What a Week and a Bit!

Well we were riding a high with our Peregrine Falcon family in Etobicoke until recently. A call came in about a downed bird and I was asked if I could meet security and check things out. I was up in Vaughan at the time, hopped into my truck and raced down the Hwy 400 to Islington and Bloor. I won't talk about the speeds but I did get there in some pretty impressive time.

I met security and they took me for a walk where the bird was reported. Nothing. An extended search. Still no downed Peregrine Falcon to be seen on the roof tops over the concourse. Hell, I would be happy to find a Pigeon who needed help at this point. Still nothing. Mixed emotions on coming up empty as my adrenaline was still rushing. I'm happy to not find an injured Falcon, or worse yet, a dead one. But come on, give me something. I was denied. Eventually I did find comfort when I cooled down that there was no bird to rescue or recover.

A while later, I am on my way to work. I get the call that they are still reporting a downed Falcon and if I could go again as they have pin-pointed where the bird is. Unfortunately I cannot. Our friend Tracy makes the trip and sadly she did find a downed Falcon. A young male named Glider. He had hit the glass towers, breaking his neck, dying on impact (at least it was quick) and his lifeless body spiraled down to the Earth. No I did not see it with him but have experienced this in prior years. The impact is loud. The visual is crushing to ones heart and spirit.

Glider at the banding ceremony on May 28, 2015.

It wasn't more than a few days when reports came in that our seemingly star bird Mel was in trouble. Mel was the first of the 4 chicks to take flight and was doing amazingly. I was not a part of this story and have only heard bits and pieces, but on his final hour(s) he somehow managed to get into someone's condo in the area through an open window or balcony door. He was rescued by Mark Nash, founder of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation. His injuries were quite severe and poor Mel died before getting to Mark's vehicle on route for medical help.

Mel at the banding ceremony.

Mel during his early days of flight about the area of Islington and Bloor.

What can I say? RIP you poor Falcons? Way it goes? I know... "this *bleeping* sucks!" I can say that it's not been a great couple years at our site as we've got a 50% mortality rate with our fledged birds. In the big picture, we really are powerless to help these young birds at this stage. Nobody can do anything standing on the ground watching them hundreds of feet up in the air. Of course some measures could be taken to coat the glass towers, even those top panels by the ledges where the birds go, to give them some idea that this is an obstacle and they cannot fly through. Damn that reflective glass. Sadly it's turned into yet another year that I would sooner not think about. I wish the surviving birds Ferris and Ninja to be safe and may we meet again when you are young adults setting up territories somewhere in North America.

But this is all old news now. It's so weeks ago now!

How about last week...

If you live in the GTA and aren't living under a rock, I am sure you have heard about the oil spill in Mimico Creek. A tractor trailer rollover at Hwy 427 and 401 on Monday. The load was some tranformers, which when tipped over, spilled out some 8,000 litres of mineral oil, a lot of which poured into the creek nearby.

I saw the remnants of the accident on my way home from work Monday night. The wreckage was barely recognizable as a transport truck and trailer. I surely muttered some expletives as I passed it all and had no idea the shit that would follow because of this. It seems no one did.

A "shout out" came late Tuesday morning via Toronto Wildlife to any and every volunteer that could help with this. It was the early stages and just getting people to a meeting area where many Ducks were being rounded up was a start. I didn't have a lot of time but wanted to help. I arrive on scene at West Deane Park to a mass of media, fire dept and of course the rescue team from Toronto Wildlife.

It's a bit of a blur now, just so much was happening. They had already caught over 30 Ducks by this point and most were already up at TWC now. I ended up taking another 4 Ducks to the centre and on my way back west, as my time to start work was very near, I stopped in at a No Frills and grabbed some more boxes to drop off to the rescue team.

It was something to see with the media, gathering all the footage they can on this breaking story, and in my time there, a few of them followed Stacey and I to my truck with the Ducks. A couple camera crews and one man from The Toronto Star. They video'd or snapped photos of us putting the boxed birds in the back of the GMC. I could feel my nerves getting all jittery with the attention. A few questions were asked, which I answered the best I could in that moment. I so wanted to put my sunglasses on in front of the cameras. I couldn't stop shifting my eyes from one camera to another even though they weren't the ones where the person was who asked the questions. I later learned that my hair and backside were shown on CP24, and later on CTV news.

