Nestbox Cam Up and Running!

Late today our crew replaced the faulty connections on the cable and the nestbox cam views are now operational again!
Happy viewing!

Update on Nestbox Camera

Well, we were certainly excited to get the ledge view back up and running, both the still images and the live streaming. However, now we are having technical problems with the nestbox camera! This is very frustrating for all of you and us, too!

I can report for sure that the camera is working fine. The issue seems to be with the cable that transfers the video from the camera on the 41st floor to the computer on the 40th floor. Troubleshooting continues!

Without the aid of the camera I will be doing site visits to check for eggs at least weekly and more frequently towards the end of March which is the soonest I would expect eggs.

Decoy Scrape, Progress on Live Streaming

A quick visit to the ledge this morning yielded great views of both Durand and the unbanded, adult male. Both birds were present and defensive of "their" nestbox allowing District One's new Wildlife Communications Specialist Karen Norris to take these photos. Durand, in particular, was very cooperative spending part of the time flying by and part of the time perched on the ledge. While it is impossible to know for sure, I believe the male this year to probably be the same as was here last year. Hopefully since both adults have another year of maturity, instincts will kick in strong and we will have a successful nest.

One of the objectives for the trip today was to smooth out the gravel in the nestbox. I then made a prominent "decoy" scrape in an attempt to lure Durand to lay eggs in a good location for viewing. We'll see if she takes the hint!
We are making progress on the camera views. Refreshed still images and streaming video is now working for the ledge camera! However, a new problem has caused a temporary discontinuation of the nestbox views. We do hope to have all views up and running early next week.

Elsewhere in Ohio, peregrines have begun egg laying. Peregrine nesting season is underway!

Nesting Season Approaching

Efforts to restore the camera views on our website continue. Currently, an auto-refreshing still image of the nestbox camera is the only option. It is our intention to have views of both the ledge and the nestbox as well as the live streaming of both cameras available for this nesting season, as we have in past years. However, several obstacles exist before we get to that point though, so stay tuned and thanks to all the fans for your continued patience.

Even with just the one camera view available we have been able to document a new male. This falcon has adult plumage and appears to be unbanded. Unfortunately, no leg bands means no way to identify this peregrine and so no idea where he originated from, or exactly how old he is. We'll have to wait and see if he stays and maintains the territory. Fans may recall last summer and fall we saw Matrix, a young male from the 2010 Canton, Ohio nest, take over the territory. It is unknown if Matrix left on his own, is gone temporarily on migration and may return or was ousted by this male. It is not at all unusual to have unsolved mysteries regarding the whereabouts of these birds.

Generally peregrine eggs are laid in Ohio as early as the second week of March. Last year Durand laid her first egg on April 3. We could expect her to lay about that same time or even a tad earlier this year as she is now another year more mature.

Updates will be posted more often as nesting season begins!

2011 in Review

Despite no young peregrines hatched in Columbus this year, nonetheless, 2011 was an eventful year in Columbus!

A Failed Nest:
The nesting pair in 2011 consisted of Durand, from the 2009 Hamilton, Ontario nest and an unbanded adult male (age and origin unknown). It was likely both birds' first time nesting, as evidenced by some of the behaviors (or lack thereof) we witnessed. 5 eggs were laid in April in two different scrapes in the nestbox. After days of the eggs being apart, nervous viewers were relieved to see all eggs finally in the same depression, moved together by Durand. At first Durand did not seem to have the proper incubation technique mastered, but before long her instincts finally kicked in and the eggs were covered properly. While things went along normally after that point for a time, unfortunately, early in week 4 Durand abandoned the eggs altogether. The eggs were removed from the nest and determined to be infertile--had they been incubated properly and for the required length of time they would not have hatched anyway.

Current Status of Adults:
Early in the season, there were at least 2 instances when a juvenile peregrine briefly came to the ledge before being chased away by the resident adults. Then, in June, a new male was confirmed: Matrix from the Canton, OH 2010 nest. It is not known what happened to the unbanded male. Matrix and Durand remained in the territory until at least fall. Without the cams or reports from folks downtown it is hard to say if one or both birds have migrated out of the area or remain and either aren't being seen or those who may have observed them have not reported it to me. On 12/22/11, the nestbox camera was working and revealed an unbanded adult peregrine in the nestbox. Only time (and properly working cameras!) will tell if that falcon was just passing through.

