video</a>.
<p class="endimageblock">
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Today around 1:30 our four chicks were brought into the Sheraton
Hamilton Hotel and banded. Based on their weights we have three males
and one female. Their left leg bands were wrapped in colored tape so we
will be able to identify them from a distance. Their names and tape
colors are: <b>Kirkendall</b> (male, blue tape), <b>Gibson</b> (male,
white tape), <b>Delta</b> (female, yellow tape), and <b>Stipley</b>
(male, red tape), all named for Hamilton neighborhoods. Our climber
spent the time while the chicks were inside removing a few small plants
from the nest ledge, and keeping an eye on McKeever, who kept a very
close eye on him while he collected the chicks (photos).
<P class="title"><B>BANDING WILL BE ON THURSDAY</B></p>
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Wednesday, May 17, 2023 - The chicks are nearly invisible this morning,
huddled together in the near corner of the nest ledge, sheltering from
the (hopefully) last cold spell of spring. Tomorrow (Thursday) they will
have a chance to warm up a bit, as they are brought inside the Sheraton
Hamilton Hotel for banding. As can be seen in the photo, they have grown
to nearly their full size. But, as yet, they do not have a lot of leg
strength, so this is the best time to collect them without any risk of
them trying to jump away from the climber.
<!-- DONATION BLOCK - move this around under the latest news, as needed. -->
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
<DIV class="box">
<p class="red">
<!-- Different introduction based on time of year -->
<b>DONATIONS STILL NEEDED</b> - If you have not already made a
donation to Falconwatch, it is never too late to do so.
The Coordinator
daily reports, the camera images and on-street Falconwatch equipment
<!-- and display window electronics -->
are all made possible by <b>your</b> contributions.
Grants only pay for so much (and some years they are less than others).
Please click on the yellow '<b>Donate!</b>' button above to make an easy
tax creditable donation. We and the birds
<b>Thank You!</B></P>
</DIV>
<!-- END OF DONATION BLOCK -->
<P class="title"><B>FOUR PEREGRINE CHICKS!</B></p>
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Sunday, April 30, 2023 - Early this morning, McKeever flew in to
feed her chicks, and we saw that there was now a third chick eagerly
clamoring for food. As we watched the chicks get fed, we began to see
the egg in the foreground crack apart, and, over the next half hour, our
fourth and final peregrine chick hatched. As is usual, It had a little
help from mom, who picked away the edges of the shell. You can see a
piece of shell in McKeever's beak in the last photo.
<p>A month ago we mentioned how the adults carefully timed the
incubation of the first eggs so that they would all hatch together, and
this has now resulted in all four eggs hatching within 24 hours! With
four in the nest, we will see a lot of feedings over the coming month.
And needless to say, we're going to need a lot of <b>volunteer
watchers</b>. If you have some time to spare in June, please click the
Volunteer button at the top of this page. Thanks!
<P class="title"><B>TWO CHICKS SO FAR</B></p>
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Saturday, April 29, 2023 - Just beore 6pm, we caught our first
sight of two new peregrine chicks in the Sheraton Hamilton nest. Their
white down feathers were already dry, so it seemed likely that they
hatched several hours before, while their mother kept them sheltered
from the rain. Feeding began almost immediately (photos). We should see
the other two eggs hatch within the next day or so.
<P class="title"><B>HATCHING IS STARTING!</B></p>
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Saturday, April 29, 2023, 2pm - Just after 8am this morning we noticed the
first tiny hole in one egg, then soon saw a crack appearing in another.
We knew this was coming as McKeever fussed over the eggs in the last
day, listening to the tiny sounds of chicks inside the eggs. She will
continue to move and turn the eggs, which helps the chicks peck their
way out of their shells. By this evening we expect to see the first
little white balls of fluff.
<P class="title"><B>FOUR EGGS</B></p>
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Monday, March 27, 2023 - At 7:59 this morning McKeever laid her fourth
egg of the season, with our camera catching a great view as it happened.
A half hour later, Judson came in to take over incubation duties from
her, and we got a clear look at all four eggs. You can see the color
differences between the new egg and the older ones, which have picked up
a coating of dust. It is possible that McKeever may lay one more egg. We
have had five eggs before, but we have never had all five hatch. So,
with good weather and close attention from McKeever and Judson, we have
high hopes for seeing four tiny peregrine chicks at the beginning of May.
