Dear fellow falcon fans,

Oh wow, guys!  Thank you so much!  I just now realized that this was here!  Thanks for the wishes!  If I could ask for one birthday wish, I would wish that we could find out who the new falcons are on Kodak Park!  If we already know who they are and I just happened to miss the post, I wish that someone could tell me who they are.  Oh!  Great news about Alkyonis!  Delighted to hear it!  :-)

Yours truly,
John Carlos

Way to go, Seneca!  Last to fledge, but certainly a survivor!  You go, girl!  :-)

You know, I am assigned to Toronto overnights a lot in my flight schedule.  I cannot wait for a chance to go below the Sheraton City Centre Toronto to catch a glimpse of Rhea Mae flying out of the hotel to play with her children!

Dear falcon fans,

While I was bored working a two hour flight early yesterday morning from Chicago to Rapid City, South Dakota with only fifteen passengers who all went to sleep immediately after the beverage service, I decided to take a peek at the USA Today which is a popular newspaper distributed nationally.  I read the section called "Across the USA: News from every state" which is one of my favorite sections because it gives a little news blurb about each state.  Under New York, it says:

"Buffalo - Viewers who log onto the University at Buffalo South Campus' webcam were rewarded when three chicks hatched in the nest of peregrine falcons, BB and Yankee.  The school installed a camera atop the 135-foot smokestack at the Mackay Heating Plant, where the endangered species first showed up three years ago."

Pretty cool, huh?

Yours truly,
John Carlos

Dear Donna,

Oh my God!     That was truly an unexpected encounter!  When I saw it, I was like, "I did not just see a live alligator on an ocean floor!  I wonder if it was just lost and wandered into the ocean for the day or if it had been in the ocean for a few days, etc.  The video pointed out that they can't survive in salt water for prolonged periods of time.

Yours truly,
John Carlos

Dear Joyce,

Oh!  I am not disputing that perhaps a natural predator is taking the eggs or that they are simply destroyed in the wake up a territory battle.  I have been reading on how some birds are known to steal eggs.  Last summer, I had the privilege of learning from one of the Rochester falconwatchers that one specific breed lays their eggs in the nest of other species!  That is just hilarious!

Unfortunately, if we are losing eggs in the natural order of life, that is very sad but at least I can live with that.  I'm sure we both agree, though, that if someone is doing something underhanded and stealing those eggs, that it is not natural and should be stopped at once if we can help it.  I don't see how installing a security surveillance camera can hurt.  If it doesn't catch someone in the act, at least the camera would hopefully dissuade a potential (human) thief from doing it again, right?  If our goal is the full restoration nature's greatest flyer, why not?

Yours truly,
John Carlos

Dear Aafke,

I know what you mean about our cameras not being able to find out what happened two or three years ago when an egg disappeared.  See, what I'm suggesting is a real SECURITY camera, one that records videos so that if an egg goes missing, there is video proof that shows what happened.  Our cameras simply take pictures on timed intervals.

I'm certain that a security surveillance camera set-up is cheaper than an online live stream camera, isn't it?  If my memory serves me right, this particular nestbox was designed with a sliding door feature which, when raised from the INSIDE, the door closes the nestbox from the outside to stop the parents from attacking while the young are taken for banding.  So it would make sense to install a security camera inside of the structure where the door is raised to access the eyases (or eggs if they are being stolen by someone).

While we're at it, why not install another one outside of the nestbox, too?  I'm not sure of the construction upon which this nestbox is situated, but if there is a chance that the eggs could be accessed from the outside as well, there should be a camera aimed at the opening of the box from there as well.

Yours truly,
John Carlos

***This is a modified version of what I wrote under the forum "Where was Quest yesterday?" but I thought this deserved its own topic because it isn't about Quest.  It is about the nest site which was once under the control of Freedom, son of Mariah and Kaver from 2002.*** [Duplicate post removed from Quest topic.]

Jeanne told me that eggs were laid the last two years in a row at the Port Colborne site and then suddenly disappeared both years with no explanation.  I'm beginning to suspect some foul play here...     Does anyone know if there is a black market for the eggs of Peregrine Falcons by less-than-respectable falconers to incubate and raise them from hatch?  Is there a cam or video surveillance of any kind in that nestbox?  From the description of a visit to that site when Freedom was in control of that territory, it doesn't seem like the nestbox is in a hard spot for the average worker there to visit...

I'm not saying someone at that plant definitely is stealing eggs.  I know that group has been very dedicated to the falcons, especially when one of them jumped into the river to save one the fledglings who had a bad first flight.  I just can't help but think that one of the workers might be involved in some scheme and the others would never suspect him/her of it.

Just throwin' out a possibility that might warrant additional security for the "protected" species...  There seems to be a screwball in every group...  I, for one, would be happy to contribute anything I can to the installation of a security camera at the site...

Wait a minute...  So quest was likely at the Port Colborn nest site, and it is possible that she displaced the female there and then flew off again???

LOL!  BirdCrazy, we could name rename her as "Kizzy" which means "stay put" in the Mandinka language according to Kunta Kinte (in "Roots") or we could name her Fica (which means "stay" in Portuguese).  Any other name suggestions to make Quest pick a place and mate and settle down, anyone?

Dear DumpsterKitty,

Thank you for the reply!  I was worried that something happened that I didn't want to hear about.  Hopefully whoever is hosting the cam can provide a link for us soon!  I found another post which says that they have three eggs this year!  I don't want to miss any of the action!

Yours truly,
John Carlos

Dear fellow falcon fans,

I had the link to the videocam to Pa and S2 on "Beleef de Lente" saved in my list of "favorites," but the link now takes me to that site's homepage where they have information on eight bird types which no longer include our Peregrine friends in the Netherlands.  Does anyone know if they moved the webcam link to a different site?  Has something happened to the nest site over there?  I tried to find a forum here about them but found nothing under "Pa" or "S2."

Please advise!  I always loved watching them because the webcam was a live videostream which included sound!

Yours truly,
John Carlos