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<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">SEE HOW WE GROW!!</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Sunday, May 12, 2012 - At 07:00 today the three chicks were standing up while Madame X and Surge were out of the nest ledge. Compare the image at left with the one below and note how much bigger they are by comparing them to the egg, which of course has not changed in size. The chicks are showing normal behaviour for their age, especially snoozing flat out on the gravel bed of the ledge much of the time. They will become more active as they get bigger. Stay tuned!</p></font></td></tr></table>
<b><P>Falconwatch volunteers are raising funds for the 2012 season. While Falconwatch does not cost tons of money, there are expenses to be covered. If you would like to help Falconwatch 2012 by making a tax deductible donation, please click on the 'Make a Donation' link above. Thank you.</P></b>
<P>If you are in downtown Hamilton be sure to drop by and see live video from the Peregrine nest at our Jackson Square Mall
television monitor and information station. It is located in the front aisle of the mall closest to King Street, on the James St. side of the Sheraton Hotel, between the Rogers cell phone sales booth and the stairway. Easiest access to the monitor is through the mall doors at 100 King St. West.</P>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">CHECK THE SPEC!!!</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Thursday, May 10, 2012 - The Hamilton Spectator always keeps an eye on our Peregrines and this year is no exception. The image at left is featured on Page A2 of today's paper and under "Other News" in the on-line version at www.thespec.ca. The three chicks are growing steadily and appear to be doing very well. It appears that the fourth egg, still present this morning, will not hatch, which happens occasionally. Stay tuned to see the chicks grow.</p></font></td></tr></table>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">THREE'S COMPANY!!!!</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Sunday, May 6, 2012 - Chick Number Three came on the scene less than two hours after Number Two. So far all three seem to be in good shape and are doing typical chick things like snoozing, as can be seen at left. The fourth egg is also visible - stay tuned!!</p></font></td></tr></table>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">MOVE OVER ONE! I'M NUMBER TWO!!!!</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Saturday, May 5, 2012 dinnertime - 2012 chick Number Two appeared shortly after noon today. We can't tell which chick is which in the photo at left, but at this stage who cares? We're happy the two are well. No predictions yet as to when the third youngster will appear. Stay tuned!!</p></font></td></tr></table>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">I'M NUMBER ONE!!!!</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Saturday, May 5, 2012 - just after 08:00 today Madame X took a quick break, letting us have a really good view of her first offspring of the year. A second egg is cracked so this one may not have to wait too long for a sibling to appear. Stay tuned!!</p></font></td></tr></table>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">NUMBER ONE IS HERE!!!!</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Friday, May 4, 2012 evening - around 19:35 this evening Lead Monitor Dria McGraw noticed a change in the picture from the nest. It was a bit subtle but proved to be what we've been waiting for - a broken eggshell! It took another hour to get the image at left - 2012's first Peregrine chick is the pinky-white scraggly thing at the bottom right edge of the picture. The white blob at left is half of the shell. Observant falconwatchers will notice Madame X eating the broken shell. This is to help restore calcium to her system. Stay tuned!! With luck chick number two should be here by Sunday.</p></font></td></tr></table>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">ANY MINUTE NOW!!!</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Friday, May 4, 2012 - It won't be long now! The dark almost vertical line on the left hand egg in the image at left is what shows on the surface when the chick inside is chipping its way out. Sometime today, if not already, we should be seeing a little white fluffball. Stay tuned!!!</p></font></td></tr></table>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">THE WAITING GAME - NEWS ABOUT DUNCAN</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Wednesday, April 25, 2012 - Madame X and Surge continue to take turns brooding the eggs, turning them regularly with their talons and beaks, as can be seen in the image at left. If all goes well we should be seeing little white fluffballs in about 10-12 days.</p></font></td></tr></table>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>We have received good news from Jacquie Walters of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which monitors their Peregrines. Duncan, one of our 2008 birds, and his non-banded mate are still at the South Grand Island Bridge on Interstate 190 over the Niagara River between Niagara Falls, NY and Buffalo. A nest check on April 2 revealed three eggs. Duncan and his mate stick very close together and stay right near their nest site even outside of nesting season. The picture of Duncan at left was taken by Jacquie and her team in June 2010.</p></font></td></tr></table>
