Algo and Polly find a new home in NDG, far from clamour of Turcot construction

A pair of peregrine falcons have abandoned their perch in the cacophonous Turcot Interchange construction zone and settled into a quieter home in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood.

Their piercing call caught the attention of another recent newcomer to NDG, Alexandre Sheldon, as he was headed to Girouard Park with his family earlier this spring.

"My partner and I heard the familiar sound of the falcons, and I looked up at the River's Edge Church steeple," Sheldon told CBC Daybreak's Mike Finnerty Thursday.  "Sure enough, there were two falcons right there, and they were actually mating at the time."

The filmmaker made the CBC documentary Algo, Polly and Turcot — the story of a pair of falcons, Algo and Polly, living high up under the concrete structure of the Turcot Interchange.

"These two birds always went back to the exact same spot, and so it was inevitable with the demolition of the Turcot that they were going to move," Sheldon said.

His doc asked the question, "What will happen to these birds?"

So it's fitting that now Sheldon has an answer to that question, and he stumbled on it himself.

It's now been confirmed that those two birds perched on the roof of the church on Côte-Saint-Antoine Road are indeed Algo and Polly, the pair he spent three years documenting.

"They seem to have upgraded their surroundings by going to a beautiful park in a quiet neighbourhood, instead of living underneath what is quite possibly the most hostile environment in Montreal," Sheldon said.

Expectant parents

The peregrine falcon is a bird of prey that's adapted to city life, making use of tall buildings that provide suitable ledges for nesting. These birds depend on the large populations of pigeons and starlings for food.

The adults have blue-grey wings, dark brown backs, a buff-coloured, brown-spotted underside and white faces with a black tear stripe on their cheeks.

"Spirit and Roger are like the king and queen of the falcon scene in Montreal. They have given birth to a lot of the falcons that now live underneath many of the bridges around Montreal," Sheldon said.

If you're in NDG and would like to pay Algo and Polly a visit, head over to the church facing Girouard Park and look up, way up, at the steeple.

"It seems like they followed me to my new neighbourhood, and we're neighbours now," said Sheldon.

"It's ... the most perfect ending to the story."

• Screen Alexandre Sheldon's documentary, Algo, Polly and Turcot, here
• For more news on Polly and Algo, visit falco-urbanis
• Christian Fritschi's bird photos can be seen here
• Marcel Pérez's blog can be viewed here