New Peregrine cam in Australia

[MAK]

Love the "FEEDING" tree. Hope they spot the other soon. Thanks

   I agree Donna, that tree is cool especially with falcons in it! Thanks Annette! 

[Annette]

Last eyas fledge!

[Donna]

Last eyas fledge!

Good luck to them all!! 

[Annette]

And Ophir makes three!

After keeping on edge for the last 3 days Ophir has finally taken that extraordinary (for a 43 day old) leap of faith, and sailed off in to the trees below. Compared with her most recent sibling she was totally dignified and approached her flight with great style. Swift is still casting her shadow up on top of the Concrete Hilton, surveying the lands, but it’s with relief for all of us that all three wee, furry, squeaking eyases have achieved their biggest benchmark to date. We’ll keep an eye on them out in the trees and they’ll most probably be around the neighbourhood annoying local staff in the nearby offices for a few months yet!

With a tear on the cheek and a moist hanky we congratulate Beau and Swift on yet another successful season; now to feed them all.

The feeling of emptiness


Ophir departing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E9buiznwjk#

[MAK]

  That was cool! Stay safe young ones! 

[Annette]

A day for the Project and for the peregrines

It was a very big day out for the Project yesterday, albeit a bleak & overcast one. An early start down at the Nature Conservation Trust cottage and a really good turn-out of staff and visitors who loaded up with a good feed prepared by the NCT staff head chef-ettes Denise and Tiff’. Miles and Angela at ABC Radio phoned in for a live interview & Project catch-up, and we then received a visit from of our main benefactors at 30 Squadron RAAF Beaufighter Association. It was a day of old stories, new chicks, colourful merchandise, the public launch of the new HD camera, plenty of pancakes with lashings of fruit & maple syrup, slideshow presentations, our friends from the Central Western Daily newspaper again, more footage on Prime TV for tonight (thanks heaps, Tim; very nice work!), and most importantly an increased awareness of what FalconCam Project is trying to bring to everyone. Thank you of course also to everyone who turned up for a feed and we hope you’ve all learnt a little more about what both the Nature Conservation Trust and FalconCam Project are doing hanging around Orange!

A really big thank you must go to Paul Toni and his team at the Nature Conservation Trust once more for giving us another hand up in our fundraising. It’s making a really big difference in our aims to upgrade equipment and capability. Any time we can help you out please let us know! Thanks to the CWD and Prime TV again for your ongoing interest, and thanks also to Angela and Miles and crew at ABC Radio Central West for another plug to your dedicated listeners! We must get you out to campus to see these amazing peregrines shortly, Angela! Can’t forget the luncheon that Mandy and her team in Banjo’s Bistro on campus then turned on for us – they should pay you all more!!

And thanks once again to the fantastic people that make up 30 Squadron RAAF Beaufighter Association. Your enthusiasm and financial support pretty much kicked us off 4 years ago and you’re indeed a part of the lives of these incredible (and very speedy) creatures. We thank you for your visit and hope you enjoyed the day on campus without being too bored to tears with all the trivia we threw at you!! Beau and Swift are of course named in honour of the Association (‘Beau’ from Beaufighter, and ‘Swift’ from the motto ‘Strike Swiftly’). See you all again very soon.

Current totals for the day exceeded AU$400 which puts a big hole in to funding required for the second new HD camera. Some happy snaps from the BBQ Breakfast for the Falcons:

CSU Staff


Kitchen staff


Tiff’ & Denise


Some noshing!


30 Squadron


NCT BBQ Breakie


Please note: as stated on the Live Cameras page there will probably be some outage times on the camera feeds owing to maintenance being performed inside of CSU’s servers from today until Sunday…


Ophir joins her siblings

I found the 2nd female, Ophir in trees not far from the water tower last night and, bingo, this morning she was squabbling with her siblings on ‘their’ tree (and old dead pine tree) over some tasty morsel of pigeon or similar.  So she found her way back ’home’ fine.    Sorry I didn’t have my camera with me.  Swift was on guard on top of the tower and Beau was presumably off hunting (five hungry mouths to feed including his own!).

So it appears we have a successful fledging of all three juveniles.  Congratulations all round.

It’s interesting that the parents appear to make no attempt to ‘fetch’ the youngsters that stray after their first flight (or flop as the case may be) and wait for them to find their way back to the others.  But of course they may well know where they are.

Cilla Kinross

[Annette]

Appearance on Prime TV News

Thanks once again go to Tim & Alex and the team at Prime TV News for spending time with us at the Nature Conservation Trust’s BBQ Breakfast fundraiser day. It was a chaotic day but quite the success and we managed to raise $400 towards the next camera, and equipment upgrades. Thank you again to everyone who contributed and to all who are involved!

Prime TV News video clip
http://youtu.be/yyeSfRPlhqQ

[Donna]

Fighter pilot unit takes falcons under its wing
BY REBECCA SULLIVAN
21 Nov, 2011 04:00 AM
THE peregrine falcon has become an unlikely Orange hero, with a remarkable story connecting the bird all the way back to a World War II fighter pilot unit.

In 2007 a pair of falcons, which are a rare sight around the central west, was seen roosting in the water tower on campus at Charles Sturt University in Orange.

