The Pub Outing – Squawker and Nona.

•May 20, 2008 • Comments Off on The Pub Outing – Squawker and Nona.

SquawkerToday, Mary and I went up to Evanston for our annual “Pub Outing and Peregrine Watch”. Yay!

We arrived in Evanston at around 10:30am. Immediately, we spotted an adult sitting on the crossbeam above the nest, so we hustled into the library to see if we could get a good look at its bands from the second floor window.

As I’ve mentioned here and there, the faithful little Panasonic camera that had been my constant companion throughout peregrine seasons past died over the winter. We replaced it with a Canon 40d and added a very nice 70-200mm lens to the package. I am forever grateful for the Panasonic, as it was the perfect tool on which to learn the ins and outs of digital photography. However, the Canon is light years better, though it requires much more skill to operate effectively and is MUCH less low profile.

Continue reading ‘The Pub Outing – Squawker and Nona.’

Posted in IL Evanston

Captain Ahab reports … nothing.

•May 18, 2008 • Comments Off on Captain Ahab reports … nothing.

MaxMax and Herc were quite active today, going in and out of the northernmost west-facing niche with food. Must be hungry chicks to feed – just must be! Can’t wait to see them!

Today, I spent my time on the top of the garage with the hope – no, stronger than that, BELIEF – that I would at long last get that perfect confirmation of Max’s bands. But, alas, I came home with the same pieces of the puzzle I’ve always had – black over green (for sure), 5 on top (less sure, but still fairly positive), sideways E on the bottom (murky, not so sure).

Anyone who has read this blog knows that since I’ve started working with the program, Max has managed to keep me just on the edge of getting a perfect look at his bands. In response, I’ve become obsessed. Max’s bands have become my great white whale.

Continue reading ‘Captain Ahab reports … nothing.’

Posted in Chicago MCC

Possible Nest?

•May 16, 2008 • Comments Off on Possible Nest?

Possible Peregrine LocationSince March, we’ve received several emails and phone calls from people who spotted peregrines from the bar on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building. We had some sightings in this area last year as well, but we had no evidence of a nest.

I’ve gone up to the 95th a number of times now, but it wasn’t until May 4th that I actually saw a peregrine. I first spotted it as it stooped from the spire of a building at 680 North Lake Shore Drive. I watched for awhile and saw it fly back up to the tower, land near the top and disappear under the eave.

Since that time, a number of people have watched the area, but the sparse activity suggests nesting is an unlikely scenario. At any rate, I’ll keep you posted if we find out anything!

Posted in Chicago Other Locations

A Perfect Mother’s Day Weekend

•May 14, 2008 • Comments Off on A Perfect Mother’s Day Weekend

Mom at the Rhododendron TreeThe year Sean and I got married, so this would be 1998, our mom’s decided to make the trip from Colorado to Chicago together to spend Mother’s Day with their offspring.

Sean and I are very, very lucky as far as parents/inlaws go. Not only are we very close to our own parents, but we both also genuinely love our inlaws – and vice versa. To top it all off, our parents also really get along with each other. Having lived on this earth now for 40 years, I have heard many horrific tales regarding inlaws from countless friends, family members and various other associates. Believe me, Sean and I know how lucky we are.

This year, mom and Suzy decided to make the trip again. It had been WAY too long. On top of general Mother’s Day celebrating, we had Suzy’s birthday to celebrate and my mom’s retirement after 30 some-odd years as an engineer for the phone company. Big stuff.

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Posted in Chicago Loyola, Chicago MCC, Chicago River

Evanston Chicks Hatch!

•May 7, 2008 • Comments Off on Evanston Chicks Hatch!

The Evanston Chicks Hatch!

I wish we had nest cameras at ALL of our sites. It is such a very cool thing to be able to take a bit of time out of your work day and click in to watch wild peregrines doing their breeding thang!