Wednesday I was back in the area trying to help out any way I could before work. Once again, not a lot of time. In my brief stint I played my role as a volunteer driver shuffling rescue staff to and from various parts of the area with equipment and ducks, as well as a CityNews camera woman. Angie and I grabbed a whack of Gatorade to pass to the rescue peeps, which was greatly appreciated. Even if I cannot do much search and rescue, helping those who are doing this, is another way.

More Ducks being loaded up and heading to Toronto Wildlife.

After yet another Duck rescue, Andrew assists Stacey back across Mimico Creek. A lighter moment during a crazy morning.

Thursday I set out on my own, searching Mimico Creek, starting from Eglinton and East Mall and following it down to Martingrove and Rathburn. A little over 2 kms one way. I spent nearly 3 hours in the area searching for more oiled Ducks.

Starting my search just south/east of Eglington and East Mall in Etobicoke.

Dense greenery along the creek, making it difficult to scope out for ducks.  I did find many foot paths going to the water and occasionally I did have to make my own.

Catch nets of sorts for the oil spill.

Some real shallow spots.

It was a pretty walk and the area is just full of birds.  I noted Song Sparrows, Catbirds, Baltimore Orioles, Indigo Buntings and many others through my journey.

A few Rabbits seen in my journey.

First Duck I found across the creek.  *note*  just carrying the little point/shoot camera with me, fits easy in the pocket if I need free hands

Super zoom crop shot of the oiled Duck.  I stayed on the other side of the creek since I did not have the tools to try and catch a Duck.  I should add items like a large net to my artillery but really at this point, rescues aren't my thing...  but over time, they may be.

Rescue on site rescuing the Duck.

It was near time for me to leave. Toronto Wildlife asked me if I could help them with one more thing, if time allowed. They had 4 juvenile Pigeons that needed releasing somewhere, with a flock. Everyone knows about our flock thanks to my posts about Pierre. I said "absolutely" to bringing them home. What's another 4 birds to the mass we have here? And if they stick with this flock, they will know this is a pretty good place to come for food and water as well as following my birds, finding a decent roost.

Young Pigeons ready to be set free into a great big world.

Two birds left their confinements in seconds, finding spots in the trees along the property line to land and get their bearings.

Ho hum.  Remaining two birds who were really pokey. In time they both left and went up to a nearby tree. 

About 15 birds were present.  No Pierre and his regular crew; but another group we call "The Helmets".  A few of them appear to be from the same line with white caps on their heads (helmets).  I had to get ready for work.  I really wanted to stay home and watch how things went with them.

There was nothing to really distinguish these young birds from the others.  If only they were banded, I could see if they came back or not.  I wished them all well and away I went.

Friday arrives and I am exhausted.  I am sad too.  Today, July 17th 2015, would have been Meadow's 12th birthday.  I think about her every day, I miss her so much.  Milestone moments like this and others to come in the first year are going to be crushing.  As much as I think about all the great moments with her over the years, cherishing the bond we had, I cannot break the overwhelming feeling of sadness.  Our new kitten couple, Molly and Merry, tried their best to keep me occupied by tearing up the living room and getting into things so I didn't have time to sit and think.  It worked only temporarily.  I had much to do around home before work after days of neglect and even my being so busy was only a temporary fix.

Having a birthday in July...  nice warm weather and lots of outside time.

One of Meadow's favorite things to do on her birthday, and any other summer day...

I want this day over with sooner than later.  I want to sleep and wake up to Saturday.  But I still have work to get through before that can happen.

Really at this point the animal moments have come to an end but I have to add this last bit, something that may offend some but it was a breaking moment from my mood, and maybe there was some kind of creature or dozen with little eyes and pulses involved?

I'm at the Husky station near work picking up some lottery tickets.  As I get out of the truck, looking for some money, I take notice to this woman at the pump filling her car.  One hand pumping the gas and the other is on her crotch.  Okaaaaaaaaaaaay.  And?  Well, this other hand was really raking her pubic area.  I mean hard and fast.  No way it was not being noticed by those around her.  I go inside the station, get my tickets and in she comes.  She's trying to keep herself together at this point but it's still clear as daylight that she is very uncomfortable.  She's paying for the gas and I overhear her asking the attendant if they sell bug spray.  I'm dying on the inside and keep going.  The only thing at the Husky that could help her is maybe a splash of high octane gasoline and match.  Bwahahahaha!  I needed that.  Hopefully she found something to ease her suffering later that day. And a reminder on the importance of washing your hands after pumping gas (I have hand sanitizer in the truck).