<p>Falconwatch would like to say a big <b>thank you</b> to the people
who have made donations. Your generous gifts have gotten our
fund-raising off to a great start! But we still have a long way to go. If
you haven't made a donation yet, and would like to help save a peregrine
chick, then please click the <b>Donate</b> button above.
<P class="title"><B>THIRD EGG</B></p>
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Saturday, March 25, 2023 - Early this morning McKeever briefly left her
eggs, and we could see that she laid her third egg during the night.
Three is not an uncommon number of eggs for a peregrine clutch. But
neither is four. So we will be watching closely Monday, to see if she
lays another.
<P class="title"><B>EGG #2!</B></p>
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Wednesday, March 22, 2023 - Right on time, McKeever has laid the second
egg of the 2023 nesting season. We should see the next one on Friday. I
think this is the perfect time to let people know that Falconwatch is
running lower on funds than it has in previous years. We really,
seriously need people to make donations, to help us build up the funds
necessary for hiring our coordinators, pay for radios, and so on. If you
can help out, <b>please click the <font color=red>Donate</font> button
above</b>. Thanks!
<P class="title"><B>HERE WE GO!!!</B></p>
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Monday, March 20, 2023 - Spring is officially here, and Hamilton's
Peregrines are celebrating with their first egg of the season.
Eagle-eyed falcon watchers spotted McKeever showing off her new egg
around noon today. As usual for Peregrine clutches, the first egg will
not be incubated full time, but will be allowed to stay cooler, slowing
its development. McKeever will likely lay 2-3 more eggs in the coming
days, each one about two days after the previous one. By slowing the
first egg's development, she makes it more likely that all the eggs will
hatch within a day of each other, insuring no chick has a size
disadvantage when they all start clamoring for meals. In about 40 days,
the sound of Peregrine chicks will once again be heard high up on the
Sheraton Hamilton Hotel!
<P class="title"><B>HAPPY NEW YEAR!</B></p>
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Sunday, January 1, 2023 - A new year begins with the usual January warm
spell, and our resident adult pair make another routine visit to the nest
ledge to check up on it, and make sure everything is in proper shape for
the nesting season that will begin in March.
<P class="title">BACKGROUND FOR 2023....
<p>After their first successful year together, fledging four chicks,
Judson and McKeever are spending the winter in Hamilton, where there is
ample food, and warm spots to shelter from the worst of the winter
weather. This will be McKeever's second year at the Hamilton nest, and
Judson's third.
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<P>Judson arrived in Hamilton at the end of the nesting season in 2021.
He came to us from Buffalo, New York, where he fledged from the
Richardson Complex in 2018. In a delightful turn of events, one of his
parents is Felker who fledged from Hamilton in 2012. So the prodigal
(grand)son of Madame X and Surge has returned. He arrived too late to
mate with Lily, who, sadly, fell ill and died early in 2022, so, apart
from a brief time keeping Lily company on the ledge, his first and only
mate has been....
<p class="endimageblock"></p>
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<p>McKeever, fledged from a nest on the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor,
Ontario, in 2019. She is named in honor of Kay McKeever of the Owl
Foundation. Her arrival was first noticed on January 22, 2022, when we
observed that there were still two adults landing at the nest ledge
while Lily (the previous female) was being cared for at the Owl
Foundation. A quick check of our webcam archives showed that McKeever
had been present for a few days by that point. We don't know if she had
a territorial battle with Lily which resulted in the latter being too
injured to survive, or whether Lily had taken ill and this newcomer had
simply filled in the void left by Lily's absence. In any event, McKeever
was quickly accepted by Judson, and the pair produced four chicks their
first year together.
<P>While peregrines are normally a migratory species, sometimes they
choose to spend the winter in their nesting territory if there is enough
food to last through the winter. Many bird species exhibit a trait
called 'site fidelity'. If at least one of a pair that used a nest site
in the previous year returns, and if there have been no significant
physical changes to disturb either the nest itself or the birds
generally, they will use the same nest site year after year. Peregrine
Falcons are known for this trait. This will be the twenty-nineth year
the same nest site on the Sheraton Hamilton Hotel has been used.</P>
<P>To read FalconWatch Reports from previous years, click on the
<B>History</B> button above.</P>
<P>Thank you to all our visitors and supporters for your ongoing
encouragement.</P>
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