Peregrine Falcon Fledglings :)

Mike and I have been volunteering with the Canadian Peregrine Foundation a few times a week to keep an eye on the nest at the Ambassador Bridge.  It is amazing how these 6 birds (and other like-minded people) have become such a big part of our life latety!  For those unfamiliar with "our" peregrines, the parents are Voltaire (mom), Freddy (dad) and their four youngsters, Twitter (f), General Brock (m), Viper (f) and Eddie (f).  Twitter and General Brock fledged last Wednesday and Thursday repsectively.  Today, Mike got up at 5am and couldn't get back to sleep so he decided to go to the nest to see what has happening, as Viper and Eddie (4 days younger than the rest) were doing.  Well, he got there early enough to see both Viper and Eddie fledge!  He brought my camera....enjoy the pictures he got while trying to get the birds to a safer area.    I wish I could have it for myself, but who gets up at 5am on Sunday??

These pictures are of Viper....

 

Up off the ground....a little safer!

Viper calling up to a parent.

Viper

These next pictures are of Eddie (pronounced "Eee Dee"...originally thought she was boy).  You will notice all the downy feather she still has :)  Makes her look a bit like a chicken, in my opinion :)

Eddie looking up at the next box.

Since both birds landed on the ground, Mike had to shoo them to a safer place.  Viper shooed easily and hopped up on a fence.  Eddie showed no fear and walked right beside Mike.  A woman actually stopped and took a picture of him out walking his Peregrine!  At one point, Eddie headed right for him instead of going around him.

Eddie heading right for Mike...he had to move out of her way.

By the way, none of these photos have been cropped at all...they were that close!

Victoria Day Weekend 2012

I had a great time this weekend visiting with family and friends, as well as sneaking in a little birding.  On Sunday, after church, we stopped by the Ambassador Bridge to see the Peregrine Falcons that have been nesting there for a number of years...it was my first time going to see them.  We were blessed with seeing both parents and glimpses of a couple of the youngsters.  They have four this year!

On Monday we went to Point Pelee with a truckload of kayaks...the kids and a friend headed out into the marsh as we walked Centennial Trail across the road.  I got fleeting glimpses of a few birds I didn`t recognize, but we did see a female Wood Duck (life bird) leave a tree cavity and saw a few Wild Turkey (life bird) in the woods.  There were a lot of Orioles, Yellow Warblers, Red-winged Blackbirds.  We then headed to the marsh to see if the kids were done...they weren`t, so we walked a bit of the boardwalk and spotted a Common Yellow-throat (life bird) in the reeds as well as some Black Terns (life bird) fishing. Afterwards, we headed to a friend`s house in Essex and were blessed with spotting a Chipping Sparrow (life bird) chipping away on the fence and tree.  Here are a few pictures from this weekend....enjoy!

Peregrine parent at nest box.

The other parent...flew here from side of bridge when the other went to the nest box.

Fleeting glimpses of a couple of young...completely out of sight until parent returned.

Barn Swallow...so beautiful!!

Black Tern

Robin on nest.

What I think of when I think of Red-winged Blackbirds...perched on a reed :)

Wild Turkey

Chipping Sparrow at dusk.

By the way...I have added a gadget on the side of the blog that shows my life list, if you are interested.  It is amazing how fast it is growing :)