So far this week is pretty low key. I'm good with that. Cheers on this Whiskey Wednesday!

If you are still with me after that last paragraph, still wanting to be my friend, on a final note.... 110 Ducks were rescued from the creek along with 1 Sandpiper. Something of this magnitude has not happened with Toronto Wildlife before (let's hope it does not happen again). They handled this quite well with lots of help from volunteers and people from the public, those who live in the area. My daily roles in this were small, I say I am but one pixel in a big picture. All of you could pride yourselves and be a pixel too by helping out. How? Donations either financially or visit their website and check out their "wish list" if you do not have time to be a volunteer.

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3 Years with Pierre

Happy Anniversary to Pierre!

3 years ago today he flew into our yard, walked the length of it, hopped up the deck steps and jumped into the laps of Angie and I while we enjoyed our first morning coffee.

We both looked at him, wondering what the heck was up with this bird. He spent the weekend with us out back, and even entertained us and friends during a backyard BBQ.

And who knew that this was going to turn into a unique friendship between him and I? I sure didn't. But over time, I knew he was special and he wasn't going away. We have a bond that goes beyond the food offerings in my hand. Anyone who has followed my blog over the years, or the countless photos on Facebook, knows this to be true.

The life of a Pigeon is tough. A good sized bird (good eating for a bird of prey) with little defense other than some great maneuverability in flight when speed is not enough. They really are dependent on us humans for survival. They find roosts in the structures we create and they eat what we discard. To many, the Pigeon is a pest bird and deserves to die in the talons of a Hawk or Falcon. Some who cannot wait for nature to take its course on the Pigeons do horrible things to rid of them from illegal shooting to poisoning. I remember years ago seeing someone walking through a downtown park and trying to kick the numerous Pigeons on the path. The man cursed loudly at the birds. No bird was hurt in that moment and the guy looked like a total idiot to others.

I can admit I was not a big fan of the birds back in the early days of backyard bird feeding. I didn't hate them. I would never hurt them. I was just annoyed at their backyard bird feeder etiquette. Over time I learned to live with the Pigeons, and changed how things were done out back... different feeders and different seeds. Feeders less accessible to these big birds (ones they cannot grab on to) and better quality bird seed not full of junk and filler (the cheapest stuff you can buy at a grocery store or Canadian Tire as an example are just full of crap the other birds will throw to the ground). I learned to accept them, live with them and over time enjoy them. Pierre certainly helped with that.

Pigeons are actually quite intellectual. They are very personable too. Of course having Pierre come right to my hand allows me to see them differently than most. As a few of his flock figured out what he and I had going on, I got know more of them as individuals too. All with their own personalities and relationships with other birds in the flock.

Pierre is the longest surviving bird in his flock, of the ones I recognize anyway. I plan to do a blog on the individuals over the years as a few are no longer with us. And I know the day will come when Pierre will be a bird of the past as well. I do my best to look out for him while he is visiting. He is very well fed as you can imagine. Coming to my hand, he does not have to fight for food with the others. I spoil him rotten. But I can't always protect him as he is a wild bird. He comes and goes as he chooses. He has many dangers in daily routines and even coming to our yard, the threat of a bird of a prey or some free roaming cat looms. Even if he avoids all such dangers in his life, eventually age will catch up with him. Nothing lives forever.

I enjoy every visit we have together. From our personal feeding moments to just watching him as he hangs around our property, mingling with the other Pigeons and acting like a bunch of people at a social. I find peace the days he chooses to nap in our trees or on lawn. I laugh when he enjoys the bird bath just a little too much, spending lengthy amounts of time splashing about.

Watching him and his girl "the missus" over the kitchen roof, enjoying the warm sun on the roof shingles.

He's been around days when I needed him just to be with me, as time with animals is great therapy. Not that there is any short supply of animals inside or outside of our home but he is one of the special ones.

I pride myself on knowing how much of a positive impact I have had on him. I've made many of his days much easier, never going hungry, and ensuring he is stuffed to the eyeballs on the coldest of days even as it feels my fingers are going to fall off from the chill.

