This is such a feel good moment! Thank you S/39 "Big Frank" for coming to visit Rochester.

Thanks MAK for photographing little Big Frank and capturing his ID.

And thanks to Dana for being diligent in watching the Medley Center! Oh aren't we all just so happy!!!!! 

I'm a little verklempt, and I never met Frank. 

Thanks, Braveheart! It is indeed Beauty perched on Cam 4.

Our old friend Teddy the porcupine knows how to cool off on a hot summer day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZvgG2XAa18

I was just about to post this, Kris!  Anyway, congratulations Tian Tian!   

  

Thanks Donna and MAK. I love this time of the year, late summer heading into fall.  In a few months we may see the black crowned night herons again in these trees, after the tree at the library has lost its leaves. 

Just thought I'd share a couple of pics I took this morning on my walk into work from the bus terminal.  Aqueduct Park is gorgeous at this time of the morning. 

Very interesting, and very good news.  I hope that New York is seeing this trend as well.  It's remarkable that state agencies are doing as good a job as they are in monitoring every nest. 

Just as a curiosity, I calculated the average output of the Times Square Building nestbox since its inception.  From 2009 through 2015, this nestbox has successfully fledged an average of 1.7143 birds per year.  So we're slightly above that 1.5 benchmark, at least.  That's good! 

Links to the Orange NSW Falconcam Project:

main site: http://falconcamproject.org/
ledge cam: http://www.csu.edu.au/special/falconcam/Streams/camera-two.htm
nest cam:  http://www.csu.edu.au/special/falconcam/Streams/camera-one.htm

No eggs yet, but Diamond (new female) is spending more and more time at the nestbox, and she sleeps there most nights. 

Published 24 August, 2015 | By Cilla Kinross

Bula seems to be getting the hang of things, realising it is his job to hand over the prey items to Diamond and he has been doing that, sometimes up to three times a day (and sometimes having a good chew beforehand, making identification difficult).

When I have been able to discern species, it has been mainly starlings (local pest, so good news), plus at least two red-rumped parrots, a possible pigeon or two and some tiny birds, probably spotted and/or striated pardalotes.  The latter were a bit of a surprise as they are barely a snack.   They flit around the canopies of the tall eucalypts looking for insects on the flowers, so are a bit vulnerable.

I haven’t seen any more copulation, but if the ones observed were successful, we should have had eggs by yesterday.   I guess we just have to be patient;  all the signs are good.  Plenty of scraping and perhaps even some ‘straining’.  Diamond was a bit impatient with Bula and even a tad aggressive recently.

I’m tied up with a field ecology residential for the next three days (including early mornings bird-watching and evening spotlighting), so I am just hoping that, if an egg does arrive, it waits until Friday as I’ll be too bushed at night to monitor the webcam!

Thanks to those who are making comments and/or sending emails.  Keep it up.  It’s great to know people are interested enough not just to watch, but also provide feedback.

The week after next a tour from the NSW Landcare conference will be travelling to our university to look at the new Aboriginal Nature and Bioscience Park, see the revegetation works on our farm,  as well as visit the Peregrine Project, so Scott and I will be giving a talk and providing scopes and binoculars for close viewing.   I’ll let you know how it goes.

I haven't seen any reports about our youngsters catching their own food.  They must be close to becoming totally independent.  Comments?  Thoughts?

I have it written down that last sighting of Genesee was on the 12th so hopefully he's out hunting on his own or watchers are just not seeing him like they are Cadence.

MAK spotted Genesee about an hour ago perched on the 20th floor of Kodak Office!  Yay!

Yes, and the ST juvies are a bit younger than the downtown juvies, so they'll probably be around a bit longer.

Someone has been on FCT for quite some time this afternoon.

(movie)

Just below platform, on right side.

2:33 PM Pat

The new female, Diamond, is asleep at the nest ledge right now.  Perhaps a sign that an egg is imminent?  

I'm sure this has been posted before, but it's still cool to see.