Falchi pellegrini a Columbus, OH: Orville&Scout

[Giovanna]

http://ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/falcons/Default.aspx

Ormai non è più il nido di Orville e Victory. Ora c'è Scout.
Victory è ancora in rehab e speriamo che non voglia tornare mai là.
Lo scorso anno, Scout ebbe la sua prima covata che risultò infeconda. La coppia è rimasta a svernare insieme a Columbus e i rituali amorosi sono in pieno svolgimento.
Qui c'è un video di grande interesse che stranamente è passato per l'Olanda.
Donna Daniel sistema la web cam sotto lo sguardo vigile e curioso di Scout mentre Orville si esibisce in picchiate poco amichevoli per difendere il nido dagli intrusi.
Donna non porta elmetto né altra protezione se non una giacca; non perde mai di vista il falco, si muove lentamente e con tranquillità; il falcone rimane a guardare e non sembra minacciosa come il suo compagno.
Soltanto alla fine un aiutante scaccia la coppia con la giacca per consentire a Donna di voltarsi completamente e quindi di ritirarsi, lasciando in pace i padroni di casa. :D :D :D

http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g92/r ... dekast.flv

Link del 2007
viewtopic.php?p=22886#22886

Foto dello scorso novembre (by Donna Daniel, dal sito)

[Giovanna]

Velocity è nata nel nido di Columbus nel 2006, perciò riporto qui la recente notizia data da Donna Daniel.
Velocity non è in grado di cacciare prede oltre una certa altezza e il suo rilascio sarebbe estremamente rischioso per lei.
Guardando e riguardando un video che non posto (la rehab si fa con prede vive e non è proprio delicato da vedere), mi rendevo conto che si comportava da pigro falco abituato a non fare troppa fatica ed ero seriamente preoccupata all'idea di vederla partire a breve verso quella che mi sembrava una morte sicura.
E' stato deciso diversamente (e, a mio parere, saggiamente) da quanto previsto. Non credo che sarà una brutta vita, è stata libera per pochi giorni, il tempo di involarsi, prima dell'incidente.
Non so niente di Victory, ma forse terranno anche lei.. vedremo.

Il primo paragrafo della news è dedicato al cattivo funzionamento della web cam e ci invita ad avere pazienza.

UPDATE on Velocity and camera from Donna.

Website update and final outcome for Velocity
First the bad news: extensive problems with our server are still causing both the still photos and the live, streaming video to be down. We hope to restore the site this week, but next week may be more likely. Either way we will still have to deal with inconsistent service until we work out all of the bugs. We are very sorry for the inconvenience. Hopefully, the troubleshooting and delays that are necessary now will help things run more smoothly and lessen system troubles during actual nesting. Thanks to every fan for your patience!

Now the other news: remember Velocity, one of the four fledglings from the 2006 nest in Columbus? Velocity crashed into a window on one of her first flights. Eventually she ended up on the ground and was taken to a wildlife rehabilitation facility where she was given a clean bill of health--other than missing key equipment: the collision with the window had caused most of her tail and several primaries to fall out. Without these important feathers we knew she would have trouble navigating the skies which would seriously hamper her progress in learning to fly, maneauver and catch prey. Other than missing feathers everything else seemed in order so it was decided she spend some time with an experienced falconer who would be able to teach her to hunt. This was a long process that started first with letting her sit tight until the feathers grew back in.

Fast forward to the fall of 2007 after her feathers were replaced by molt. The method of training the falconer used involves sending bait up in the air on a kite and releasing the bird to fly to the bait. Eventually, Velocity was able to gain altitude to about 75 feet with no problem. However, when the bait was raised higher she seemed reluctant to fly the distance to the bait, simply giving up and coming back down to perch on the ground. Several different approaches were attempted over many weeks of training but she simply lacked stamina. Finally, it was deemed that this bird just did not have what it would take to survive in the wild. This wasn't the outcome we had hoped for but the next best thing is that Velocity will stay in Ohio in captivity: she will be an ambassador and represent her species in the world of wildlife education. Velocity is the newest member of the Glen Helen Raptor Center Education team to be used in public programing teaching wondering minds about peregrine falcons and conservation of wildlife. As soon as I get a current photo of her I will post it here. Thanks to Glen Helen Raptor Center and the falconer for their efforts!
posted by Donna Daniel at 2/25/2008 01:23:00 PM

[Sonia]

altre news del 5 3
Nestbox still photos back up

The nestbox still photos are back up, however, the picture is blue. We're not sure what's causing this, but the problem is probably related to the same issue that was giving us a pink picture as discussed in my Jan 23 post. We hope to get the camera reset in the next day or two which should restore the picture to the proper color. The ledgecam live streaming is operational and we hope to have the nestbox live stream back up soon also. Thanks for your patience!!

[Sonia]

presenze al nido...












e preparazione? :D

[Giovanna]

Intanto c'è la scrape. Poi vediamo... :roll: :D

[Sonia]

Eh si, non ci resta che attendere...