Status of the Cameras:
We discontinued the live streaming video in July due to the intended change over of streaming services. Further complications have so far prevented us from restoring that service. Then, in October technical problems ended the still images also. We continue to work on restoring both services and it is our intention to have everything up and running again prior to next nesting season.

Blog Traffic:
Of interesting note, below is a summary of traffic to this blog for the time period January 1, 2011 through December 26, 2011. Overall activity was down from previous years but not unexpected due to a failed nest. Nonetheless, interest remained quite high:
Total number of visits: 147,820 (compared to 281,520 in 2010)
Number of UNIQUE visitors: 37,409 (57,969 in 2010)
Highest traffic day with 3,933 visits was April 13, 2011 (the date the 5th egg was laid)
Similar to previous years, traffic came from 70 different countries around the world!!
Ohioans logged over 70% of the visits (104,049)!

THANK YOU to everyone for reading this blog and for your interest in the ODNR, Division of Wildlife's Columbus Peregrine Falcon Project!

Please bear with us while we continue to get the images and streaming video restored for 2012. Happy New Year everyone!

Columbus Peregrines Elsewhere & Local Update

1995 saw the Rhodes Tower nest hatch and fledge an unusually high clutch of 5 young peregrines. Of that clutch, 2 of 3 males ("Roosevelt" and "Leopold") survived to establish nesting territories of their own.

In 1997 Roosevelt arrived in Ft. Wayne, IN, and remained in that territory fledging a total of 36 offspring over the years. He was last seen in April, 2011 and is presumed deceased. Roosevelt was named in honor of Teddy Roosevelt, who was considered our nation's "Conservation President." During his term in office (1901-1909) he worked to protect wildlife and public lands by creating the U.S. Forest Service and establishing Federal Bird Reservations and National Game Preserves, Forests and Parks.

Also in 1997, Leopold was reported in Monroe, MI. Over the years he fledged 33 young from that location. In June of 2010 he was found on the ground and unfortunately died soon after. Leopold was named after Aldo Leopold, author of A Sand County Almanac. Aldo Leopold was considered the father of wildlife management and was a true conservationist.

In the end, the story of these two individual peregrines reflects the mortality that all creatures face. But it doesn't have to be a sad story if we focus instead on how these two peregrines have contributed to the overall population. It is always interesting to follow the lives of these birds and see how they continue to prosper in urban habitats.

Turning our focus to the Columbus territory, both Durand and Matrix have been checking in at the nestbox fairly regularly. Here they are on the ledge on October 5th:

We are continuing to work on bringing the live streaming video back to the website. Unfortunately, the company we intended to change over to back in July is no longer interested in streaming video for us. Currently we are working on a solution and will have the service back up as soon as all details can be worked out.

Final Ruling on the Loss of Scout

As many followers of the Columbus peregrine falcons know, last July we lost our nesting female, Scout. There were several news stories afterward. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the ODNR, Division of Wildlife investigated the matter. During the investigation, the individuals responsible for the death of Scout were identified and interviewed. The case was then presented to the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office. After reviewing all of the information and the circumstances that the individuals were faced with at the time of the incident, the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office decided to not file charges in this case.

We certainly regret the loss of Scout. In her time in Columbus she produced 8 young that successfully fledged and hopefully will survive to establish a territory of their own, elsewhere. The ODNR, Division of Wildlife continues to work to educate all aspects of the public about peregrine falcons. We hope that the positive result of this issue is more awareness of the presence of peregrine falcons in our urban areas and respect of how to properly interact with these powerful birds of prey.

Live Streaming to be Interrupted

As we transition into summer Matrix and Durand continue to bond to the site. One or both falcons can usually be seen at least once a day checking in at the nestbox and occasionally scraping in the gravel.

Beginning July 1 we will be changing streaming video providers so unfortunately, there will be an interruption in the live video feed. It will take some time to get a new contract in place; therefore the service will be down during this transition. In theory, the refreshed still images will not be affected by this change but unfortunately, we are having other problems with the still images that we are currently working to resolve. We will get all views back up and running just as soon as possible. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience.

On another note, there will be some maintenance work performed on the south side (nestbox side) of the Rhodes Tower in July. Since we had a failed nest this season and they don't have to wait for young falcons to fledge, the building folks will be able to start this work earlier in the year than what would have been scheduled had we had a successful nest. So don't be surprised if you see workers scaling the building via the ledgecam!