Wednesday, January 15, 2014

WELCOME to 2014!

Despite the extreme fluctuations in weather that Columbus has been experiencing, we are still seeing the falcons visiting the ledge.  Below is a photo taken yesterday morning.
We have had a great year.  After experiencing two years without a successful nest, 2013 was a welcome change.  This was the first nesting attempt for Durand and Spark.  Through watching the nest box cam we learned just how big a part the male can play in the incubation process and Spark really stepped up to the plate to fulfill this duty.
Now that this pair has a successful year under their belt, hopefully we can expect great things for 2014.
Some interesting stats for the time period from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013: Total number of visits: 181,479 (compared to 135,264 in 2012), of these 43,514 were unique visitors. The Highest traffic day was April 30, 2013 with 5,560 visits.  April 30th was the day after Zoom hatched.  Other peak visit days included May 21st (banding day) with 3,877 visits and June 7th (fledge day) with 3,335 visits.

The Columbus nest was viewed by people from 71 different countries!!  The majority of the fans are from Ohio but some of the other top locations include Canada, Netherlands, Germany, and Australia.
Thank you to everyone who has followed the Columbus Falcons over the years.  A BIG THANKS to all the men and women who purchase hunting, fishing licenses, an Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp and/or donate to the Wildlife Diversity fund.  Without your support the Division of Wildlife would not be able to fund educational outreaches such as the Columbus FalconCam.