Peregrine Falcons Hamilton 2009 Season

[Winston]

Hello again! I thought I would start up a new thread for the season since some people enjoy the falcon info and webcam.

Well I have been watching Madame X and her mate all winter. (yet to be determined if it is the same mate as last yer!) This will be the 15th year of falcon activity in Hamilton at the Sheraton site. They are not the typical migrant peregrine rather more the urban style! They love to roost on the CIBC sign on a downtown building! They are spending alot of time lately around the nest area which is on a ledge at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Hamilton Ontario. For those of you interested in watching them they can bee seen live throught the nesting period. The site has a new night vision type camera which will be nice! you can never see in there once it;s dark.

I will update once there is some new info but generally no eggs for awhile yet. Here is the link to the web cam! Enjoy

http://falcons.hamiltonnature.org/

Cindy

[Love4himies]

Yay, I watched this one last year. In Edmonton there were some Falcons who nested on a cement silo.

[Chris21711]

Hope to see some pics up Winston like you posted last year. Looking forward to it

[Winston]

One from the other day where they were checking out the nest. They have been digging out the scrape too! Usually eggs arrive around mothers day.

[Winston]

I am still not convinved its the same male this year! We will have to wait and see.

[Winston]

Here are Madame X and Surge the resident Hamilton Falcons

[Winston]

Todays Update!

EGGS SOON?

March 25, 2009 - Madame X and Surge are spending much more time in the nest area and on the ledge. Perhaps in the picture at left they are making sure things are ready for egg-laying, which should start in the next week.


She has been in the nest alot today so hopefully we see an egg soon!

[Winston]

We have 1 egg.....more to come!

[Chris21711]

No pic Winston :sad:

Winston, are they earlier with their egg laying this year?

[chico2]

Winston,how did I miss this,beautiful pics of beautiful birds
Are they tagged?? I think they did that last year,didn't they?
Thank's for keeping us updated once again

[Winston]

Chris yes they are 2 weeks ahead of schedule roughly! This is the 15th year of Falcons nesting at this site at the Sheraton Hotel downtown Hamilton.

Madame X is in her 12th year. I think the reason she has maintained the nest is also because her and Surge do not migrate. They stay in Hamilton all year round so they dont bear all the elements in travelling through a migration period!

Those beuatiful pics of her and Surge were taken 2 years ago by someone in the Hamilton Naturalist Club! Good shots eh!! Madame X is a fantastic Mom and Surge has proved to be a good mate! Madame X certainly has had her share of mates...this is her 3rd or 4th...

The excitement begins in late June and July when they are fledging!

[Love4himies]

Oh it is getting exciting now.

[Winston]

Update from the Naturalists Club

At 14:45 this afternoon Falconwatchers in our Stelco Tower viewing were able to see a second large brown egg through a telescope. The egg is also in view when Madame X leaves the scrape. While they were watching the nest the male Peregrine landed on the ledge outside the Stelco window with his bands clearly visible, allowing us to confirm that he is indeed Surge, back for his fourth year at the Sheraton Hamilton nest. Stay tuned.

Woo hoo! thats 2 now!

[Chris21711]

Originally Posted by Winston

Chris yes they are 2 weeks ahead of schedule roughly!

Early Spring - WoooHooo

Madame X certainly has had her share of mates...this is her 3rd or 4th...

My kind of woman

!

Thanks for the updates Winston, I love it

[chico2]

Winston,that's amazing,it's the same dad
What do they do in the winter-time,I guess nobody knows??

[Winston]

Actually Chico they stay in Hamilton just not on the nest ledge! They are not the typical migrating peregrine falcon. They have become urbanized (if there is such a word!)

They love to roost a few blocks away from the ledge on the CIBC Bank Building in the downtown core. Most people hav eno idea they are roosting above unless they hear them! then you know it. Having said that I am sure they do leave at times when they are not in the family mode of raiding kids...but they stay around locally pretty much.

She usually has between 4-5 eggs in her clutch. As she has ages the eggs will become fewer. Apparently a healthy viable egg is more reddish brown in color. When they are pale its not usually good.

They are super parents and i certainly have witnesses them training their babes! it is simply amazing. I have seen many of the dads entice them off the ledge when he felt it was time for them to leave! really amazing to see!

[chico2]

Winston,that's great ,that they feel comfortable in the city,they are so beautiful.
The Hawks don't come here anymore,I guess there is enough field-mice in the fields to feed them.
We still have a few fields left,but soon to be built up

[Winston]

Update from today!

April 1, 2009 - Surge continues to woo Madame X with stunning aerial displays; swooping and climbing, loop the loops - you name it. And it's working too! On Tuesday afternoon after Madame X left the nest, exposing the second egg, both birds were very active in the air. At first it appeared they were chasing an intruder, but they weren�t. It was the Peregrine equivalent of ballroom dancing - they were flying and hovering together. Surge would dive right at Madame X but not hit her. It was quite the display! Eventually Surge headed to the nest ledge to incubate the eggs and Madame X left for a break. About 3:45 Madame X returned. Surge hopped up off the eggs, marched down the nest ledge to meet her and watchers had their avian biology lesson for the day! Stay tuned. More eggs should be on the way. Our experience is that the female will lay an egg roughly every other day until she is finished.

