How old are the eagles?

I believe I read they're in their 20's but people at the facility say they're still of the age to breed.  Savannah and Derek are both captive birds, with permanent wing injuries, and they've hatched babies in the past but not since 2013. The eggs will be checked for viability, according to the question/answer posts on FB.

Sadly, none of the 3 eggs hatched and the hatching window has closed.  According to the FB post, all 3 will be collected this coming Monday. 

[The building is also known for a nest of peregrine falcons that have made a home on its roof. Zell said Pioneer will try not to disturb the falcons during the renovations.]

Uh oh..just read this on FB..

Syracuse, N.Y. — A well known local development company plans to buy the 21-story State Tower Building, the tallest building in Syracuse since it opened in 1927, and transform its top 13 floors into apartments.

Pioneer Cos. has reached an agreement to buy the tower from Tony Fiorito for $5.4 million and spend $22.15 million to convert office space on floors 9 through 21 into 59 market-rate studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments. Floors 1 through 8 will remain office and retail space.

Fiorito put the 89-year-old building up for sale early last year.

The purchase is expected to close by late March. Mark Roney, Pioneer's chief financial officer, said the work will take 12 to 14 months. Monthly rents will range from about $750 to $1,900, he said.

The building is the latest of many downtown Syracuse commercial buildings to be converted into a mix of office, retail and residential space. Driving the trend is a combination of two things — a weakness in demand for office space and growing demand for downtown living space among empty nesters and young, urban professionals affiliated with the hospitals and schools on nearby University Hill.

Only about 45 percent of the State Tower Building's office space is occupied.

Melissa Zell, Pioneer's chief operating officer, said the renovations will include significant interior and exterior work, including the replacement of about 600 of the building's approximately 900 windows.

Opened in 1927 at 109 S. Warren St., the building stands 311 feet tall. The next tallest buildings in the city are the two AXA Towers, which stand 268 feet tall, according to the building data collection firm Emporis.

Aspects of the State Tower Building's design give it the appearance of being even taller than it is. The building's top 11 floors are set back and smaller than the first 10 floors, and its brick facade gets gradually lighter in color as the building rises.

The building is also known for a nest of peregrine falcons that have made a home on its roof. Zell said Pioneer will try not to disturb the falcons during the renovations.

Pioneer has applied to the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency for tax exemptions. If approved, the company would save up to $669,905 in sales taxes on construction materials and $150,000 in mortgage recording taxes. The agency will hold a public hearing March 8 before voting on the exemptions.

Pioneer's roots date back to the 1960s when its founder, Michael J. Falcone, began building shopping centers and apartment buildings throughout Central New York. Over the past 40 years, the principals of the company have built over 20 million square feet of real estate projects with a value exceeding $1.5 billion, according to the company's website.

Its local projects include the Washington Station and 250 Clinton Street office buildings in downtown Syracuse, and Pioneer Business Park in DeWitt, home to Time Warner Cable's Central New York headquarters.

Sad news:

http://www.syracuse.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2016/01/syracuses_wintering_pelican_in_the_inner_harbor_dies_of_unknown_causes.html   

 Wonder if it starved or maybe cold exposure..sad. 

Feeding the tiny eaglet:





Too tired for any more food:

Sweet!  I see the pip is progressing!

After reading yesterday's post, I tried to keep hoping that PPO might recover and return, despite how bad the situation seemed.

But having just read today's post, I am heartbroken and devastated that PPO was very probably poisoned. This is a huge loss. PPO has simply been the most remarkable, most beautiful owl anywhere for the past number of years, and she has taught and charmed countless people in so many countries.

I also feel so bad for Pappa and their young owlet. I so much hope that they will stay safe.

Cannot write anything more at the moment . . .     

With them saying Pappa and baby are still around,  I also worry about them getting poisoned too. 

How awful this is.   In Johannesburg and NYC's Central Park and in all too many other locations, people seem not to understand the far-reaching consequences of poisoning rats. My best wishes to to Pappa and the juvenile. This is a most horrible ending to a truly wonderful saga.

Dot in PA

Hard to understand..people really need to be educated about secondary rodenticide poisoning.  If true, it is a horrible ending..fly free, PPO.

Looks like eggshell from E7 was wrapped around E8's egg so still a nice size pip but no cracking.  M15 removed the cracked shell from the second egg ..sorry for the confusion.

I read that just now on BCAW..at least there's a pip!  The baby is soooo cute! 

Follow-up posted today on FB

Death of a Legend - We beg the people of SA not to use poisons in their gardens.

For the past 8 years we have enjoyed the privilege of watching a pair of Spotted Eagle Owls breed on a our balcony. PPO (Pot plant Owl) starred in a book, was viewed by thousands across the globe on wedcam, was recently seen on Kwela (Kyknet) and received an International Award for Owl conservation in the USA. Her Facebook page is followed by 4 826 people across the world.

