With winter setting in around Orange, and a week of the coldest nights so far this year, it’s been comforting to see both adult peregrines staying with us. Swift spends the afternoons up on the tower roof sunning herself, while Beau tends to roam the countryside. Every so often you’ll catch Swift overnighting in the eyrie. We can go days without spotting Beau so it’s good to see him when he does decide to grace us with his presence. Last evening both birds came back to the tower, and again this morning both were here, one on the roof and one on the microwave dish down the side.

Winter will get much colder but with some luck either (or both) peregrines will remain live Internet stars for the duration.

The new server configuration for our streaming capability now seems to be more stable  & automated, with some software contingencies in place if things go wrong; we can but hope that electrical power & the campus network stay up for us!

As Autumn becomes Winter in Orange our resident adult peregrine pair remain with us, and indeed Swift spends many hours on her ledge. This morning we were visited by the local white bully boys, the gang of cockatoos, who have been hanging around testing Swift’s patience more than once recently. True to her nature Swift didn’t lose her cool and watched as the cockies messed around in the trees below, with the odd swoop past the ledge before departing.

Yesterday we were treated to a bowing display between Beau, who arrived first, and Swift, following soon after. Video from both the ledge camera and the HD nest camera of the same incident can be viewed at the links in this sentence.

Today we’re undergoing some maintenance work on the video streaming server to try and stabilise it a little better. You may find the cameras are down at times for testing today and over the next couple of days while we streamline the server’s operation. Apologies to all. If we had to make some big changes this is the best time of the year to do them!! Back soon…

Swift enjoying post-lunch preening

Life around the Concrete Hilton goes on as per normal for Swift and Beau. With no kids around they have the area all to themselves and have indeed been staying close to home. On some days Swift has spent most of her day here, either on the ledge, snoozing in the eyrie or up high on the roof. Yesterday we were treated to both adults on top of the tower, pretending not to notice each other but enjoying the sun! This morning a mini-flock of 10 cockatoos arrived to disturb Beau’s peace around on the microwave dish. They spread themselves out over the angled roof and it took them a while to notice Beau around the corner but the white clowns soon flew off again, no harm done..

A happy and safe Easter to all our viewers, supporters and crew. Best wishes to everyone in the northern hemisphere where your peregrines are returning home once more. Keep in touch!

Cleared for take-off!

After a week or so of unusual power glitches affecting our servers and cameras it appears we’re past the worst. We took the opportunity during the various power cycles and reboots to finally feed the hi-definition nest camera through our web pages, replacing the older &  lower quality nest camera, a unit which has been a faithful servant for a good period of time and has witnessed some of our most incredible memories, but has now effectively been superseded in technology. You’ll find the improved nest view at our camera pages, hosted by CSU’s Division of Information Technology web servers. This new beast is a day/night, all-weather camera with awesome colour quality (more details on the nest camera page) . We’ve also been able to improve the Project’s technical control over the camera web pages after negotiation with CSU which should allow for efficiency in tasks as required – thanks heaps to Robbo, James and Bobbie for allowing us this liberty!

We must also again mention our fantastic technology suppliers, Shane at IP Video Solutions and Basil at Lan1, who have provided sound technological advice, good equipment, and more than worthy sponsorship for our software and hardware improvements. They play a big part in the results we’re able to bring to everyone now.

We have further technical “behind the scenes” improvements to undergo to our streaming capability and stability shortly but will keep down-time to a minimum. Thanks everyone for sticking with us!

Incidentally Swift has been delighting us with her regular audiences on her ledge and the occasional rest in the eyrie, but it’s also created difficulties in arranging a maintenance climb, which will have to be done any time now.

We’re well past the best that summer could throw at us, and with cool temperatures & serious flooding all around Orange our resident peregrine couple have chosen their location well. The occasional visit by Beau and the regular hours spent keeping the window ledge warm by Swift have kept us “in peregrine” over this quiet spell. With some luck and effort we want to be able to make the new HD nest camera available via the camer pages shortly too.

We are also about to undertake a climb to clean out all the old feathers and detritus from the Concrete Hilton but with Swift spending so much of her day with us now the window of opportunity will have to be well chosen. Both adults, in their infrequent visits, have shown great interest in last season’s scrape and will inspect it and settle in before returning to the ledge once more.

Very quiet up in the trees and on the ledge lately. We can almost certainly now state that our 3 youngsters, Byng, Ophir and Narrambla, have “left the building” and ventured forth on their own. No sign of the younglings for over a month now. We have been fortunate though to have been entertained by adults, Swift and Beau, who will stay with us right through the season (the macropus subspecies in Australia is non-migratory).

There’s a theory for why our 3 youngsters have all left us so early and it has to do with this amazingly average summer that Orange is going through. Apparently it’s the coolest summer on record and we haven’t had a day above 30degC (86degF) at all. With the odd week after New Year in very cold temperatures this may have thrown out the birds’ clocks and they’ve moved on early. No doubt Beau is happy as he’s not being pestered, and Swift has her ledge back without being attacked by the angry Ophir! Indeed Swift overnighted with us a few nights ago. Great to see her with us!

With all students now back on campus there’s a renewed interest in activities up the Concrete Hilton once more and the public screen in the Learning Commons area has drawn quite a few passersby.

