Read Falconwatch Reports from: 2005, 2006, 2007

The Story of the Hamilton Peregrines

(Please note: Updates in the current year are in bold type)

1994: In the spring of 1994 Len Dixon, a Supervisor with the Hamilton Board of Education, noticed what he thought was a Peregrine Falcon spending time on and near the downtown Hamilton Sheraton Hotel, across busy King Street from the school board building.

1995: The Canadian Wildlife Service and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources were notified of Len's sighting. In early 1995 it was confirmed that not only was there a Peregrine in Hamilton, there was a PAIR nesting on a ledge on the south face of the 18th floor of the Sheraton!

A monitoring effort, coordinated by the Hamilton Naturalists' Club, was quickly set up with help from HNC members, other nature groups, and the public. The adult Peregrines, named 'Mom' and 'Dad' by the volunteers, hatched one chick of their own ('Hamilton'). Two more chicks ('Alberta' and 'Wainwright') were brought in from the captive breeding facility at Wainwright, Alberta and placed in the nest by a mountain climber. All three fledged successfully.

1996: In 1996 at least two eggs hatched, but both chicks disappeared suddenly and no further nesting was attempted.

1997: In 1997 the parents returned early, around March 10-15. Several eggs were laid and chicks hatched, but it was only during the week of June 2 that Falcon Watchers were able to see well enough into the nest to learn that there were FOUR chicks!! The 1997 birds were named 'Stelco', 'Sheraton' and 'Fairclough', all named after the buildings they used while fledging, and 'Spectator', after the local newspaper.

1998: Both the birds and the Falcon Watchers were even better prepared in 1998. A video camera, provided by the Canadian Peregrine Foundation provided a signal to TV monitors in a storefront centre inside Jackson Square and to the CPF website. As in the previous year, 'Mom' and 'Dad' successfully fledged four chicks - 'Freedom', 'Phoenix', 'Navigator' and 'High Rise' - although one did not make it through the summer (see Follow-up, below). The birds names were chosen from those submitted in a contest.

1999: There was a significant change in 1999. While 'Dad' returned, the female was different. 'Mom', who produced the 1995-1998 chicks, left Hamilton in October 1998. That in itself was not unusual, but she did not return in the spring of 1999 and it was assumed that she had died in the interval. Meanwhile, in November 1998 a new female, named 'Toledo' after the Ohio city where she was born in a similar downtown building nest, arrived in Hamilton.

In the spring of 1999, after acclimatizing to the city and relearning how to land on building ledges, Toledo set up housekeeping with Dad. Four eggs were laid in the Sheraton nest in late March. Monitoring through the video camera continued and everything appeared to be fine until May 10 or so, when it was discovered that three of the eggs were gone. A week later it was obvious that the fourth egg was not going to hatch either. (It is believed that the failed eggs became fragile and were crushed by the weight of the incubating parents. The disappearing eggshells are accounted for by the fact that many birds eat their own eggshells for the calcium content.)

On May 21 two chicks were brought to Hamilton from a breeding facility in Quebec. The chicks were located and purchased by CPF and turned over to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Once at the Sheraton, the two chicks were banded and then carried down into the nest by a mountain climber. Adopted immediately by 'Dad' and 'Toledo', the two chicks, 'George' and 'Amazing Grace' ('Gracie') fledged normally.

2000: In honour of his dedication to the Hamilton nest, in the Millennium year 'Dad' was renamed 'Perseverance' ('Percy' for short). In 2000 Percy and Toledo hatched four chicks - 'Millennium' ('Millie' for short), 'Skywalker', 'Solo' and 'Wookie'. Sadly, Millie did not make it through the fledging period.

2001: In January 2001 came the sad news that Toledo had been killed in a collision with a car two months earlier. Since there had been a female falcon around over the early part of the winter, Hamilton Falcon Watchers set out to learn the identity of the new female, named 'Madame X', who appeared to be about three years old. In the meantime Percy teamed up with Madame X and together they produced and fledged two youngsters, 'Hal' and 'Sal'. Later in the summer Madame X's identity was learned (see Adults, below).

