Live Streaming saved-for now

In light of our budget limitations we are fortunate that our live streaming service provider has graciously offered to continue the Columbus FalconCam live streaming video for the next couple of weeks free of charge! So disregard my previous post because for now, at least, the video will continue.

Hopefully, a budget for the state will be approved soon!

Live Streaming to be shut down

Unfortunately, the State of Ohio will not have an approved budget as of July 1, therefore, the Ohio Division of Wildlife will be suspending the live streaming of the Columbus FalconCam until further notice. Please check out the notation on the live streaming pages of our website (to be posted soon) for more information. We are extremely sorry for this abrupt action and hope that an approved budget will be in place soon so that we can resume the service.

Columbus' big fireworks event, Red, White & Boom is Friday, July 3rd. Every year I get asked what do the falcons do during the show--will it scare them, etc. By the time the fireworks are going off the falcons will be at their chosen roost for the night and the fireworks will be much the same to them as a big thunderstorm-just a lot of lightning and thunder. All of the people downtown for the event won't bother the birds - they see people and cars in the streets everyday.

Busy ledge this morning

Over the past several days there have been a few general reports from observers seeing multiple falcons flying well downtown. Last Friday afternoon we received a call that a falcon hit a window of the Huntington Building but the observer couldn't see from their vantage point to tell if the hit was a grounding hit or not. We didn't get any further reports of a falcon down, so we assume it was a life lesson in "glass clouds vs. real sky" and all was well afterward.

Fast forward to this morning and there has been quite a bit of activity on the ledge between adults and juvies both. A little after 9 a.m. I was pleased to be able to confirm Jet (66/H) on the ledge (thanks to Terry for providing photo documentation!). Then, about 11 a.m. I saw Eclipse (67/H)! This is the first confirmed sighting of Eclipse since June 17, according to my notes. It's exciting to continue to get these leg band confirmations over time that indicate that all 3 female fledglings are doing well.

Jet checks in

I was out in the field on another project this morning and so didn't see it myself, but several folks wrote in to report 66/H (Jet) was on the ledge about 10 a.m. (confirmed by the leg band). Sorry, I didn't receive any photos of the observation to share.

Thanks for everyone's vigilance in continuing to watch the cams (even though there isn't much to see any more) and for sending the info in! This kind of documentation is really useful to help confirm which ones are doing well.

Aerial sighting

Over the weekend two unidentified fledglings were spotted on the One Columbus Building, which seems to be a popular spot for the young birds this year. So much so, that the adults have been dive-bombing workers on the roof! I took a call from someone from the building last week and advised him that in another few days to a week that the young would be dispersing and that the aggressiveness should subside. In the meantime I cautioned him to make sure workers that had to be up there had appropriate safety gear (a hardhat) and/or had another person to help protect them from aggressive peregrines!

Today I received a positive ID that confirms 65/H is accounted for and doing well. Thanks to Shane Mathey for sending these photos of Aerial taking a rest on the 26th floor of the Vern Riffe building today just before noon. What a gorgeous day and beautiful view of the river!

Empty ledge again? Not quite

Yesterday, Jet (66/H) and Eclipse (67/H) spent most of the day on the ledge until Jet took flight again about 3 p.m.

As of this morning, Eclipse continues to spend time on the ledge. So far into the fledging phase the adults have been very active, continuing to provide food for the young falcons but as time goes on, that will lessen. So, if Eclipse doesn't take flight soon just for the sake of flying, she'll have no choice when it gets to the point that she's not being fed as much as she wants to be.

From this point on we are likely to see less and less activity on the ledge as the young continue to hone their flight skills and eventually become independent. We'll continue to watch and note what leg bands we see via the ledgecam and I know many of you out there will as well. I'd like to take this opportunity to say THANKS to all of you who have sent in reports and updates both directly to me and through other means throughout this nesting season. I may not have been able to respond to each and every email but know that your interest and the information you have provided has been helpful and very much appreciated!! As I always say, THANKS FOR WATCHING! :-)

Updates in the next few weeks will be posted on the blog when there is something to report, but if you login and there hasn't been any news posted for awhile it is simply because there hasn't been any activity to note. Always assume no reports mean the young are doing well!

All 3 juvies accounted for

After Jet's (66/H) assisted return to the ledge yesterday afternoon, things got really busy on the 41st floor of the Rhodes Tower. Within the next few hours both adults and the two other female fledglings were reported on the ledge. Viewers via the cams were treated to quite the show as the adults brought in food and the young fought for it. The best part was being able to confirm all 3 fledglings via leg bands. From what I saw it looked like Aerial (65/H) and Eclipse (67/H) had extremely good control over their flight.

As of this morning it appears that at least one juvie is still on the ledge - likely Jet. Only time will tell when she'll take her next flight.

Jet back on ledge

An exciting first day on the job for our summer intern, Jesse McCarter, who assisted me with Jet's return to the wilds of downtown Columbus. Since all of the other fledglings were gone we were able to put her back out at the nest ledge. Were there any nestlings remaining on the ledge this release location wouldn't have been possible without potentially bumping one of the other birds off the ledge prematurely. In that case we would have put her out up on the roof of the building. But, ideally the nest ledge was the best place as being in familiar territory we were hoping she'd stay put for awhile before venturing back out into the skies over downtown.

Looking out the peephole from inside I could see an adult on the ledge. It turned out to be Scout. Hearing me explaining the process to Jesse, she started squawking. With her out there the plan mostly stayed the same, except Jesse would have to wait until another time to take in the view.

After a quick photo I took the bird from Jesse and he opened the door. I didn't check the time but it was likely about 3:45 in the afternoon. I put her down on her belly facing towards the building and then we quickly closed the door and hoped she'd stay put. Now that I'm back to the office I see she's still on the platform so it looks like things worked out the way we intended. Let's hope she can get the hang of landing the next time she flies!

Jet grounded Saturday

Jet (66/H) was found on the ground early Saturday morning. The county wildlife officer was called. She appeared OK but to be on the safe side she was taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center where she spent the remainder of the weekend resting. There was no sign of trauma or bruising so we think she probably just had a couple of missed landings and got flustered and/or tired and ended up on the ground. We plan on putting her back out in familiar surroundings (the nest ledge) later this afternoon to give her another chance.

A juvie was on the ledge last evening and this morning but no band number was able to be confirmed. So far assuming all is well with all of the others.