NSW - Charles Sturt University - 2018 / Xavier & Diamond

[Alison]

Today's update.

Two weeks and counting, time for names

Thanks so much to everyone who voted in the Great Chick Naming Competition.  Alas no prizes.

Here are the results:



As you can see, the clear winners were Budhin (sunbeam), closely followed by Gaama (storm). There were only three Wiradjuri names and they did pretty well).

The parents have been leaving the chicks for longer and longer periods alone while they hunt (or just sit on the top of the tower and wait for dinner!). Here are two youngsters with the abandoned egg from this afternoon. You can see how huge they are getting. Often six meals a day coming in, with a few of the large honeyeaters (noisy miner and red wattlebird) in the mix.

http://www.gumtreecs.com.au/wordpress/two-weeks-and-counting-time-for-names/

[burdi]

Growing as you watch them

Published 6 October, 2018 | By Cilla Kinross

The minute you turn your back, the two chicks seem to have grown, such that both Diamond and Xavier, and especially the latter, have trouble tucking the youngsters under them on a chilly night.

Prey has been plentiful.  Xavier tends to focus on starlings.  Diamond has made it clear that these are NOT her preference, but will use them if there’s nothing better.   However, she’s been hunting too now the chicks are a bit bigger, leaving Xavier in charge, and has been bringing in pigeons and rosellas (as in videos above) and below).

Here Diamond is trying to feed the chicks with rosella after they are already full of starling (they are less fussy).  You can almost here her saying, ‘Please, just one beakful more…’.

I was at a nearby reservoir (about 10 km away) today doing a bird survey and saw a peregrine looking for water fowl.  Not sure whether it was one of ours, but it’s always possible.  They don’t get waterbirds very often.

Remember, voting for names finishes Monday.  Names are two threads back.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Cilla

Click here to go directly to this entire update by Cilla Kinross

Courtesy of FalconCam Project

[Alison]

The chicks are growing fast, especially noticeable in their legs and feet.

 

 

[Alison]

Two beautiful, well fed little chicks:

 

 

[burdi]

The opportunity to vote for names continues on this thread - as mentioned below by Cilla.   

DEADLINE Monday 8th October

Little piggies & prey analysis

Published 4 October, 2018 | By Cilla Kinross

The chicks contine to eat until they collapse into a ‘food coma’ to sleep it off.  Prey has been coming in thick and fast, even this morning in the rain.  Mostly starlings, with the occasional parrot or larger prey.  In fact Diamond was so sick of starling she went hunting herself this morning and came back with a rosella, pushing past Xavier as if to say ‘Now, Xavier, this is PROPER food for chicks’.

Mind you the chicks will eat anything shoved their, even it seems starling legs, until Xavier thought better of it.

Due to a question on the chat on YouTube ‘how many prey’ items have come in, which I coudn’t answer, I had a look at my files.   I have over 6000 images (stills and videos) and, at a wild guess, I have usually about 5 images per prey (more if they are interesting/difficult to identify, but often only one or two for whole prey).

So I probably have about 1000 prey to analyse.  Some of these are definitely identified (perhaps 100), another 100 or 200 are just to be confirmed by a second opinion, and the rest are unidentified and will mostly be classified by size.  I’m currently trying to work out how to do this as it’s not as simple as it seems.   I’m currently using the known  prey as examples and trying to use only images where the birds are fairly straight on t the camera.  I’m measuring the length and width of the torso to get a m2, then doing the same for the peregrine in whose clutches it is, then calculating a ratio.  When I’ve finished, I will see how much consistencey there is between the ratios of the known species.  If the variability is too wild, I may have to abandon this method.   Anyway, I’ll let you know how I go.

Cilla

Click here to go directly to this entire update by Cilla Kinross

Courtesy of FalconCam Project

Cilla Kinross says:
4 October, 2018 at 3:08 pm
And if you haven’t yet voted for the names, you can do that here. The names are on the previous thread.

And here’s a repeat of the list of names to choose from, including instructions - from Cilla's previous update/thread (for quick reference).

Cloud, Dust, Breeze, Sunny, Gamma (Wiradjuri for ‘Storm’), Fog, Rain, Burrawarra (Wiradjuri for Dusty), Rainbow, Budhin (Wiradjuri for Sunbeam). 

You can have a vote here too.  Just pick your two favourite names and put them in the comments section.   DEADLINE Monday 8th October.

[Alison]

Hi burdi,

Thank you again for your updates! I am glad that the two beautiful chicks are doing well and growing nicely, but sad that the third chick was not able to hatch. Diamond has continued to incubate faithfully, doing her very best to help all three hatch.

All the images I have posted on this forum are suddenly gone. Don't know if the site is down, or totally gone. 

Trying a new image hosting site; I know nothing about this site, so not sure if it will be of use. Click on images to enlarge a bit.









I think Diamond has now decided to stop incubating the unhatched egg.

[burdi]

Xavier finally found the opportunity to feed his chicks till they were stuffed this morning! He came in with prey at 7:12 am (Orange time) and was able to stay for 25 minutes! 

[burdi]

Thank you so much for your updates and pictures, Alison!

I did see the first hatch, and it was very special to see the little beak opened at the bottom of the screen as the baby begged for food (we couldn’t see the whole chick). I missed the second hatch but caught it on rewind; then soon after there were two little heads with opened beaks! So both chicks appeared very strong right from the beginning.

