General Discussion : 2017 KestrelCam Discussion

Hello! Welcome to the 2017 KestrelCam season!

We're back with a great camera courtesy of Bosch, and a new streaming platform on Youtube. If you notice a problem with streaming, try refreshing the page and restarting the streams. If you have technical issues or any other kind of issue, please use the contact staff link to get assistance. Please feel free to report any spam or disrespect to AKP staff.

Remember to be respectful and courteous to other viewers, and enjoy the show!

Stay on the lookout for live chats this year, every Tuesday and Thursday at noon MST. I'll be chatting with everyone to answer any and all questions.

Click here to view this thread with the most recent comments on top!

-Delora Hilleary

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Comments:

TerriFla's picture

The egg has been all alone this afternoon, no mom no dad. 

Delorahilleary's picture

Second egg has been laid! I'm creating a video of it now :)
-D

Jill from MN's picture

Congratulations Delora on seeing the second egg get laid!   I am going to watch over lunch to see if I can see it.  :)

 

Shauna's picture

This is my favourite time of year.

Delorahilleary's picture

Same here! I feel like I'm getting kestrel eggs for my birthday :)

TerriFla's picture

Is it your birthday? Happy Birthday!

Jill from MN's picture

I second that!  :)

 

Delorahilleary's picture

It will be very soon! April 5th :) Haha, thanks guys!

TerriFla's picture

Raining now. winds up to 30 mph tomorrow. Hope they are ok.

Jill from MN's picture

Heavy drizzle in the nest box area.   Makes the nest box more shadowy.  For a while I thought there was a third egg but that's not so.   The female isn't sitting on her eggs, just right along side them.

TerriFla's picture

Is that snow? It's coming in the box. Is that ok?

Jill from MN's picture

That scares me....  come on, Mama Kestrel, keep the eggs warm.....   actually, if she does not immediately do that, it will be interesting to see if all the eggs hatch after she does have 4-5 to sit on.   It looks heartbreakingly cold out there.....

 

TerriFla's picture

oh no! This looks really bad. Delora???

TerriFla's picture

feels like temp 27 degrees, snow is building next to the eggs.  :(

Delorahilleary's picture

Hiya guys!

Remember that incubation never starts in full until all eggs are laid, and the eggs are actually quite robust. There isn't any little kestrels beginning development yet! That said, I may add that this year's weather has been BONKERS. We had record snow over the winter, and now none of us were expecting a snow storm now. I had to drive up in an inch of slush, whew!

In the worst case scenario, the adults would prioritize their survival and body heat over unincubated eggs. The female still has more eggs to lay - and birds frequently lay additional clutches if the first fails.

We'll all find out what happens together :) but the air temperature is still above 32 degrees. I'm not sure we can discount those eggs yet :)
-D

Jill from MN's picture

Thanks so much, Delora!   I appreciate your level head and your reassurance about the eggs.  

TerriFla's picture

 

 

Delorahilleary's picture

Just as a note to everyone, if the cams go dark, it's likely due to a power outage. We've had a few power blips already. We'll be working to keep everything online as much as possible through this storm!

TerriFla's picture

Stay safe!

TerriFla's picture

When looking with the outside cam is the building in the view behind the trees the library?

Delorahilleary's picture

Indeed. The Nest Box is perched on a northwestern corner of the Archives of Falconry and Library building. When the camera looks around, you get a view of the rest of the building. Here's a pic I grabbed from google maps!

http://image.prntscr.com/image/5f070bcffcd840bf82a78715d9f4b487.png

 

TerriFla's picture

so is the building down in the valley area a home then?

TerriFla's picture

yep. I just saw it on google earth myself!

TerriFla's picture

Dang leave for a minute and the female is gone and the male is there!

TerriFla's picture

Dang left a minute again. Where did those chunks of snow in the box come from?

Delorahilleary's picture

The snow chunks fell down from the side and ceiling. Temps raised enough for stuff to melt!

TerriFla's picture

I think she laying.

Delorahilleary's picture

I think so too! She's certainly acting like it.