First thing this morning Swift was happily soaking up the sun’s rays on top of the Concrete Hilton when she was joined by 5 rowdy white sulphur crested cockatoos. When they realised who was quietly hunkered down at the far end of roof their crests flicked up and gradually they waddled their way towards her. Like a mob of schoolground bullys they advanced to within about 3 or 4 feet before she revealed herself like a Sith Lord, wings spread, and they backed away. Determined not to be outdone they maintained their verbal taunting for a while longer until Swift employed “strategy” and flew down in to the trees. Three of the bullys followed her down but lost her in the thicket. After the remaining two followed them to the trees Swift quietly flew back up for a few minutes before being rejoined by four annoying cockies.

Showing incredible patience Swift held her ground and eventually doubled back down on to the ledge – a clever move as the cockies have nowhere to land near her. The game continues while the bullys float around buzzing the ledge but one would put their money on Swift winning this one soon!

Swift and friends

It’s been a few days now since we last saw one of this season’s three youngsters. It may well have something to do with the bad weather, but it will no doubt also be influenced by all three maturing and attaining more independence. With some luck they’re all becoming adept at hunting.

Indeed since earlier this week we’ve only been accompanied by Swift and Beau who may be feeling more “at home” once more, now that their offspring are flying off to new regions on their own. Swift has spent many hours on the ledge , with an entire overnight the other evening. Beau also comes home to roost and if you’re lucky you’ll catch either/or in the cameras during the day, most often at dawn or dusk.

In saying that here’s a shot from earlier this week of the last sighting of a yearling, taking a snack:

Dining in

With some pretty average weather, violent storms last week and rain predicted this week, it’s a quiet time in the trees, although regular feedings (or pleading for feedings!) can be heard every day still. The youngster roll call has reached two at any one point in time since last year so we can but hope that number 3 is safe and sound elsewhere. This period has given us an opportunity to breathe again and plan ahead for this year. The priority for us now is to achieve funding for the second HD camera. This first camera, to appear soon on the streaming pages, is vastly superior to our our older models, and a second unit will replace the current ledge camera. We’re well on our way in $ terms, thanks to our brilliant supporters from every walk of life! Once improved vision is in place we’ll be looking further towards upgrading our two servers as they’re old and running very close to 100% most of the time, but in saying that they’re very reliable and proving their current worth.

The feeling of the day

The worst of the storms have passed by (more later this week), with fortunately no serious damage to equipment nor peregrines, although I gather there were a few nervous moments up top too. During the storm a video clip was run, (just in case!) showing one of the youngsters trying to shelter on the microwave dish arm – just about the very worst place to be during one of our storms! Luckily nothing happened but the audio in this clip is an indication of what went on for about 45minutes around us.

Also some really nice quality video footage of Beau running an eyrie tour inspection the other day. Interesting his desire to “scrape” at this point in time but good to see him. All family members are finally getting used to the new “eye” in their eyrie too.

Siblings together once more

If you’re currently having problems with the cameras it could be that the sky is at present falling on our heads in Orange. A severe and very direct storm is passing overhead and has required 2 restarts to the streaming & monitoring servers. Hang in there – normal transmissions will resume as soon as possible!
All falcons have hunkered down elsewhere, which is a good move as no doubt Beau remembers being caught on the microwave dish 4 years ago when a direct hit struck the tower & flashed across campus. The only (other) bright news from amongst the 50 dead computers & printers that day was that 3 days later our first born, Migii, miraculously & against all laws of nature, hatched!

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An unusual moment of interaction late this afternoon up on the tower. Swift was quietly sitting on the small WiFi antenna on the north side of the tower, sunning herself in the hot summer glare, when Beau arrived and started urgently bowing and chirping away to her from higher up on top of the ridge. One of the youngsters swung around from above the trees and as it attempted to land next to Beau he hopped along and pushed it away, before following it down over campus and out in to the northern yonder, all the while being harassed by his offspring. Eventually Beau quietly returned to settle on the ledge, no doubt without realisation that Swift is still just around the corner! This behaviour is reminiscent of most probably what’s to come in the next 3-4 months as the youngsters will be driven off for good near the end of summer/beginning of autumn. Debate continues as to why this was such a dominant display by Beau. Of course it would have to be a day where the SLR camera was absent. All comments welcome!!

Just noticed an article from over the Tasman Sea in New Zealand about a new New Zealand Falcon chick hatched at Staglands Wildlife Reserve near Wellington. Very cute photo of a very young eyas, but  alarmingly low numbers for yet another species in trouble. Great to see more recovery efforts making a difference – “Fast life for a little predator” (Stuff.co.nz, 13-01-2012).

There’s little to report from up the Concrete Hilton over the weekend, with one video clip ready  to upload (troubles uploading; will repair ASAP). The good news is that the new HD camera is running beautifully and the paperwork is going in to CSU’s DIT people shortly to allow us to change over from the old camera to the new nest camera. There will also be some security upgrades to the server undertaken.

Visits to the trees and in to the eyrie are patchy at the moment but most of the peregrines are still in the area. Going home back down the road the other evening I witnessed a writhing starling mass, similar to a shoal of sardines in a panic, above some pine trees. As I drove closer I was passed going the other day at high speed & low altitude (i.e. car height) by one of the young falcons who must have terrified the starlings in to panicking but seemed far more determined to get home than to harass the potential dinner menu.

More activity in the cameras this morning with a feed supplied by an adult (most probably Swift as she’s been back with us more recently) and voraciously accepted by the young’n. Calm then returned after a lengthy meal, with some very generous poses, contemplating and preening.

Video clip of the day – 2 of the 3 youngsters enjoying time together, away from the blustery day outside.

Quiet time together