Not everyone has been fortunate enough to meet Pierre while visiting us. For those who have been *blessed*, he does leave them with a changing moment in their life. I guess the most stand out story of this is the Global news reporter Laura Zilke who came here in January 2014 to do a story on helping the birds through a harsh winter. I will attach the blog link here. But a long story short, after Pierre arrived near the end of the Global peeps time here, and he landed in her hand for a feeding... Laura thanked me for the amazing opportunity, saying how they do so many terrible stories day in, day out of tragedies, this was special, uplifting and something she would not forget. Over a year later there is still a little chit chat regarding Pierre between Laura and I on Twitter.

I can go on and on about Pierre. A lot of stuff that I have said in other blogs.

I will end this with "Happy Anniversary Pierre! Let's have another great year together!"

A couple video links from this summer. Tantrum video. Just us video.

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Meet Merry and Molly!

Hello viewers of my blog! May I present to you all Merry and Molly!

Orphaned sister cats that we adopted and brought to their "furever" home here with us on June 27th.

They were found at the wee age of about 2 weeks old. Their eyes were not even opened yet. It is suspected that their mother met an untimely demise on the streets of Toronto. Toronto Animal Services put a call out to the masses about anyone willing to take these 2 darlings in, foster them, bottle feed them all hours of the day/night and hopefully they'd survive these first crucial days/weeks and maybe get into the adoption system.

Our vet clinic answered the call. And everyone there took part in helping these two young felines. Amazing that people gave their time so willingly to help raise them over the next number of weeks.

Angie and I met them at one point, then went home and gave a lot of thought about taking 2 kittens in. Kittens! Hoo boy! The insanity. Plus the fact we have 2 Budgies in the house, both rescues as some of you already know, and we love them dearly.

A few days passed and we decided we could make this work. We both accepted that shit is going to happen in the house, things will be disrupted and things may get broken; but we could make this work. Most importantly no one was going to get hurt... cats or Budgies.

First steps into our home can be seen here.

It's been a couple weeks now with them here with us. A big animal adventure at home, not allowing me a whole lot of time to get out and about. That is okay by me. The days are pretty warm now and I like the time at home, with them, and those who visit our backyard.

At times it seems quite soon after Meadow left us, and other times it seems much longer.  Anyone with animals knows the joy of having furry family members, their love is genuine and can lift a person up on even the crappiest of days.  These cats are not a replacement for Meadow.  There is no replacing her, like there is no replacing any other animal or person in our lives.  We are all individuals. 

Please enjoy the photos of our newest family members and I will see you all again soon!  Angie has blogged about them here and here if you would like to see more about them in photos and words.  Oh and one more video, Molly seeing the brush for the first time.  They love being brushed now!

Welcome home Merry.

Wee little Molly.

She sleeps like a boss, anywhere and everywhere, anyhow.

The shoe rack was a great source of entertainment in the first days of being here.

Caption this...

Told ya so.  Like a boss!

A good size reference as they squeeze into a case of pop.

Merry wants to tell y'all something.  She loves it here.

I think my choice of music...  heavy metal...  is having an influence on Molly.

Hugging and squeezing our new babies.

We all enjoy the down time.

Oh yes we certainly do.

Sometimes I need a little help unwinding though.

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P is for Peregrine

Well it was a very busy week last week assisting in the fledge watch of our young Falcons at the Etobicoke nest site. Most mornings I was awake by 5am, at the site before 6am, spend 4 hours or so watching the birds, and then head home to recharge before starting work.

It was a pretty good watch this year. Only one of the birds, Ferris, got into enough trouble and needed rescuing. Everyone else stayed high up and has not hit anything. Let's hope it stays that way.

I did miss some action, which is par for the course when I can't be there from sun up to sun down. But those stories are not mine to tell.

I did find myself one evening hopping out of the truck and seconds later was dashing out into Bloor Street, escorting Mel as he took a low flight across the street. Traffic was well off and while I could not run along side this speedy bird, I hoped my presence in the street would slow any traffic heading towards us from either direction. And if Mel could not get any height, that I could be there to pick him up before he could possibly make a dash out into the street. He did get enough height to land on the concourse above Bloor, about one story up from the sidewalk, and that is where he spent the night. Next morning he was gone. He fledged on Friday June 19th and by Monday, he had found his way back up to the top of the nest building and on the ledge at that!