<P>As in past years, Falconwatch is again showing live nest video in our Jackson Square Mall television monitor and information station. It is located in the front aisle of the mall closest to King Street, on the James St. side of the Sheraton Hotel, between the Rogers cell phone sales booth and the stairway. Easiest access to the monitor is through the mall doors at 100 King St. West. Falconwatch would like to thank the Jackson Square Dental Office for once again sharing their booth with our monitor and information signs.</font></P>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">GLEIG IN BUFFALO!</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Tuesday, April 17, 2012 - Gleig, banded at the Sheraton Hamilton on 2 June 2009, has just been identified as the female of a Peregrine pair at the Buffalo Central Terminal. Named after the late Don Gleig, Falconwatch's co-Lead Monitor in 1998 and 1999, at 1049 grams she is the largest Peregrine chick banded to date in Hamilton. Before fledging completely and going on her way in August 2009, after a series of increasingly low novice flights Gleig had been rescued at ground level by Falconwatch and returned to the Sheraton nest. Because of her size, she would have had no hope of getting off the ground under her own power without help. The image at left shows Gleig being checked out during the rescue. There have been no subsequent reports of her until this week. Gleig is the second Sheraton Hamilton Peregrine to settle in the Buffalo area, following in the talon steps of 2008's Duncan who, as far as we know, is still nesting at the Grand Island Bridge on the highway south of Niagara Falls, New York. </p></font></td></tr></table>
<p>Meanwhile, back at the Sheraton Hamilton, our pair are continuing to brood the eggs, with shift changes taking place regularly.</P>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">SHIFT CHANGES</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Saturday, April 14, 2012 - If there's a word for what our Peregrines experience from the time egg-laying ends until chicks hatch, it could easily be 'boredom'. It looks as though they just sit there all the time. All is not how it seems, however. Every morning, within half an hour of sunrise, Madame X comes off the eggs after her overnight shift and Surge takes over. X goes away for a bit to stretch her wings and legs, then comes back to the Sheraton area. After another hour or so, the two change places again. This goes on until dusk when, as far as we can tell, Madame X settles in again for the night. How do we tell which adult is which? Madame X, on the left of the photo, has a well speckled upper chest, while Surge's chest is almost pure white. You can also see the difference in size between these two. Female raptors are always 25-35% larger than males. </p></font></td></tr></table>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">TURNING. TURNING.</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Saturday, April 7, 2012 - The beautiful blue skies and warmer daytime temperatures of the last two days have been good for our falcons. One of the adults' tasks, usually but not exclusively performed by Madame X, is to turn the eggs to ensure that the warmth she and Surge are passing on is evenly distributed thought each egg. In the image at left, captured at 10:42 this morning, Madame X is just settling down after a minor turning and a stretch. The four eggs can be seen clearly.</P></font></td></tr></table>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">FOUR ON THE FLOOR!!!!</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Thursday, April 5, 2012 - Around 17:45 yesterday one of our Senior Monitors thought he saw signs that Madame X had laid her fourth egg of the year. Unfortunately the dark shadows caused by the setting sun didn't allow a closer look. This morning at 06:49 there was no doubt, as can be seen in the image at left. Is that all for 2012? Madame X has never laid more than four eggs but.... Stay tuned!</font></P></font></td></tr></table>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">THREE!!! (No Joke!)</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Sunday, April 1, 2012 - At 15:36 this afternoon Madame X produced the third egg of the 2012 season. Thanks to our newest camera and great setup work by Webmaster Charles, the slightly brightened photo at left shows Madame X as she is actually expelling the egg. We have never caught this moment 'live' before. Mark your calendars for the few days before Mother's Day. If all goes well we should see chicks then.<br>
</p>
<P>NEWS! See the History page for the latest on Durand, one of the 2009 chicks.
