News & Announcements3/8/2010 BLJC protecting nature with a bird's eye view When Chris Parker used to work night shifts at a downtown Calgary building, he’d often find himself walking to the 15th floor to catch a glimpse of the building’s most favourite seasonal tenants. Since the 1980s the downtown high-rise has become an annual nesting ground for peregrine falcons. Sitting on top of the food chain, the falcon has taken to nesting on building tops, which are well suited for their direct style of hunting. The world’s fastest bird arrives in April or May to lays its eggs and leaves some time in October. “They come every year right around the same time and leave at the same time,” says Parker, a BLJC technician, who remembers one evening when he was lucky enough to witness a baby being hatched and “picking out of its shell.” “You know I am a father of two so it’s kind of like seeing my children being born again every time they come.” BLJC staff members say they have developed a fondness for the birds, taking them 'under their wing' for the duration of the stay. For example, each year when the female arrives Dan St. Pierre, maintenance team lead notifies Alberta’s Sustainable Resource Development department, which visits the building to tag the birds with a GPS that monitors their flight activity. St. Pierre, who has been assisting with the birds for the past four years, also makes sure to monitor the birds throughout the season, watching for any abnormal behaviour, such as an egg not hatching, or the parents not returning to the nest, and relay any information to the province. Typically the peregrine falcons lay four eggs, and last year all four babies hatched. “It’s rewarding to have them on the building,” says St. Pierre, adding a favourite moment is when staff are able to see the birds up close, which happens each year when the sustainable resources department visits to tag the birds in BLJC’s office. The team also puts up memos as soon as mother arrives to let others know not to do any type of roof work that could disrupt the falcons. “It’s kind of a big team effort and they are like part of the family every year,” says Chantal Burr, a property services co-ordinator. She says the BLJC team has had to alert the Zoo and Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society Centre when babies have fallen off the building. “It just makes you feel good to know that they are taken care of,” she says. The building has a camera that delivers a live feed to BLJC staff and a local elementary school. It is one of two locations in Calgary that observes peregrine falcons, the other being the University of Calgary, which also has a website dedicated to the birds. Until recently peregrine falcons were an endangered species after their numbers dropped dramatically in the 1960s from the use of the pesticide DDT. Through conservation efforts, the peregrine falcon has been removed from the endangered species list. |