We believe she has succumbed to rat poisoning. We saw her last about 2 weeks ago, sitting on our balcony, thin and struggling to breath. A horrible 'cough' racked her body. The male and immature chick have visited us, but not PPO and we fear the worst.

Since then we have seen dead rats in our complex. Despite pleas to units in the complex not to use rat poison, it has clearly been used. After posting our concern on her Facebook page, we have received tearful responses from across the globe.

https://www.facebook.com/Pot-Plant-Owl-148721154229/


 

Pip in second egg confirmed!~  

Edit to add:  wow E8 will be here soon I think, egg is cracked already from what I just saw. 

Great news this AM!

From FB..maybe bad news  

I've been putting off writing this post. After eight years, and hundreds of hours of watching, fretting, assisting, talking about and sharing 'our' owls with the world, the tide has turned.
Weeks ago, I walked into my room and saw PPO standing on the balcony railing. She let me get up closer to her as she stood - terribly thin and barely able to draw a breath. I called Allan who came up and saw her and listened to her breathing labour.
PPO flew to the neighbour's roof before we could catch her and we could still hear her struggling to draw a breath. Moments later, she flew off.
We haven't seen her since.
Pappa is in the territory, hooting alone on the rooftops. At night, I see him fly around and keep looking for a second owl. We alerted all our neighbours and have asked them to look out for PPO. Nobody has seen her.
I'm hoping - perhaps against hope - that she has somehow split from Pappa for a while (perhaps with the little chick) and she will return soon enough. If I hadn't heard her, and seen what she looked like, I would definitely be thinking this.
The ugly truth is that the longer she is away, the less likely this scenario is.
I haven't given up hope and I ask that you all don't too.

 I'm glad she came back to say goodbye to her people....fly free PPO!

I don't know what his chances are for finding a new mate there but hope he does.

From FB..maybe bad news 

I've been putting off writing this post. After eight years, and hundreds of hours of watching, fretting, assisting, talking about and sharing 'our' owls with the world, the tide has turned.
Weeks ago, I walked into my room and saw PPO standing on the balcony railing. She let me get up closer to her as she stood - terribly thin and barely able to draw a breath. I called Allan who came up and saw her and listened to her breathing labour.
PPO flew to the neighbour's roof before we could catch her and we could still hear her struggling to draw a breath. Moments later, she flew off.
We haven't seen her since.
Pappa is in the territory, hooting alone on the rooftops. At night, I see him fly around and keep looking for a second owl. We alerted all our neighbours and have asked them to look out for PPO. Nobody has seen her.
I'm hoping - perhaps against hope - that she has somehow split from Pappa for a while (perhaps with the little chick) and she will return soon enough. If I hadn't heard her, and seen what she looked like, I would definitely be thinking this.
The ugly truth is that the longer she is away, the less likely this scenario is.
I haven't given up hope and I ask that you all don't too.

The cameras at the Times Square building stopped transmitting at 3 PM Tuesday when the Internet connection was lost. There is a problem with our provider's antenna that seems to be related to temperature. When it gets cold, it stops working, and it has been below freezing in Rochester since Tuesday.

Today, it is expected to get warmer. The antenna might start working again for a few hours. We'll see.

Did they put up a new antenna because we've never had temperature related loss of Internet before that I can remember? Is Rfalconcam the only one in the building connected to this particular internet service?

It's the same antenna system. Some component(s) of it must have become damaged or degraded since last winter.

Rfalconcam is  currently the only user of the service. There was another, but they left TSB several years ago.

Thanks..just wondered.  Are they going to replace the antenna eventually, with Rfalconcam being the only user and we get it for free?

They are troubleshooting the antenna system to determine which part(s) is/are failing. They are starting with the cable up to the antenna. First step is to replace the connectors. If that doesn't work, replace the cable. How far they will go to replace parts has not be conveyed to us.

Thanks!

From Kate St. John's blog, Outside My Window

Recent Developments
A replacement female for Dorothy, known as "Hope," did not have to come from very far away.  She tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to nest at the Tarentum Bridge (about twelve miles away as the falcon flies) for several years.  Presumably, E2 somehow made his unmated status known--perhaps with conspicuous flight and vocal behaviors--and Hope decided to join him in Oakland at the Cathedral of Learning.  They have been seen courting numerous times on the nest cam, and viewers around the world are very hopeful that E2 and Hope will successfully pair-bond and nest this coming spring!

Cam link

http://aviary.org/PF-NestCam1

The big snow of 2016 at Wildlife Center of Virginia  

http://youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=Cyq7jDHEgjc