2002: Although Percy was seen in February, it appears that by April he had been replaced by a new male, Mozart. Madame X and Mozart successfully hatched and raised three chicks; two males, 'Springer' and 'McQuesten', and a female, 'Beasley'. The names were selected to honour prominent Hamiltonians of historic significance. Richard Springer and Richard Beasley were both early settlers who came to Hamilton as United Empire Loyalists. Springer owned a 100 acre tract of what is now downtown Hamilton and established his original log cabin in the heart of current Corktown. Beasley, one of Hamilton's very first settlers, established a trading post on the site of Dundurn castle and his first home was a log cabin nearby. The McQuesten name is familiar to Hamiltonians as the original owners of the historic landmark home, Whitehern. During a long career in public office, Thomas A. McQuesten presided over much that is familiar today, including the development of the Royal Botanical Gardens, preservation of what was left of Cootes Paradise, and the Niagara Parks System.

2003: Madame X and Mozart started nesting on the same ledge on the Sheraton hotel in March 2003, but just after the three chicks - Bold, Jackson and Hunter - were banded it became evident that a new male had arrived on the scene. After only one season, Mozart was gone and 'Newbie' had arrived. May 23, 2005 - see the sad news about Jackson in the 'Chicks' section below.

2004: Madame X and Newbie returned for another season. Four eggs were laid, and for the first time in Madame X's history all four eggs hatched. Cootes, Macassa and Macnab, all female, and Dundas, the only male, fledged successfully. Sometime during the fall of 2004 Dundas lost a leg but this has not slowed him down much. In late February 2005 he was filmed by a CHTV Videographer as he 'processed' a recently captured meal. May 23, 2005 - see more re Dundas in the 'Chicks' section below.

2005: Madame X and Newbie stayed in the downtown Hamilton area all winter. Four eggs were laid, and again this year all four eggs hatched. Named after famous aircraft in this 60th anniversary year of the end of WWII, Anson (f), Canso (m), Harvard (m) and Lancaster (f) grew and flew. Sadly, Canso was killed in a collision with a building. As of July 9, 2005 the other three chicks have fledged from the nest and are doing well.

2006: While it appeared that Madame X and Newbie had spent the winter in downtown Hamilton, when it came time for eggs in the nest it was soon obvious that the male was not Newbie. He was later identified as 'Surge', a bird hatched in Etobicoke, ON in 2002. Eggs were laid in late March and hatched in early May. The three chicks - Albion, Sherman and Webster, fledged without incident.

2007: The adult birds spent the winter in downtown Hamilton. Madame X was identifed by band number in early March. Surge's identity was confirmed later. Four eggs were laid and four chicks hatched. Sadly, two chicks died during the first week of June. The other two - Jump Up and Blue Foot - were banded. Jump Up was returned to the nest while Blue Foot was taken for veterinary care. Blue Foot was returned to the nest and both chicks fledged successfully.

2008: The adult birds spent the winter in downtown Hamilton. Madame X and Surge have both been identifed by band number. Four chicks have hatched and and are growing steadily. Fledging is expected around the middle of June.

Why a Falcon Watch?

Between 1995 and 2001 a total of nineteen chicks hatched and all but one fledged from the Sheraton Hamilton nest. All were monitored throughout the fledging period by volunteers organized and coordinated by the Hamilton Naturalists' Club (HNC). Were it not for the efforts of the Falcon Watch, however, at least seven of these chicks probably would have died.

Why? Well, first flights of young birds are often unsuccessful, ending on the street, the sidewalk, or on the roofs of nearby buildings.

Throughout the first three weeks of flight, the fledglings may crash into plate glass windows and fall to the ground. Their survival depends on our team of dedicated, trained volunteers who keep an eye on the birds, rescue them if necessary, and return them to the safety of the roof nest area. By the end of the 1997 season four of the seven chicks at the Hamilton site had been rescued at ground level a total of five times. No rescues were required in 1998 but, sadly, several weeks after the fledging period one of the 1998 chicks was killed in a collision with a building during a fight with an American Kestrel. No rescues were required in 1999. In 2000 three rescues took place; one of the chicks died in a collision with a building before fledging.

Monitoring lasts from dawn to dusk for three weeks, usually from mid-June through early July. It is also a wonderful opportunity to observe the daily activities and amazing acrobatics of this endangered species and to participate in their recovery.

Since 1995 the Hamilton Naturalists' Club has coordinated the Falcon Watch every year that chicks were fledged help from members of the HNC, the Niagara Peninsula Hawkwatch, other nature groups and the public. All banding has been carried out with the help of the HNC's Bruce Duncan, with the birds carried to and from the nest by mountain climbers Rick Folkes, a HNC member, and John Millar. Also since 1995 the Hamilton Sheraton Hotel, the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board, and Yale Properties (Jackson Square) have provided major assistance to Falcon Watch as did Stelco Inc. while it occupied the main tower in the complex.

