Oh boy, another falcon cam (Wilmington DE)

[Donna]

It's Live streaming but I guess not at night. Curious to see this in the daylight.

http://www.dosbirds.org/wilmfalcons

Positive signs for Delaware birds

Desktop birdwatching in Delaware is now available via the Internet.

A webcam is now streaming video of a peregrine falcon nest on the 19th floor of the Brandywine Building in downtown Wilmington.  The ledge is very similar to the bird's natural habitat, cliffs.  "High rises, like in Wilmington and Philadelphia, they can serve as almost like a pseudonym for cliffs," says Delaware wildlife biologist Anthony Gonzon.  The webcam is funded by the Delmarva Ornithological Society and the DuPont Clear Into the Future program.

The state's falcon population has remained steady over the past few years.  Gonzon says there are three to five pairs of the birds living in Delaware.  The ones on the Brandywine Building have been there for about 10 years.  "In certain years, we've had them on the Delaware Memorial Bridge and also on the Summit Bridge.  They use those surfaces underneath the bridge almost as a cliff face as well," Gonzon says.


Falcons aren't the only birds of prey that are ready for their closeup.  Bald eagles are being seen more frequently in Delaware as well.  The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control  counted 120 bald eagles during its mid-winter survey, 77 adults and 23 younger birds.  Gonzon says the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which includes Delaware, "has seen a real, true resurgence in eagles in the last 10 to 15 years.  These birds need adequate habitat to forage  over winter here within the region, and it looks like  Delaware is a place they seem to be choosing."  Bald eagles were officially removed from the endangered species list by the federal government in 2007.

Gonzon says the increasing number of eagles in Delaware, coupled with a steady population of falcons, is definitely a positive sign.  "They're top of the food chain type birds.  They rely on a lot of different things in order to persist and survive in Delaware," says Gonzon.  "There are enough resources here for them to use, and it's allowing them to continue to be successful, and we only have high hopes for the future."

Gonzon says if anyone spots a bald eagle in Delaware, the Division of Fish and Wildlife wants to hear about it.  "Even the smallest observation can help us locate new eagle nest sites, so even as small as seeing an eagle fly across the road, accumulation of those types of observations can help us pinpoint places where we think eagles may have set up a nesting territory," he says.

[valhalla]

It keeps getting better and better 

[Donna]

http://www.dosbirds.org/image/tid/10 

[Donna]

Lovely

[Donna]

4/8/2010  ::   Juvenile Female Claims New Territory
The red-band coded female that fledged from the Rachel Carson State Office Building two years ago has been spotted at a nest site in Wilmington, Delaware; she may be responsible for killing the resident female and taking over the scrape.

This female was banded on May 22nd 2008 and weighed 795 g, the largest of the four nestlings banded that day. The Rachel Carson female and her mother, the nesting female at the Girard Point Bridge in Philadelphia from 1998 until 2005 are know to biologist as intensely aggressive and territorial. These traits have clearly been passed on to their progeny.

To see the young female at her new scrape, visit http://www.dosbirds.org/wilmfalcons

[Donna]

The saga of Wilmington's peregrine falcon pair may be heading to a sad ending.

The male bird -- a six year veteran of the nest -- is missing.

And there is no sign that the four, molted brown eggs are ready to hatch, said Craig Koppie, a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service endangered species/raptor biologist.

"I'm almost thinking these aren't going to work out this year," he said. "Unless it happens [by today], I don't give it much hope."

The mother bird still is coming and going from the nest but between hunting and eating, tending to the eggs and warding off any predators, she is so busy the eggs may not have had enough care, he said.

All this in a year when people in Delaware and throughout the world had a chance to watch the birds -- and the progress of the eggs -- thanks to a webcam installed by the Delmarva Ornithological Society with help from DuPont's Clear into the Future program, state and federal officials.

Even without baby chicks, the project has been an amazing success, said William Stewart, the ornithological society's conservation chair.

"It's been fabulous because of the huge audience that has watched and learned so much about the falcons," he said.