Not sure how long he could legally "park" himself there. LoL! No Peregrines allowed! *groan*

Close up of Mel.

Ferris took first flight on Sunday June 21st. He explored the area late in the afternoon and little by little came lower and lower to the ground. It seems he picked a better spot to spend the night. *wink wink*

Monday morning he was still in the same spot.

This shot gives you a better idea on how low he is to street level and how close he is to Bloor Street with passing traffic. I'm directly across the street from him, watching, waiting, growing roots under my shoes, collecting road dust as the hours passed us by.

P is for Peregrine!

About 2.5 hours later Ferris took flight. He jetted south, right over my head and the line of low buildings behind me. He did a circle and tried to get height, heading back to the nest tower. A smart move, realizing this was not possible, he turned again, headed south across the street, over my head again, over the buildings and had a time out in the neighbourhood somewhere. Bruce, Roger and myself searched for him without a sighting. So many trees he could have gone into and no birds were alarm calling to his presence. I remember last year with Skyla, she took a beating from Crows and Robins in a tree out front of someone's house all afternoon.

Anyways, a couple more hours of watching, occasional search for Ferris, and I had to leave to get ready for work.

A few more hours passed when Bruce spotted Ferris coming out from the neighbourhood, flying across Bloor, trying to get the height and once again not being successful. He did a bit of "Peregrine Ping Pong" as I call it, hitting the buildings as he struggled with what he was trying to achieve. And once again, being smart about things, backing out of this idea and now looking for a safe place to land again. Unfortunately his energy was quite spent. He missed a roof top, the Bell building to be exact, by about 4 feet. He caught the wall and tried to climb up but he dropped to the ground, less than 10 feet from where Bruce stood. Bruce quickly gathered him up, set him in a carrier and tucked him away in the ESL security area to rest the remainder of the day away. Ferris was released on the roof top after dark and got another chance at this flying thing the next day.

Ninja took his first flight on June 22nd, some point during the search for Ferris, Ninja snuck out. The most amazing thing happened that he found his way home, back on the nest ledge later that night. I've never seen or heard of such a thing in my 5 years of helping watch this site!

The week got blurry as the days passed, fatigue catching up with me.

Glider was the last to take flight and I cannot remember the exact day he did. Thursday June 25th I am thinking right now. He did stay high and mostly out of sight. To this day, he's still up there, doing great.

A cam shot on the 25th, Ferris first thing in the morning. Amazing to me that they are making it back on to that nest ledge so early in the days of flight.

Look up, way up, and you can see the nest ledge, right below the top of the building. Can you see the cameras up there?

I arrived later in the morning on the 26th. I only saw mom, O'Connor, high up on the nest building, and she was screaming her head off to something in the east. What? No idea. I did not see any of the kids, nor did I see dad Lucky. I gave Tracy an update of this after spending 30 or so minutes looking around. I said I had to run some errands and would return in about an hour. As I got back to the site, I discover Tracy is now on scene. She had spotted a couple of the kids by this time, we did a search of the perimeter and found another. Great seeing them but now to get some tape colors. Tracy picked off Mel (white) and Ferris (yellow) but this third bird was in such an angle that we could not see his legs. Time for me there was limited, I had to leave for work soon. Tracy walked me back to my truck so we could talk about the birds and things some more. As we get to my truck, out come some of the young Falcons. The next 10 minutes, so high in the sky, was the reward of doing this watch. The kids were playing! It was Mel and Ferris! What a sight to behold! What sounds they made as they chased each other up there.

After I left, Tracy managed to get all 4 of the young birds, positively ID them by tape color and all was good.

The watch is done. Nothing we can do now other than spot checks and if a bird ever gets into trouble, there are enough people in the area who know who to call. One of our fellow watchers, Kathy, works in the building, so she is there 5 days a week.

I can't believe it is over. There was such a build up from their hatches early in May to this watch. The anticipation, the excitement, the stress... and now it's done until next year.

This certainly was one of the better watches in my time. While we stress about the birds there was no real stress this time. Nobody got hurt. And nobody died.

Wow! 11 months to go until this all ramps up again.