A team of conservationists, which would later form the FalconCam Project, made a special nest for the birds.

In November 2008, the tower was struck by lightning, which should have destroyed the two eggs in the nest.

But three days later, by a stroke of luck, one of the eggs hatched.

The story made local television news headlines, and caught the attention of two World War II veterans.

Fred Anderson and the late Norm Williams were both original members of the 1942 RAAF 30 Beaufighter Squadron, whose emblem depicts a falcon and a lightning bolt.

Such a coincidence couldn’t go unnoticed, and the two men contacted the Falcon Cam Project, initiating a relationship that has seen the Beaufighters become the project’s main benefactor.

The National Conservation Trust of NSW is based in Orange, and is also a key supporter of the cause.

The trust held a fundraising breakfast on Thursday to launch a new high-definition camera, funded by the trust and the Beaufighters, which will provide 24-hour live-streaming and motion sensor surveillance of the four falcon nests in the region.

The project’s co-ordinator Scott Banks said the falcons have shown the same spirit and fight as the WWII fighter pilots.

“It’s a really wonderful story. This is such a great cause and we’re so grateful for the support of the Beaufighters and the trust.�

Swift & Beau's cam

[Annette]

Cameras are back!

Apologies for the long weekend without cameras. All systems have been upgraded and both camera streams are running again….. although of course the action has died down a little in the last few days, so the timing was immaculate by CSU’s IT team. There has been the odd extended visit from Swift and the roof has been a regular perch for all five members of this feathered family, but all is well amongst the trees, even with rain yesterday.

Beau and Swift atop the Concrete Hilton



Coverage in the local Central Western Daily newspaper

Thanks to Rebecca & Jude and their team for ongoing coverage in the local newspaper today. Great stuff, and appropriate mention of the fantastic support we’ve received from both 30 Squadron and the Nature Conservation Trust.

http://www.centralwesterndaily.com.au/news/local/news/general/fighter-pilot-unit-takes-falcons-under-its-wing/2363750.aspx

Incidentally one of the young’ns has spent plenty of time this afternoon lazing on the ledge, keeping out of everyone’s way.

Quiet time for a young falcon


Another amusing video clip from today
http://youtu.be/hqCsQebomAc

[MAK]

  Thanks Annette and Donna! That video is a riot! 

[Annette]

Dreary old days in Orange

There has been almost non-stop rain in Orange for about 5 days now. Fortunately the food supply hasn’t dried up too badly and there seems to be a slow but regular, fresh, buffet menu service available from both parents. At different times the two young females (and possibly Byng too) have availed of time alone or together in the eyrie – a slightly drier alternative to the trees outside. This morning we saw an intense feeding between Ophir and Narrambla with plenty of tugging and tearing going on, while Byng had taken a scout around the box a little earlier on. Weather like this isn’t conducive to fun times out flying although two young’ns were spotted about lunch time enjoying the blustery air pockets around the tower before blasting off over the trees again. Swift remains in the lee of the precipitation on the microwave dish arm.

Food fight


Ophir, Narrambla


Out of the rain


Spotted


Mine mine mine


Not letting go


It’s interesting to note that these young peregrines seem to show little or no malice or aggression at all towards each other, even when competition for a feed is very high. They seem content to concentrate solely on the objective, and indeed still get on very well together. No doubt that will change as they grow up and personal space becomes more of an issue. Last night it appears more than one bird slept over in the eyrie. Will keep an eye on tonight’s footage.

[Annette]

Close to home in the inclement weather

We’ve been very lucky over the last 2 days with plenty of company in the cameras. It’s the driest place to be and keeps the peregrines away from the worst of the wind too. Two young’ns have overnighted in the box more than once and yesterday evening they were treated to the third sibling and a good feed from Swift. That was nearly all too much for one of them though and Swift was unceremoniously attacked before making the decision to depart rapidly. There is one young peregrine that seems to be quite aggressive towards the parents; the guess is that it’s Ophir as she was pretty forceful towards her parents in the days before she jumped. Maybe that streak is still in her? To give you an idea have a look at this video (sorry for the intermittent sound; at it’s worst the mike was overpowered by the screeching!).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1smJxOf5yk#

Three siblings


Much ado about feathers

[MAK]

  Thanks Annette! I didn't think I'd see those 3 again. 

[Annette]

The trees are our friends

On an overcast but warm and dry day it appears all three youngsters are in attendance, either on the tower or in the trees eagerly awaiting lunch. We’re only getting the occasional visit on the ledge at the moment but no doubt that will change when rain returns tomorrow (predicted). A brief lunchtime wander out in to the trees located an aggravated Beau (as usual) and one of the three youngsters high up in the “feeding tree� before doing loops & settling on to one of the lower lying gumtrees nearby. Earlier we saw Swift checking up on one of her youngsters in the eyrie but made a quick escape when she got attacked again – we’d have to say, with an attitude like that, it must’ve been Ophir lying in wait again!!

http://youtu.be/tswqFNcyIyI

The perfect lookout


Watching & waiting

[Donna]

Now that's no way to treat your momma! What a bad attitude on that one!