In 2000 a new partnership, the Hamilton Community Peregrine Project (HCPP), co-sponsored and managed by the HNC, was formed. The Hamilton Wentworth Community Network (HWCN) joined the team when the HNC provided a second video camera for the Sheraton nest site. HWCN helped develop and hosts a website dedicated solely to the Hamilton Peregrine Falcons. Over the years other companies and groups have also provided help, and current partners are acknowledged on the website.

FOLLOW-UP

ADULTS:

1994 - 2002: 'Dad'/'Percy' was hatched in a nest on a building in Montreal in 1993. In 2002 Percy was seen in February, but by April he had been replaced by a new male, Mozart. Percy has not been reported again.

1995 - 1998: Mom - although banded, 'Mom' was never identified. She was believed to have been banded as a wild bird in Western Canada. 'Mom', together with 'Dad' ('Percy'), raised and fledged 9 chicks of her own (1995 -1, 1997-4, 1998-4) and fledged two foster chicks (1995). 'Mom' was not seen again after the summer of 1998.

1998 - 2000: 'Toledo' was fledged from an urban nest in Toledo, OH in 1995 and came to Hamilton in late 1998. She was killed in a collision with a car in November 2000. Toledo and Percy fledged two foster chicks in 1999, and raised four of their own in 2000.

2001-2003: Madame X replaced Toledo during the winter of 2000-2001. In June 2001 she and Percy produced and fledged two chicks. It has been learned that Madame X was hatched on a bridge on Pennsylvania Route 309, the Cross-Valley Expressway in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Banded as a hatchling on 7 June 1999 she was known to the falcon watchers in Northeast PA as 'Runaround Sue', a name suggested after she was found running along the expressway guide wall one morning.

2002-2003: It appears that Percy was replaced by new male, Mozart, sometime in March or early April 2002. Because the adults move so quickly, the presence of a new male was not known until late May. In June his band number was read and identity confirmed. Mozart was banded in 1999 as a wild bird at Terminal Tower, Public Square, Cleveland, Ohio. Mozart is the son of Zenith (f) and Bullet (m). Mozart and an unbanded female tried to establish a nest at St. Catharines, Ontario in 2001 but were unsuccessful. Exactly when he arrived in Hamilton is uncertain, but based on webcam photos we are now reasonably sure that Mozart was the father of the chicks born in 2002. Mozart disappeared sometime between March 20 and June 12, 2003. This was discovered after the 2003 chicks were banded when observers noted that the adult male attending the nest had no bands on his legs. A male Peregrine carrying the same colour leg band as Mozart was seen at Christie Lake Conservation Area in the Flamborough Township area of Hamilton on Dec. 26, 2003, but it was not possible to confirm that this bird was Mozart.

2003: The new male replacing Mozart was named 'Newbie'. The lack of bands will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to identify Newbie.

2004: Madame X and Newbie returned and fledged four chicks.

2005: Madame X and Newbie returned and hatched four chicks, of which three fledged.

2006: While it appeared that Madame X and Newbie had spent the winter in downtown Hamilton, when it came time for eggs in the nest it was soon obvious that the male is not Newbie. The male was identified as 'Surge', hatched and banded in the Etobicoke, ON nest in 2002.

2007: Madame X was identified by band number in early March 2007. Surge's identity was confirmed on 5 June.

CHICKS:

1996 Birds: 'Alberta' successfully nested in 1997, 1998 and 1999 in Etobicoke and produced many offspring. After the summer of 1999 she engaged in a second territorial battle with a younger female and left the area. She has not been seen since.

1997 Birds: 'Stelco' was identified as nesting in Lansing, MI in 1999. She has nested there again from 2000 through 2006, but only in 2004 did any of her chicks hatch. In 2006 she laid five eggs unsuccessfully. On 30 May 20 2007 it was reported that Stelco had laid five eggs but all had failed.As of April 28, 2008 Stelco and her mate are brooding five eggs in the renovated nest box at the power station in Lansing, MI.

1998 Birds: 'Freedom' was killed in July 1998 in a collision with a Hamilton building during a fight with an American Kestrel. In November 2000 Phoenix was killed near Nanticoke, Ontario in a collision with a car or wire. It is believed that at the time he was setting up a territory at the nearby Nanticoke Generating Station.