Peregrine falcons are one of the fastest birds in the world. The population plummeted from 1950 to 1970 because of exposure to the pesticide DDT. They were delisted as endangered species in 1999 and have been making a comeback along the East Coast, where they were nearly extirpated.

In Delaware, there are other nesting pairs -- including one couple under the Reedy Point Bridge, Stewart said.

But the most noticeable pair are in downtown Wilmington.

The plan is to go live again next January and capture the Wilmington falcons, up close and live, a second year.

The ornithological society is working on a project to install a second webcam at Mispillion Harbor to watch the migration of red knots and other shorebirds, Stewart said. The plan is to have it up and running for next year's migration in May.  For Mirta 

Oh well...just another bad news day for me! 

[Donna]

We think the female may have found a new mate!  We’ve been seeing a male falcon in the area the past week, especially the past couple days.   They’ve been seen flying together and he’s been diving in front of her while she sits on the building watching him.  Last night it looked like she was working on a new scrape so we’re not sure what to expect of the current clutch.  She’s currently sitting on them but today is day 36 and still no signs of hatching.  We haven’t given up on them yet though!

Several of you have asked if we would be able to help the female falcon in any way.  Here is some information from Craig Koppie, USFWS, Endangered Species/Raptor Biologist, that will likely be of interest to you and others….

“As you know, we have likely lost the resident male falcon right at a critical time during the final week of incubation. Obviously, he was essential to his mate as a provider of food, nest protection and sharing with incubation duties among a myriad of other important tasks after hatching! Yesterday, I spoke with Anthony and Kim and laid out an action plan whereby we could augment food deliveries at the nest box. This would allow her more time at the nest and less time flying about the city looking for prey. I traveled up to Wilmington today, after making arrangements with Brandywine personnel. I met with Paul Wharton and between the two of us we had the tools to make a food “drop shoot� (hole w/ sliding lid cover). The hole is approximately 4 inches. The placement is such that any food delivered will drop onto the ledge just before the step-down onto the pea gravel. In this manner, we are less likely to startle her.

I cut the hole 5 minutes after she left the eggs at approximately 9:35. Once the hole was cut, I dropped a full sized pigeon onto the back ledge. I plucked some breast feathers to make it look freshly delivered. She returned at 10:45; she looked at the pigeon and then looked out over the city and into the sky several times. She didn’t waste a lot more time and went about plucking feathers and tearing meat. I am happy to report that she must be feeding on some prey during her outings because she did not appear to me to be extremely hungry. She ate the head and neck, then flew off the front ledge with it (11:05).

At 11:20, she flew back to the front of the box and began to vocalize while looking upwards. Based on the type of vocalization, I believe it was another falcon and not a distress call to warn off other raptors. Soon there after, she jumped down to her eggs and began to gather them closer together with her legs and feet. She appeared less interested in the eggs now than what is lurking in the sky. She moved to the ledge.

At 11:40, she flew from the ledge. I departed at 12:10.

If hatching is successful in the next two day, food deliveries (quail) will be provided at appropriate times. A big thanks to Kim and Paul …with any luck we should see some hatching activity in the next 24 hours. If not, there is a remote possibility that I will provide her with a foster chick(s). Stay tuned. Craig�

Thanks Craig!!! 

[Donna]

May 12, 2010


The male falcon that we’ve been seeing recently was inside the nestbox early this morning!  They were then seen flying around together and he was perched on the ledge of the nestbox while she was inside.  They’ve been doing a lot of conversing with each other and we think they’ve been doing some courtship bowing to each other.   This is all very encouraging!  We still might get some chicks this season after all!!!

Here is a picture of the female and the male in the nestbox this morning. The eggs will be removed from the nest on Friday.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed that we get some new eggs to replace them!




May 13, 2010


The male falcon wasn’t seen inside the nestbox today but he was seen perched on the ledge of the nestbox, on the ledge of the building and also flying around with the female.  I think he’s planning on sticking around!  This is going to be very interesting to see what develops in the days to come!!!