New Peregrine cam in Australia

[PatriciaRose]

Yes, I noticed that too Patricia.  It looks like she has built the scrape in that corner, which I think is near to her usual placement of it.  I'm guessing this is Swift. She must be very near to laying time if she's sleeping in the nestbox. That is, if she hasn't laid one already. 

Thank you for the info, Pat!  I am so new to the falcon watching, I usually don't know what I am seeing! haha!  And I wasn't sure who was the male and who was the female either!  Now I know the female is Swift!  I wonder if there was an egg?  I guess we will have to keep watching!   

[PatriciaRose]

I saw Swift yesterday afternoon on the ledge at the NB & now she is sleeping in there again.  Didn't look like there was any egg yesterday.  Hope they install more cams at this location- I know they are talking about doing it.

[MAK]

I saw Swift yesterday afternoon on the ledge at the NB & now she is sleeping in there again.  Didn't look like there was any egg yesterday.  Hope they install more cams at this location- I know they are talking about doing it.

 

[patsy6]

Someone is on the ledge cam now.

[PatriciaRose]

Someone is on the ledge cam now.

I saw her sleeping in there again this morning- she sure is spending a lot of time at the nest.  Hope we see an egg soon!

[PatriciaRose]

Published 11 August, 2014 | By Scott Banks

With the impending egg-laying hopefully about to begin in the next fortnight there has been a noticeable increase in the use of the eyrie overnight but also during the day. Both birds have been frequenting campus, with plenty of sightings at various times of the day. Swift has taken to overnighting in her nest, while Beau has been spotted either up on top of the tower or across in the trees. The weather hasn’t helped with regular below zero nights making life tough outside but these peregrines are seasoned to this climate.

http://falconcamproject.org/

[PatriciaRose]

Almost every time I take a look, someone is either on the ledge or sleeping in NB.  Probably Swift-can't be long til we see an egg!

[PatriciaRose]

I just got to see both Beau & Swift at the NB just a few min. ago!  Swift was preening for quite a while and suddenly Beau flew in to join her!  She didn't seem too pleased with this and flew off.  He inspected the NB area thoroughly and then flew off too.  Quite a handsome couple!   

[Kris G.]

The first egg in 2012 was laid on 8/17 and in 2013 the first was laid on 8/27. Their nest failed last year so hope things go better for them this year.  They are a handsome pair!

[PatriciaRose]

The first egg in 2012 was laid on 8/17 and in 2013 the first was laid on 8/27. Their nest failed last year so hope things go better for them this year.  They are a handsome pair!

Thanks for the info Kris! Yes, hopefully they will have a successful year!  It's still pretty cold there, so maybe they are waiting for it for warm up a bit-but they do have a nice NB to stay warm in!

[PatriciaRose]

Promising signs for the peregrines
Published 21 August, 2014 | By Scott Banks

We should be getting close to seeing eggs, if they’re going to come this season, and this afternoon Swift  has spent plenty of time checking out her scrape, pulling in some gravel and basically arranging the eyrie to suit her needs. She is certainly learning how to relax again in familiar surroundings. While Cilla and her team has been compiling very valuable data over the past few months the Project team is back on duty and will be monitoring the situation on a daily basis, checking footage, watching for behavioural changes and patterns and looking forward to another furry bobblehead season ahead!

The weather hasn’t been too kind recently but the rains have generally stayed away. Orange is about to burst in to early Spring colour and this presents good signs ahead for a breeding season for all the local regional bird species.
http://www.gumtreecs.com.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/21082014043336pm.jpg

[Donna]

Nice to have babies for every season! Thanks, good news so far!

[PatriciaRose]

Long nights in the eyrie
Published 26 August, 2014 | By Scott Banks

It appears Swift is spending longer evenings and nights in the eyrie. With plenty of activity around the tower and trees Beau is paying attention, while Swift seems to be struggling. Fingers crossed for news from the Concrete Hilton soon! The cameras are running well and plenty of campus staff are reporting aerial interaction.

We’re currently looking at upgrading our data storage capability for the observation & surveillance server, as this time of the year the total storage is taken up very quickly with so much motion-activated eyrie activity. It doesn’t give us more than a few days of footage at a time, in high-definition, before we lose it. We run 1 x 2TB hard drive per camera, at a fairly high frame rate per second and will be looking at larger data storage options, such as employing a NAS unit.

http://www.gumtreecs.com.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/FCP26082014113316pm.jpg

[PatriciaRose]

I been watching Swift for a while tonite- looks like today might be the day for an egg!

[MAK]

I been watching Swift for a while tonite- looks like today might be the day for an egg!

Fingers crossed!