Falcon cam follows pair of nesting birds

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This article was published 03/05/2012 (5150 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A pair of endangered peregrine falcons are nesting on the former McKenzie Seeds building, and every moment is being captured with live video.

The CBC Manitoba Falcon Cam launched Wednesday, a joint partnership with the Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project. This is the second year a camera is following a pair of nesting birds in Brandon.

“Because we have all this wonderful … technology, we can actually share what we watch from a scientific perspective with the public,” said Tracy Maconachie, project co-ordinator for the Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project, Manitoba.

“Hopefully the public gets an idea of what a wild species has to go through just to make it through a breeding season.”

A camera is also following a pair of nesting falcons on the Radisson Hotel in downtown Winnipeg, which has been done since 2006.

Due to a mild spring, the peregrine falcons have returned to Manitoba sooner than usual. There are already eggs in both nests.

“These guys have just started incubating now, so they’re going to be doing this for the next month,” Maconachie said. “These chicks probably won’t hatch out until the beginning of June, then they’ll be around for another 45 days till they fly, and they may be a little bit longer than that.”

The camera runs until all birds have left the nest site, which is typically mid- to late July.

Maconachie said the recovery project has used cameras for many years to peer into nests.

“It lets us remotely monitor what’s going on in the nest boxes,” she said. “It’s not the easiest place to be able to keep an eye on, but its a great location for peregrines.”

Breeding seasons are always a challenge for endangered animals.

“One year can be really good, and the next year can be really bad, and the next year no birds might return,” she said.

“Being endangered really means that every year you start over again. When one of the birds disappears from a pair … you have to hope that another bird is around and suitable to fill that gap, otherwise you lose a breeding year. It can be the difference between a species doing well and a species in decline.”

To watch the live falcon cam, visit cbc.ca/manitoba.

» jaustin@brandonsun.com