The new season of the best reality show in town has just begun. On the program: seduction, sex, betrayal… Anything can happen with the couple of falcons followed by the cameras of Faucons de l’UdeM, on the big tower of the Université de Montréal.
Posted at 4:00 p.m.
The real season begins now, with nesting. And with a suspense in the key: will Sphinx and Eve choose one of the nesting boxes of the tower of the University of Montreal to install their small family or will they do as during the 2021 season and will they exile themselves on a ledge? Saint Joseph’s Oratory, far from the cameras?
“We were very disappointed,” notes Eve Belisle, a research professional from École Polytechnique who has been involved in the project since the installation of the first nesting box in 2008. It was used for the first time in 2009. “ It took them a year to find out,” she explains.
The team then installed the camera in 2010. “As long as we didn’t know if the falcons were going to live in the nest box, we didn’t want to invest in a camera right away. »
The place has been inhabited, year after year. But surprise, at the start of the 2021 season, Sphinx and Eve snubbed the chic Faucons birdhouse at UdeM and chose an old crow’s nest at the Oratory.
With the warming temperatures, the hawks may have preferred the northeast orientation of the Oratory cornice. With a southeast orientation, the nesting box at the Université de Montréal could get very hot. “We could see that they were struggling, their mouths were open, they were hot”, underlines Mme Belize. A second nest box was therefore installed on the university tower, with a northeast orientation.
In hawks, it’s the male who searches for a potential nesting spot, she explains. “That’s why he’s walking between nest box 1, nest box 2 and the Oratory right now. He presents this to the female and it is she who will ultimately decide where she will lay her eggs. »
The UdeM Faucons team is hopeful that they will choose the university (and its spy cameras), even if the game is not won.
Many dramas over the years
People have been faithfully following the adventures of this reality show on YouTube for years. It must be said that the dramas were not lacking. At the beginning, it was the couple formed by Eole and Spirit (a female born in Ohio) who occupied the Falcon nesting box at UdeM. But now, it seems that Eole was living a double life and had a second family at the Carrières incinerator. Spirit’s rival? None other than Eve.
When Eve realized that her boyfriend had another girlfriend, she went to settle Madame’s account. The spat took place in the nest box. We saw that on camera, it wasn’t a pretty sight.
Eve Belisle
“Spirit was very injured, but fortunately, we managed to treat her at UQROP [Union québécoise de réhabilitation des oiseaux de proie]. But it was Eve who took Spirit’s place with Eole,” she adds.
That was during the 2018 season. But there was another major incident in 2020. For some mysterious reason, Eole suddenly disappeared during the mating season. Did he still have a double life? Did he choose to live with his other family? We hope that is what happened and that he is not dead, underlines Mme Belisle. “We didn’t see any trace of a carcass, we’ve never seen it anywhere else. »
Another male, Sphinx, immediately took Aeolus’ place with Eve. “It was just before the eggs were laid. It is therefore not known whether these eggs are of Sphinx or of Aeolus. »
The 2020 season was even more heartbreaking due to an infestation of parasitic flies at the nest. “We managed to treat two babies out of three, but the third died”, laments Mme Belisle.
The little daredevil
In 2021, reality TV fans followed the adventures of Eve and Sphinx from afar, but they still got attached to one of the little ones, Jean, a real daredevil. The youngster broke a wing in September, but he was able to be treated by UQROP. He was injured again a few months later in New York State. The teenager is currently recovering. Will he be able to fly free again? Everyone hopes so.
It now remains to be seen what the 2022 season holds. Already there was a development on Monday: an intruder chased Sphinx away. Will this young falcon steal Eve’s heart? Or will Sphinx take his place again? To be continued. Important steps are coming: the choice of a nesting site in the next few days, the laying in early April, the hatching of the young in early May. In time for Mother’s Day.
You can follow reality TV on YouTube, but you can also have access to significant excerpts on the Facebook page of Faucons de l’UdeM.