Lastly, curious people from social media stop in at the site. One or two a year come looking for me. I'm assuming it's people from the birding pages where I share the updates and am always seeking extra eyes to the skies. If I am not there, they ask if I am around, never say who they are and end up leaving. Introduce yourself and it would be nice to know who is coming out. Perhaps communicate with me about my times at the watch and we can coordinate a meeting time. Don't be shy you guys. :)

As always, I thank you all for stopping in. Back again soon with some great news!

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It's time for the Falcons... again

Once again I remind myself that when I do a blog, to finish that blog... grrrr... still have an update for May sitting, waiting completion.

Now, mid June nears, and it's just about time to start the Peregrine Falcon fledge watch at Etobicoke Sunlife (Islington and Bloor). The kids are up there doing a lot of wing flapping the last couple days, and very soon will take their first big leaps off that ledge so high up. It's exciting and scary as anything for them, and for us who watch over them.... err, under them, from the sidewalk below.

It's a real struggle with some of the nest sites about the GTA. I'm not talking about all the dangers these young birds face, but with the lack of interested people in keeping an eye on them. There is a lot of time where it's like watching paint dry. Ho hum! Boring! And some people cannot stand that. That is the time when watchers get to know each other, share stories from the previous years, other birding/nature things, or just shoot the shit in general. Frank and I had a lot of good guy through some watches, unfortunately he is not with us anymore.

Some people don't want to come down and pay to park, not even for an hour or two.

Others, the ledge is too high, making it tough to see the birds and bad for photos. I've had a few people come down with cameras, scoff at the shitty site and leave. Meh, good riddance in my eyes.

Sure we all have lives, we work, we have families, we have other interests. But the Falcon watch really isn't that long, and even an hour or two the odd day sure can make a difference. It may be just giving someone a bathroom break or a laugh through some dull times. Or, it may be at a moment where all hell breaks loose, Falcon kids are struggling and falling, and people step in at that last moment, catching a grounded bird before he ends up on Bloor Street in traffic.

One of our young birds this year at the banding ceremony. Meet Mel.

One never knows what can happen during the watch. The birds can be unpredictable. And so can the general public. We've had women remove their tops in a moment, where they found themselves with a young grounded bird, and it was just them and the bird alone. Nothing to cover and carry the bird off with, and off goes a top. How's that for a story?!?! I tell people the world is full of weirdos and standing still in one spot, in Toronto, you are bound to run into a few. One of the Falcon blogs I make mention of a strange guy unsure what I am doing, he could not see the young Falcon from his view point, so he mimicked me and my motions, looking at me, looking at the wall, etc. and suddenly breaks out into song, singing "rain drops keep falling on my head". I can't make this stuff up.

I am going to attach a few Falcon blogs here from the past. The good, the bad, the exciting. I still enjoy re-visiting a couple of these and maybe you will too. I don't think this is a cheat by doing so. It's like a re-fresher, and perhaps someone new to my blog has not seen these. Maybe they will want to know where and when they could come down to our nest site and help, or want to know of another site closer to them.

First off, despite this being a few years ago now, I still hold out hope this crazy lady Falcon will show herself somewhere in the continent one day. Meet Layton.

Almost a year later, this blog here, of my morning alone with 4 fledged Falcons at the Rexdale site is still one a few people talk about. It excites but also scares some. I've probably read this one 5 or 6 times in the last 10 months.

And one more, sharing a dark moment with one of the birds. It's not all rainbows and sunshine, shits and giggles, at a Peregrine Falcon fledge watch. Grab the Kleenex if you care to read this one.

Some of us are watching our Etobicoke kids closely now via the web cam, as in the coming days, they will take flight. I save images and share them on social media for others to see. Here are a couple.

Mom, O'Connor, feeding one of her not so little boys the other evening.

Dad, Lucky, checking in on his first family 9 days earlier than the shot above. Amazing how quickly these birds change at this stage of their life.

Anyways, I am going to be quite occupied the next 10 days or so. I hate not blogging. I enjoy blogging. I have things to share. Lately, I'm just not feeling it. I struggle with words. I know I am still dealing with the loss of Meadow. I think I am okay and then something happens, stuff I am not ready to talk about or share with anyone other than my wife Angie. I know not everyone will get it, what I could tell. Sure I share stories, thoughts and feelings through these blogs and at times it raises an eyebrow. In the end though, I think my honesty wins over people before passing judgement.