1999 Birds: 'George' not only displaced the resident male and nested in London, Ontario in 2000, but also successfully raised and fledged three youngsters alone after his new mate was killed in an electrical storm! He and a new female successfully raised chicks in 2001 and in 2002. March 18, 2003: Sad News - George was found injured in downtown London, apparently after an altercation with another raptor. He was taken to the Wild Bird Clinic at the University of Guelph but unfortunately did not survive.

2000 Birds: Millie was killed before fledging when she collided with a building during one of her first flights.

2001 Birds: Hal has had quite a time since fledging from the nest in July 2001. On January 30, 2002 he was found on the ground in a dazed but otherwise unhurt condition at Chatham, Ontario, about 230km west of Hamilton. He was taken to a rehabilitation facility near Ingersoll, Ontario where no injuries were found, although marks on his feet indicated that he may have received an electric shock. After a week's monitoring Hal was returned to Chatham and released. Then, in mid-April 2002, researchers trying to recover a satellite transmitter from another Peregrine at an industrial site in Clarkson, Ontario (30km north of Hamilton) caught Hal in their net instead! He was reported to be in great shape and acting his typical feisty self. Hal has all the hallmarks of a survivor in the Peregrine world - go Hal!

Well, it turns out that Sal is not a female! During the summer of 2002 he (perhaps we should call him Salvatore?) and a banded but so far unidentified female hatched three chicks at the Mississauga Executive Centre near Highway 403 and Hurontario St. (Hwy. 10). Sal is the second Hamilton-fledged male (after George) to start parental activities only one year after leaving its birth nest. We are waiting to see if Sal returns to Mississauga in 2003.

2002 Birds: Springer, McQuesten and Beasley left the area sometime in the fall.

Sometime in March 2003 Beasley turned up in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Interestingly, Cleveland is the home of Beasley's father, Mozart. She was seen battling with another female in a nesting territory, and later found injured. On April 11, 2003 Beasley underwent surgery to repair a broken ulna (wing bone) at the North Ridgeville Veterinary Clinic. The surgery went very well and she recuperated at the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village, OH, about 15 miles west of Cleveland. Since Cleveland is not far across Lake Erie, there is a good possibility that Beasley was the large immature Peregrine seen in the Nanticoke, ON area during the week before Christmas 2002. After extensive rehabilitation and grooming Beasley was released on March 7, 2004. Sadly, she was found dead about 50 miles away about a month later.

2003 Birds: Bold, Jackson and Hunter fledged successfully and left the Sheraton area in early July. Hunter took up residence in the area of Victoria Park and was seen there as late as August 21, 2003. Sadly, on August 20 we received news that Bold had been killed in a collision with an airplane near Toronto International Airport. April 6, 2005 - word was received that Jackson has been identified as the new male at the St. Lawrence Cement Plant nest in Mississauga. May 23, 2005 - sadly, we have recently learned that Jackson was killed in a collision with a car and that the St. Lawrence Cement nest appears to have been abandoned for this year.

2004 Birds: Cootes, Macassa and Macnab and Dundas fledged successfully. Sometime during the fall of 2004 Dundas lost a leg but this has not slowed him down much. In late February 2005 he was filmed by a CHTV Videographer. June 15, 2005: Dundas has set up a territory at Limeridge Mall on Hamilton Mountain. In the spring of 2006 Dundas and a female companion were seen setting up housekeeping in Kitchener. In March 2007 Dundas was photographed in the Hamilton area at the Burlington Skyway Bridge, apparently trying to entice a female to a nest box on the structure.At least one egg was laid but as of 10 June 2007 it appears to have failed. Dundas and the female are still in the area. In June 2006 the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources in the USA identified Cootes as a Peregrine nesting at a LG&E (Louisville Gas & Electric) company power station in that state. This is the furthest away that a Hamilton born falcon has been identified. A 6 April 2007 report advises that Cootes and her mate have taken up residence in a specially prepared nest box and are incubating 4 eggs.

2005 Birds: Named after famous aircraft in this 60th anniversary year of the end of WWII, Anson (f), Canso (m), Harvard (m) and Lancaster (f) grew and flew. Sadly, Canso was killed in a collision with a building. The other three chicks have fledged from the nest.

2006 Birds: Albion, Sherman and Webster, named after Hamilton area waterfalls and all female, fledged successfully.

2007 birds: Jump Up and Blue Foot were banded on 5 June 2007 and fledged successfully.

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