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<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">TWO EGGS!!</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Friday, March 30, 2012 - When Madame X left the ledge at 07:08 this morning it was very evident that she had been busy overnight. As can be seen in the photo at left, we now have two eggs in the nest. Let's hope for more.</P></font></td></tr></table>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">STILL JUST ONE EGG</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Thursday, March 29, 2012 - Madame X is keeping busy brooding the only egg to emerge, at least as of 16:00 this afternoon. The photo of the egg at left was taken yesterday at 9:45. As you can see, Peregrine eggs are pretty big. No wonder it takes time for new ones to appear!</P></font></td></tr></table>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">EGG!!!!!!</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Monday, March 26, 2012 - Well, the warm weather definitely accelerated egg laying this year. The brightened photo at left, taken at 19:22 this evening, shows Madame X proudly looking at her first egg of 2012, laid three days earlier than any year going back at least as far as 2005. The egg was actually spotted around 17:00 but the gloom caused by the ledge blocking the setting sun made it difficult to confirm. Now we know for sure!!! With the temperature dropping below freezing tonight Madame X will not be far from the egg tomorrow, but things are warming up again and, we hope, more eggs will appear. Way to go, X and Surge!</P></font></td></tr></table>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">MOTHER-TO-BE</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Sunday, March 25, 2012 - The photo at left shows Madame X visiting the nest ledge at 13:40 yesterday afternoon, another sign that egg-laying is not far off. Viewers can easily see how Falconwatchers tell the birds apart by comparing this picture with the one of Surge just below. Madame X is larger than Surge, her 'mustache is large and triangular where Surge's is narrow and rectangular, and Surge's chest is quite white while Madame X has lots of blue-grey speckling up into her throat area. We are fortunate to have both of them back, Madame X for her twelfth year and Surge for his seventh.</P></font></td></tr></table>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">THE WAITING GAME</B></FONT></p>
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<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><p>Friday, March 23, 2012 - In the last couple of days, the amount of time Madame X and Surge have been spending in the scrape has increased significantly. The photo at left shows Surge at 07:50 this morning on his third visit to the nest in half an hour. This is a sure sign that egg-laying is not far off. In the last six years the first egg has appeared between March 29 and April 1. This year it may be earlier due to the very unusual warm temperatures we have been experiencing. Nothing to do but wait and see!
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<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">CAMERAS ONLINE - FALCON
IDENTITIES CONFIRMED
</B></FONT></p>
<p>March 15, 2012 - Thanks to the generous support of Worldline.ca
(a Fibernetics company) our Falconcams are back online for another
nesting season (Oh? You noticed? *smile*). Within the first day of
operation we captured
images of both adults and their bands, verifying that Madame X and
Surge are still our resident pair. Both have been busy in the
nest scrape... We will start watching for eggs by the end of March.</P>
<FONT FACE="Arial"><B><P ALIGN="CENTER">WE - AND THE FALCONS - ARE BACK!!!!!!
</B></FONT></p>
<p>March 2, 2012 - Another Spring is upon us!</P>
<P>Madame X and Surge once again spent the
winter in their familiar haunts in downtown Hamilton. HCPP volunteers
frequently see the pair on the Standard Life Building next door to the
Sheraton nest site. Madame X is back for her twelfth year and Surge (if
it is him) for his seventh season.</P>
<P>In 2011 Madame X and Surge hatched three chicks, Pigott, a female
weighing in at a hefty 914 grams, Thomson, a male at 650 grams, and Gore,
also a male at 671 grams. All named for famous Hamilton landmarks. Pigott
needed to be rescued twice, and received some tender loving care from the
Raptor center, and in the end all three chicks fledged successfully. You
can read more about their exploits in the History section.</P>
<P>The new camera installed last year (funded by a generous grant from the
TD-Canada Trust Friends of the Environment Fund), significantly improved
the detail of images obtained, and with a second camera constantly on
wide-angle view, more activity was captured.</P>
<P> As the days grow longer and the breeding season approaches, the
peregrines' territorial instincts are on the rise, making them more ready
to defend their turf from potential intruders. Local construction cranes
and Red-tailed Hawks have already been warned. We are on the lookout for
courting and nesting behaviour and expect to see eggs in late March or
early April. The falcon camera will be activated in the next few weeks,
with the generous support of 295.ca, once we get telephone lines and
computer communications set up.</P>
<P>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. We are keeping the
folks in Pennsylvania posted on Madame X's progress. </p>
<P>Hatched and banded in Etobicoke in 2002, Surge spent at least part of
the 2004-2005 seasons trying to establish a nest at the Burlington Lift
Bridge. In 2006 he replaced the male at the Sheraton nest and has been in
Hamilton since.</p>
<P>Many birds exhibit a trait called 'site fidelity'. If at least one of a
pair that used a nest site in the previous year return, 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 over and over again,
year after year. Peregrine Falcons are known for site fidelity. This will
be the eighteenth 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></FONT></BODY>
<P>Thank you to all our visitors and supporters for your ongoing
encouragement.</P>
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