Thanks for checking in, not giving up on my blog. I know there will be a story or two coming from the watch, and maybe I will finish the May update as we had a lot happen.

The watch in Etobicoke should be in full swing by this Friday, June 19th, and run for a week to 10 days.

If you can't join us, please wish the birds well, and us to keep our sanity.

A young PEFA from last summer. I don't always like to share the images because it leads some to come to a watch and expect to see a bird in close view, right then and there, like it's waiting for them, and poses for the people. Why is it that some people don't understand wildlife?

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How About a Quickie?

Hi everyone! How's things going for you all in the first bit of June? Very well I hope.

It's been about a month since I blogged. Time sure does fly! I had a shift change for a week, which turned things upside down for me, then a couple weeks of vacation and back to work this past week which meant getting back into routines and here I am some weeks later.

I am working on a catch up blog, one of my famous things to do, just throwing tons of bits and pieces at yas about all the animals around me. But until I get that done, later this week, offering you a quickie. Who doesn't like a quickie?

Okay, stopping the quickie bits before I fall into the gutter with my blue collar humor. LoL!

This past Monday, dreading returning to work, not that I hate work, but hated the end of our vacation, I had to run an errand and as I got ready to go out for a bit, I felt something. It was a calling sort of. Something told me to visit a certain park very close to our home and a certain bird was coming to mind loud and clear. I'm not one to pass on such a vibe. I occasionally get that with animals and a couple times I can recall the vibe with lottery tickets, never picking a big winner, but a $3 ticket purchase giving me $25 as an example. Ya, maybe I am a bit weird, but aren't we all in our own way? I just don't always choose to hide it.

So, errand done, off I went to this park. What bird was in my mind? A Great Horned Owl. I've seen this bird in the park before, and usually chance upon it on average 3 times a year over the last 4 years. Although I went over a year and a half between sightings, not seeing it in 2014 at all.

I arrive at the park, get out of the truck and to the west was a Crow squawking his head off flying south. Now they are pretty vocal birds most of the times but they do lead me to Barred and Great Horned Owls on occasion. I took it as a sign that my vibe was not pulling my leg.

Anytime I have seen this Owl, it's always been in the same tree and on the same branch. I make my way there first and no Owl is to be seen. Okay, time to start looking.

I do visit this park much more than 3x a year, just so you know. And whenever I do, I do keep my eyes and ears open for this bird.

A few squawky Blue Jays are near, flying back and forth. Another very vocal bird but they too lead me to Owls. I had 3 Jays kick a Long-eared Owl out of a cedar near me one morning at another local park. I tell people to tune into the birds, they can tell and show you things you might otherwise miss.

Next, a flash of bright orange goes over my head... a Baltimore Oriole! And he's quite agitated too.

I look up and ahead of me a bit and this is what I saw.

Ah, there she is.

And she is taking a beating from the above mentioned Blue Jays and this male Oriole. The Crow did not return. She now has me to deal with as well. Not that I am going to do anything, but she doesn't know that.

I was quite thrilled to see her again. I did not notice she had something in her talons at first.

The Jays continued to pester her. Spot the Jay?

It was a very overcast morning, so the shots aren't great, overblown in some, too dark in others, but I managed to get some to tell of this brief moment.

I took a long way around the bird so I could try and view her from her front, and maybe see what she was having for breakfast. It was a bird. But what kind?

Super crop here of the meal.

At first I thought Starling but the tail wasn't right in my mind. Then I thought Grackle because it was dark, the tail seemed to fit, but the legs weren't right. I started to think Pigeon because of those legs but that seemed absurd to me. A friend of ours, an expert with bird ID's, confirmed it indeed was a Pigeon!

Another angle with the Owl before I left it. She was still getting a lot of grief from other birds.

It was a very cool sighting to me. Never have I seen a GHOW with it's kill. They are always just sitting high up, looking around, or napping. But to me, I find it an odd meal to have. I don't put these big Owls and birds together. Plus, regardless that Great Horns are about Toronto, they still remain woodland birds (so I think) and Pigeons are city birds. I never see Great Horns outside of the woods like I never see Pigeons in the woods. What do you think?

This spot is very near our home. Pierre and his flock have to cross slightly east of this part of the park to get to us. Another thing they need to be wary of?

Well, I hope you enjoyed my sighting here almost as much as I did.

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