Today, I had a busy day here in the Insect department, as we are preparing our collection for a new databasing system at the museum. It’s all very cool and I can’t wait until we have our stuff perfectly cataloged and such.

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Posted in IL Evanston, IL Waukegan

The Museum Pair

•May 6, 2008 • Comments Off on The Museum Pair

Hardhats!Wow, Helen and Mr. M. sure are persistent! After losing now SIX eggs here at the museum, they’ve gone on to lay yet MORE eggs at another site!

Last week, Mary got a call from the foreman working on construction of a nearby skyscraper. It seems as though a pair of peregrines had decided to nest at the construction site. Since we’d lost track of Helen and Mr. M. and the site was SO close to the museum, all of us had our suspicions regarding who the pair might be, but today we went to find out for sure.

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Posted in Chicago South Loop

Lost Egg 5

•April 24, 2008 • Comments Off on Lost Egg 5

Helen seems to be a most determined bird. Today, we had a fifth egg broken on the museum steps. I really feel bad for the museum pair and dearly hope that they return next year. Two of the display guys have agreed to build a/the box/boxes, so we know they will be phenomenal. Mary takes this all in stride. After 20+ years doing this, she has seen it all. I am having a bit of a harder time not feeling just terrible about the whole thing, but that’s life in this sort of program!

Posted in Chicago South Loop

Welcome, V!

•April 23, 2008 • Comments Off on Welcome, V!

Her Patience with the Interlopers EndsToday, Mary and I went to the London Insurance building to scout the river bird’s digs! After watching them from across the way for quite awhile on Sunday, I felt quite eager to see what this “ledge” looked like. Mark, Sean and I couldn’t come to a concensus regarding the shape of the whole thing.

We met Marty, the building engineer, in the lobby of the building, which was stunning by the by. We arrived on our floor and I noted, with some relief, that it was completely unoccupied. It’s harder for me to concentrate when I know I’m making a grand spectacle of myself in front of an office full of workers.

The nesting area turned out to be a small balcony of about 2 feet in width. We accessed the balcony via a large window. Mary went out first, flushing one of the adults off the nest. Rusty colored eggs rolled slowly across the debris-strewn floor. The adult screeched warning and made several passes as Mary eased back towards the wall.

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Posted in Chicago River

Lost Another One!

•April 21, 2008 • Comments Off on Lost Another One!

Jeez, I almost wonder when Helen, the museum female, will quit trying to lay eggs in her lop-sided home. Today, we found another egg splat on the north steps. Mary and I picked up what remained of the shell and stored the shards with the remains of the other 3 eggs.

I asked Mary if she thought Helen would become calcium deficient and she said that she thought not. Four eggs is not any big feat for peregrines and Helen will likely realize that the nest has failed soon and either move to another spot or come back to try again next year.

We take comfort in the idea that the museum pair seems determined to nest on our beautiful building and hope to have some swanky accommodations for them in time for next season.

Posted in Chicago South Loop

Another Walk-about

•April 20, 2008 • Comments Off on Another Walk-about

Wrigley Building Ornaments 1About a week ago, I got mail from one of our Flickr buddies, Mark (flickr: KingDufus). He asked me if I wouldn’t mind some company on one of my peregrine watching trips. I told him I would LOVE an extra pair of eyes and we arranged to meet this weekend, if the weather cooperated.

Yesterday was rainy, but today, Sean and I woke to a crisp and beautiful spring morning. By 9am, we’d rendezvoused with Mark and the three of us made our way to the garage top.

I explained our plan for the day. We’d spend some time at the garage top in the hopes of seeing Hercules and/or Max. This would provide Mark with the opportunity to see a peregrine in context, as he’d only ever seen peregrines in my pictures. Then, we would begin to work our way up to Wacker and Michigan. Our goal – find the river birds.

“It’s been a number of years since we’ve been able to track the river birds. We have reports of sightings and fledglings have grounded in that area a couple of times, so we know they are active. Questions is, where?”

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Posted in Chicago MCC, Chicago River

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