:D

[Giovanna]

Update from Donna.
When can we expect eggs?
For now the falconcams (still photos and live streaming) are operational again! We are still working on some system tweaks so hopefully future outages--if they occur--will be kept to a minimum.

Peregrine season will be under way any day in Ohio. I haven't heard an official report yet for this year (statewide updates should start on the Division of Wildlife's website soon), but looking back at last year the first egg for the season was laid at the Cleves site on 3/7/07. Scout produced her first egg on 3/24/07. Generally, as the female matures, eggs can be produced a little earlier in subsequent years. So, I wouldn't be surprised if Scout starts a few days sooner this year. Here's a picture saved from the major snow storm that hit Columbus over the weekend. The camera is about 6 inches above the ledge. At one point the entire view was obscured by snow. But as you can see from checking the cams this week, the southern exposure of the ledge made quick work of the snow!

posted by Donna Daniel at 3/11/2008 12:27:00 PM

[Giovanna]

Anche qui dovrebbe essere tempo di uova, ma per il momento la coppia si dedica alle gioie dell'amore.. :D

[Sonia]

corteggiamento, e accoppiamento !

stasera passeggiata...
:D

[Sonia]

Evvai con il primo uovo!!!

:D

[Giovanna]

Oh finalmente! :D :D :D
L'anno scorso aveva deposto per la prima volta e le uova erano risultate infeconde.
Questa dovrebbe essere la volta buona!!! :D :D :D

[Sonia]

Monday, March 31, 2008
1st egg for 2008!
Scout's first egg for the 2008 nesting season was laid about 9:49 a.m., Saturday, March 29th. Eggs are laid every 2-3 days and are slightly smaller than a chicken egg, mottled with a dark, reddish-brown pigment. Peregrines generally lay a total of 4 eggs. Scout won't actually begin to incubate them until most of the clutch is laid. In the meantime, it won't hurt the first egg(s) if the adult isn't keeping it warm-it simply won't begin to develop yet.

A second egg is expected sometime Monday or Tuesday.

Again, the problems with the live streaming are beyond the control of the Ohio Division of Wildlife. We're working to get the stream restored as soon as possible.
posted by Donna Daniel at 3/31/2008 08:05:00 AM

[Sonia]

Ma se il primo è stato deposto il 29 marzo...
poi più nulla? :?





dal sito:
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
So what is Scout waiting for?
Will there only be one egg in Columbus this year? According to what is "supposed to happen" we'd have a second egg by now. The usual time between eggs is 2-3 days. But, for whatever reason, Scout seems to be taking her time. Both adults have been incubating off and on for brief periods of time, but true incubation (one or the other bird keeping the egg(s) warm 24-7) has not started yet which would indicate the clutch is not yet complete. We are all in "waiting mode" together - watching to see what will happen. It's hard not to get anxious!
Orville continues to be supplying a good variety of prey. This time, a northern flicker was on the menu! (Thanks to Deb J. for supplying the photo!)
posted by Donna Daniel at 4/02/2008 01:27:00 PM

ok...aspettiamo fiduciosi :roll:

[Sonia]

Friday, April 04, 2008
Things not looking good...
Well, there is still only one egg in the nest and if you have been watching closely you may have noticed that Scout and Orville are not at the nest as often as before. One egg alone after several days like this definitely indicates a problem. Dave Scott, peregrine falcon project leader with the Division of Wildlife said that possibilities include a problem with the pair, interference or selection of an alternate nest site.

Interference can be eliminated right off as there have been no reported sightings of other peregrines in the downtown area. It is always possible that the birds have chosen an alternate nest site, however, their options in downtown Columbus are pretty limited as no other nest box exists. That doesn't mean they might not choose their own ledge or nook, but given the structure of the majority of the buildings downtown, there isn't a lot to choose from (but, it doesn’t mean they wouldn’t try!). I would ask any falconcam fans who work or otherwise spend time downtown to keep an eye out and if you see one or both of the falcons spending time in a particular area away from the Rhodes Tower to please let me know.

Likely, the problem comes down to Scout and a malfunction of her reproductive system. It is too soon to tell if this is a permanent issue with her or simply a matter of her system taking longer than average to mature. Unfortunately, we don’t have exact answers and everyone is in the same boat of having to just keep watching to see if things come together and the pair can re-cycle for a second attempt.
posted by Donna Daniel at 4/04/2008 03:02:00 PM

:roll:

poco fa era nel nido...
sembra stiano facendo un altro scrape. mah

[Giovanna]

E' una storia strana e un poco controversa.
Forse nella tarda serata di oggi Scout ha deposto un secondo uovo nel nido 'regolare'.
Un altro uovo deposto altrove è stato prelevato dall' ODNR.
Comunque il comportamento e/o le capacità riproduttiva di Scout sembrano per il momento anomale... :?