[Love4himies]

Thanks for keeping us updated, Winston. I would have loved to have witnessed the flight.

[Chris21711]

Originally Posted by Love4himies

Thanks for keeping us updated, Winston. I would have loved to have witnessed the flight.

Me too, it would be great to witness the two.

[Winston]

Its been a rough few days weather wise but hopefully things brighten up this weekend! heres an update from the site:

FOUR ON THE FLOOR!!!!

April 8, 2009 - Poor Madame X. Three days of snow, rain, sleet and COLD! What a way to treat a Lady! "Hmphhh, well I'll show you," she said - and she did. When Madame X took a break from incubating around noon today, viewers were clearly able to see that there were four eggs in the scrape! Way to go 'X'! With warmer weather moving into the area tonight, perhaps the rest of the incubation period will be a little easier for her and for Surge, who does his fair share of the incubating too.

The Peregrines and Falconwatchers want to thank the Sheraton Hamilton Hotel for delaying needed repairs to the lights in the large signs on the south and north sides of the building. In addition to close attention from the adults for workers, any activity on the roof at this stage could cause enough upset for the nest to be abandoned, which would be a real shame since the birds have come so far this season.

[Chris21711]

Thanks for the update Winston, didn't they have four last year also? That nothing disturbs them too much.

[Winston]

Actually yes..she has usually 4-5...if there are 5 most likely only 4 will hatch...but sadly last yr only 2 survived..

I am hoping this year we have no issues with respiratory illnesses..past couple of years that has been problem. Apparently it is from the pigeons they eat..I am not sure why?

We named one Blue Foot a couple of years ago because she had blue feet and that is one of the signs of this virus that they get...it was really funny cause you could always tell her apart from her sister! since falcons have bright yellow feet she certainly stood out! made it easier for us to see which bird it was from looking htrought he binoculars!

[chico2]

Winston,that's great,4 eggs,hopefully this stupid weather turns warmer
How long is the incubation period normally??
Come on sun and warmth,lets look after this mom,dad and eggs

[Winston]

Its about 30 days Chico! so Mom & Dadd have a long way to go! But I have all the confidence in the world in Madame X she is honestly amazing. She is a wonderful mom...she always has been the boss too! all female peregrines rule the roost so to speak..they are usually much larger than the males!

Both her and Surge are great providers for their young too! Sadly another animal has to die but I guess that is nature?? She always knows when one is not getting enough and will go and make sure they eat. It can get pretty hectic in the nest with 4 babes going crazy for the food and because they hatch a couple of days a part the oldest is usually the biggest and gets the food! They are so smart they even know when to cut back the food to force them to be lighter for their first flight! it also makes them hungry and when Dad flys by with a kill in his talons they usually are hungry enough and light enough for that first flight!

Amazing to watch!

[chico2]

Winston,thank's ,my Bird-book does not teach me about things like that,they must be really smart birds to recognize,who is not getting enough food.
We have seen in the bird-houses I have,how the loudest and biggest babies seem to get the most food:sad:but these are Sparrows I am talking about.
Today,we saw and heard two hawks,one huge one and a smaller one,probably male and female,they made that really nice sound,soaring up there together,just beautiful.

[Winston]

Chico I think its pretty much like that will animals ..the strongest will survive! There are alot of these nest near Toronto you know! you could always check one out some time!

I think I will make a list of all the love bird cams I have from all around the worls and post it somewhere! it is amazing Chico..There is even a live cam in Africa. I looked at it one night and it is set by a watering hole so to speak and there were hyenas?? not sure of the spelling! live on there! during the day you saw zebras...even the penquins in antartica! love that one! I think one of my favs is the bald eagle nest!

Madame X has been a strong bird to have kept her nest for 12 years and raise as many babes as she has had! I think it would be close to 30 or more !

[chico2]

Winston,I would love to see some more Live-Cams.
I never go in to Toronto,maybe once a year,when my son has to go to Toronto General Hosp.(I can't stand being in Toronto)
But we do go to my other son who lives on Hamilton Mountain.
If you don't want to post too many here,I 'll PM you my e-mail addy.ok..

[Winston]

Update from today



THREE 'LADIES IN WAITING'

April 17, 2009 - At 10:33 yesterday morning Madame X did a little egg turning in the bright sunshine and let the camera see two of the eggs. Judging from how high she is sitting in the nest, it looks as though all four eggs are pretty big. As she and Surge were sharing incubation duties we received news that Stelco, our 1997 female who has been nesting in Lansing, Michigan for the last eight years, had laid her first egg of the 2009 season. Meanwhile, at the Ottawa Crowne Plaza Hotel the adults there, Diana and Connor, are also incubating four eggs, the first time the Ottawa nest has seen four at once. Stay tuned. Our chicks should hatch right around Mother's Day.

[Chris21711]

Thanks for the continued updates Winston