Winnipeg's peregrine falcons lose eggs, nest in rain and wind
Princess and Smiley still perched atop the Radisson in spite of loss
A pair of the Radisson Hotel's most elite guests in downtown Winnipeg have been dealt a harsh blow after the cold rain and heavy winds that chilled southern Manitoba to the bone over the weekend.
Tracy Maconachie, co-ordinator of the Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project, says Princess and Smiley, the pair that had produced a number of eggs and were taking care of them, survived the bad weather.
But the nest and the eggs did not.
"The rain came down too long, too hard yesterday," she told CBC's Information Radio Monday.
"It rained on that ledge according to a nearby weather station for 14 to 15 hours and there is a drain on that ledge. [But] it's just too much water. [It] just couldn't manage to drain it out fast enough to keep the birds from getting wet and the eggs from getting wet. And the cold weather doesn't help."
Maconachie says it's sad but it's not the end of the world.
"This has happened before. Something similar happened in 2008. We lost chicks on that same ledge and Princess was the female then. She and her then mate ... hung around all summer and returned the next year to nest again, on that ledge."
The Falcon Cam, a collaboration between CBC Manitoba and the Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project (Manitoba), gives Manitobans the chance to watch the peregrines as they nest and prepare to welcome their chicks.
This year's feed went live on May 11, and has documented the comings and goings of Princess and Smiley.
For more information about Manitoba's Peregrines, please visit the Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project website.