Their two precious chicks are now much larger and often in clear view. Congratulations to Xavier and Diamond! 

[burdi]

Note - Cilla offers us an opportunity to vote for names for the 2018 chicks in the following update!

DEADLINE Monday 8th October

One week old

Published 2 October, 2018 | By Cilla Kinross

Our two youngsters are doing very well, eating like piggies – see photo supplied by supporter ‘Moka’.   This is the female, Diamond with her chicks.

You’ll notice that the third egg is still with us, but is clearly non-viable.  Diamond is still incubating it from time to time, but I suspect she will quickly lose interest.  It’s exactly the same scenario as last year. Two healthy chicks and one bad egg.  But in the immortal words of Meatloaf: ‘two of out three ain’t bad’.

Prey has included the usual starlings, eastern rosellas and pigeons, but also what I think is a rail (basically, from the shape of its legs and feet), although it was rather pale for a rail (there’s a song in that:).  Conditions for hunting have been very good, if occasionally too windy, but there is rain on the way, possibly starting tomorrow, so I hope Xavier has the roost tree well stashed.

We have started considering names for the two eyases.   I have taken ten suggestions (from the Youtube Chat) and they will go to the vote by CSU staff, and web visitors, so I should have names in a week.  I am NOT going to try to tell them apart, however, unless there are obvious differences – that way leads to madness! After 3-4 weeks, however, females should appear a bit bigger (and often bolshier).

The names that staff (and you) will get to select from are:

Cloud, Dust, Breeze, Sunny, Gamma (Wiradjuri for ‘Storm’), Fog, Rain, Burrawarra (Wiradjuri for Dusty), Rainbow, Budhin (Wiradjuri for Sunbeam).  My apologies if you choice didn’t get up, but more than 10 seemed to be over-complicating things.

You can have a vote here too.  Just pick your two favourite names and put them in the comments section.   DEADLINE Monday 8th October.

Although Diamond does most of the feeding, Xavier is always keen to try his hand and just occasionally, he gets his way.   You can clearly see the difference in these two photos, too, between the much smaller and brightly coloured male.  Mind you, the chicks have grown so much in a day or two, that difference is not as obvious as it should be.

All the best.  Cilla

See entire update by Cilla Kinross

Courtesy of FalconCam Project

[burdi]

Close call on landing

Published 30 September, 2018 | By Cilla Kinross

This morning both parents landed on the ledge at once, causing a few anxious moments as it looked as thought they might collide.

There is no third hatch (and seems less and less likely) but the two chicks are doing very well.  Plenty of food coming, so much so that Diamond is still rejecting some (well starlings, anyway).  We think Xavier might have brought in a rail, too, which is unusual.

And finally, Dad is also getting short turns at keeping the chicks warm, although I haven’t seen him feeding them yet (he tries, but Diamond assumes he is incompetent and takes over).

See this entire update by Cilla Kinross

Courtesy of FalconCam Project

[burdi]

Second hatch without a hitch

Published 27 September, 2018 | By Cilla Kinross

The second chick hatched last night, about 1 am.   Mother and chick doing well and both chicks have been fed today several times.  Diamond still seems to be turning up her nose at starlings, but has accepted grateful pigeons and rosellas and something large and white with black legs (but too small for a sulphur-crested cockatoo, methinks, perhaps a corella??).

A better picture is this one of Xavier, who came into the box after delivering his prey to Diamond (who took it away to have a feed, before returning to feed the chicks later).  He had a bit of a pick at the egg-shell, then went to sit on the chicks (but didn’t have much time as Diamond came back quick-smart to feed).

We are fairly confident that there is a small hole (a pip) on the third egg, but you know the saying about never counting your chickens…..so let’s keep fingers crossed.    Last year, we had two healthy chicks, but the third could not get out of the shell, despite Diamond’s help.

See this entire update by Cilla Kinross

Courtesy of FalconCam Project

[burdi]

Yay, first chick arrives

Published 25 September, 2018 | By Cilla Kinross

After some debate about whether the chicks were hatching late, I checked our records and the hatching time is actually quite normal. It’s been 36 days since the first egg was lain (and she started incubating fairly soon, certainly by the time the second egg came two days later) and the average for our chicks since 2012 is 37 days (from 1st egg lain to hatch) and 35 days from first serious incubation (usually equates to 2nd egg being lain) to first hatch. So we are well within normal time-frame.

The bad news is that the eggs and chicks are right under the webcam, so hard to see. Scott focused the camera better today (thanks Scott), but they are still quite well hidden.  Anyway, here is the first glimpse of our first chick.   I’m thinking a large, ugly rock in that corner might be the go!  And it will give the chicks something to climb on.

See this entire update by Cilla Kinross

Courtesy of FalconCam Project

[Alison]

This is the only image I have so far which shows the two chicks (and the third egg). The quality is abysmal, and to add to that, Diamond was running back into the nest at that moment, which makes it even more blurred.

[Alison]

From a few minutes ago, new eggshell:



I think there are now two chicks, but have not actually seen the second chick. 

[Alison]

YouTube is barely functioning, but here is a tiny glimpse of the first chick, at the very bottom of the image.

Someone brought Diamond a meal; she had a few bites and then left with the prey.



I was hoping for a better view of the chick, but Diamond returned immediately.