TerriFla's picture

3 eggs! NOPE :(

Jill from MN's picture

YES!!!!!!!!    A tantalizing little glimpse indeed.

Delorahilleary's picture

Not quite there yet folks. I saw a good look at two still.

Shauna's picture

Fair warning to fellow report submitters: I sometimes make mistakes.  The image is often fuzzy and the colours hard to dilineate, so my main errors are distinguishing male and female birds.  I make other mistakes too...but I'm trying to improve!

 

TerriFla's picture

:) I'll be gone most of the day, so she will probably lay the 3rd egg today.  :)

Delorahilleary's picture

I updated the Nest News tab with a bit of information on the current behavior we're witnessing!
-D

Nu-Sun Cinema's picture

It's probably a good thing that she will lay no more eggs. We have had the same situation where a 5th egg was laid 5 days after the other 4 and did not hatch way after the other 4 had hatched. The other 4 chicks were so large when the 5th hatched that no.5 had no chance of feeding due to being bullied by the 4. No.5 did not make it. A tipical cluch is 5 eggs but there have been situations of less.

See our updates on our KESTREL KORNER link to  http://www.nu-sun.com/html/kestrel_korner.html

our HD live stream will start when 1st egg is laid. Thank you, Nu-Sun Cinema

LSW's picture

Hi Delora. We are very appreciative of all your hard work!  We watched every day last season and are happy to start watching another one.  Is this the same pair that was in the box last year??

Delorahilleary's picture

Hello! Thanks for the kind words! We're thrilled to have you back!

It's often hard to say. Kestrels, like many raptors, will attempt to return to a nesting spot year after year if the nest was successful before. However, nest site competition is intense with kestrels! Males arrive from migration first to scope out a good place and coax a female to join him. If a male tries to come back and gets chased out, that makes for a pair reshuffling.

My guess this is a different pair this year, and I believe I spotted a band on the female's right ankle. I'm trying to get a good look now to confirm. Neither of the adults last year were banded.

-D

TerriFla's picture

could it be one of the hatchlings from last year with the band?

Delorahilleary's picture

It's a possibility! I'm going to attempt to lurk and spot the female with binoculars when she leaves the box at some point - I want to try to read the band. (Assuming I'm not seeing things and just imagining the possible band on her ankle!)

TerriFla's picture

Happy Birthday Delora! I hope you have a wonderful day! Thanks for all you do!

Delorahilleary's picture

Thank you kindly :D

Jill from MN's picture

Happy belated birthday to our Kestrels' best friend.  God bless you!  :)

 

TerriFla's picture

The kids in my class were so excited to see the 3 eggs! They can now tell the male and female apart too. Exciting times!

Nu-Sun Cinema's picture

Hi Terrifla,

We have been studing American Kestrel Falcons for 8 years now and have been involved with the Kestrel Partnership for 4 years. Our Kestrels are back and in courtship, copulation mode. We have had HD Live streams of our nest boxes for 3 years and will start when our first egg is laid. Link to http://www.nu-sun.com/html/kestrel_korner.html There is information and video on Kestrels on this dedicated page that your students may find interesting. Feel free to explore our web site. Please let us know if you go on the Kestrel page. The Partnership will be happy to let you know who we are.

We love to share our experiences & studies.

Thank you,

Kim & Rick

Nu-Sun Cinema

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

TerriFla's picture

Thanks! I will share this website with my parents.

TerriFla's picture

4!!! And we missed it again! The kids will be so excited tomorrow!

TerriFla's picture

can you add a paypal button on the donate link?

Sarah Schulwitz's picture

Hi Terri,

Thanks for your interest! We cannot add a paypal button to that page. We try to keep all donations coming in through the same secure system. The system we use the #1 system used for non-profits so you can rest assured that your donation will be securly handled to help keep the KestrelCam running! Thanks for your enthusiam and for teaching your class about raptors through the KestrelCam!

Go kestrels!
Sarah
 

TerriFla's picture

female just tried for the hole but was blown off. Very windy today!

TerriFla's picture

female breathing heavy , maybe laying again?

Posted in General Discussion by Delorahilleary 7 years 3 weeks ago.