NE / Omaha - Woodmen Tower - 2022 / Mintaka & Chayton

[carly]

You may be right but I'd feel better if she was tested to say for sure.

It would certain put a lot questions to rest ... do we know if they had any plans to test her for HPAI or conduct a necropsy?

They local authorities picked up her body so I expect they will. I haven't heard anything 'official' yet but given how it's spreading everywhere, I would expect them to do it.

[The Peregrine Chick]

You may be right but I'd feel better if she was tested to say for sure.

It would certain put a lot questions to rest ... do we know if they had any plans to test her for HPAI or conduct a necropsy?

[carly]

The new female was north of the site at the other location - there is always one there hanging out.  I expect she came in because he kept calling and calling for Beauty but she never responded as she seemed to be in a sort of trance for hours.  It was the weirdest thing.

Beauty was a strong female, she has had her share of battles for sure but it was the way she died TPC..it was similar to Chayton.  She didn't even go into the nest box, she just stood outside facing the nest box - literally right in front of it for hours as if she was a statue...and when she passed she was still standing up with her wings out.

You may be right but I'd feel better if she was tested to say for sure. 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Had a feeling that was the case and I wonder now if they shouldn't have assumed Beauty died of old age, she was fine a week earlier.  Wouldn't have hurt to test for it just in case. 

thanks for sharing the results Carolyn, very much appreciated.

It could well be but given that there was a younger female in the nestbox the day after Beauty died and who now is incubating 4 eggs, a territorial fight has to be considered a possibility.  Not sure which would be preferable ... neither is pleasant ...

[RCF]

Had a feeling that was the case and I wonder now if they shouldn't have assumed Beauty died of old age, she was fine a week earlier.  Wouldn't have hurt to test for it just in case. 

thanks for sharing the results Carolyn, very much appreciated.

Beauty seemed to act the same before she died. Sad!

[carly]

Had a feeling that was the case and I wonder now if they shouldn't have assumed Beauty died of old age, she was fine a week earlier.  Wouldn't have hurt to test for it just in case. 

thanks for sharing the results Carolyn, very much appreciated.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Omaha peregrine falcon tests positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

The peregrine falcon that died in a nest box on the WoodmenLife Tower in downtown Omaha tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.

The adult female falcon, named Chayton, died April 18 after being observed, via WoodmenLife’s webcam, behaving oddly. The online webcam provides a live public view of the nest box.

The falcon was retrieved by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and HPAI testing was performed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Veterinary Diagnostic Center.

HPAI is a highly contagious virus that spreads easily among birds and has been detected in both domestic poultry and wild birds. Among wild birds, waterfowl and other waterbirds appear more susceptible to HPAI than other species.

Peregrine falcons’ diet consists mostly of other birds, and the species routinely preys upon ducks, shorebirds and other waterbirds. The deceased falcon may have been exposed to HPAI from its prey.

In addition to the peregrine falcon, HPAI has been detected in the following wild birds in Nebraska during this outbreak: several geese, a swan, two bald eagles and an American white pelican.

Sightings of sick or dead wild birds should be reported to your nearest Game and Parks office; find a location at OutdoorNebraska.org/Locations. For domestic bird illness or unusual death, report to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture at 402-471-2351 and the USDA at 866-536-7593.

Find additional information about avian influenza at OutdoorNebraska.org/AI.
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source: http://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/2022/04/omaha-peregrine-falcon-tests-positive-for-highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza/

[RCF]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TFcYtjLhSA

That's the link for the North Omaha camera, Louis and Clark are nesting here. 

It's the Woodman Life link that doesn't work for us.  https://www.woodmenlife.org/falcons/

[GCG]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TFcYtjLhSA

[The Peregrine Chick]

Ah, that's a thought ... Cdn Phanatics are so scary after all 🤣

[RCF]

I can access the cam on EarthCam but I can't access the Woodmen website, I keep getting blocked due to security settings.  I haven't set any settings related to this page so I wondered if anyone else had/is having similar problems ... 

I have no access for the same reason...it worked last year!  Very strange!

Skygirlblue thinks it may have something to do with being in Canada. It works for her and many others on BCAW.

[The Peregrine Chick]

New young bird at the Woodmen Life Building in Omaha. Distinctive looking - very white and very dark brown.  Think I saw Mintaka in the box earlier and this new bird is definitely big enough to be a female, but I'm pretty sure "she" is a 2021 hatch, maybe even from the Woodmen box considering how interested "she" was in what was on the other side of the glass.  Nothing was going on, bird was just really interested. 


I can access the cam on EarthCam but I can't access the Woodmen website, I keep getting blocked due to security settings.  I haven't set any settings related to this page so I wondered if anyone else had/is having similar problems ... 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Just a few thoughts for consideration ...

Rochester / Beauty - given that an unbanded female moved into the nest with Beauty's new boyfriend the day after does raise the likelihood that her death was related to a territorial dispute - most of conflicts don't happen in the nestbox and given where these peregrines live, we only see a very small portion of their lives.  Princess had a heck of a fight close to a decade ago, one she spent 3 days hanging out inside the nestbox recovering from - she'd never stayed in the nestbox without eggs/young chicks before.  She limped for quite a while and she had cuts/abrasions on her head.  At 15 she would have had a hard time matching a younger bird.

Warren Michigan female - no idea here of course, but Pop disappeared one day mid-incubation.  His son T-Rex abandoned his mate in South Winnipeg and moved in downtown with Madame to raise his father's four (if I remember correctly) chicks.  It was like they were his own kids, smoothest transition ever.  T-Rex never went back to his old mate, she eventually moved to another site closer to downtown.  Holly's mate Zeus vanished not once but twice for a year each time from the McKenzie Seeds site.  Returned to pick up where he left off except in his last year when he was replaced by Brooklyn.  (Brooklyn hatched in Brandon during one of Zeus's sabbatical years).  We've also had a few younger females go missing - most recently Marilyn in 2020, Etta in 2021 - they were here, then they were gone and they were not replaced by other females.  No point in speculating what happened until there is perhaps more news ...

Omaha / Chayton - she was younger but we are a little lucky to have longer lived birds here - the average age for a wild peregrine is 5-7 years, so she was "older".  Her death is definitely a mystery, could be she was injured (fight or collision or ??),  bacterial infection, viral infection, response to something toxic (not particularly likely) or maybe something like Taku's stroke-caused brain damage - no cause, just happened.  But H5N1 is a concern particularly for domestic birds so understandably folks would be concerned.  Again, may just have to wait and see ...

[RCF]

And at Warren Michigan, the 4 year old female has just vanished into thin air.  Her mate has been incubating their 4 eggs on and off the past 6 days - no sign or sounds of another female.  They did a search locally and no body found, no one has reported her injured (she is banded and is the sister of our resident female here at my site).
« Last Edit: Today at 05:56:32 PM by carly »

I haven't looked there recently! That's sad!

[carly]

Sadly, Chayton passed away on cam last night.  She was lethargic and seemed disoriented and slowly collapsed on her clutch of 4 eggs and died.  Heartbreaking to say the least.

Sounds similar to what happened with Beauty at Rochester, NY.  I wonder if it's the Avian flue?   I hope not! 

I hope not either but wouldn't surprise me if it was.   When Beauty passed, I thought okay well she was 15 years old and her mom went at 16 so you could maybe pass it off as a natural thing but watching Chayton last night..she was only 8 years old and some of the signs were similar!.  But then again, might be coincidental. 

And at Warren Michigan, the 4 year old female has just vanished into thin air.  Her mate has been incubating their 4 eggs on and off the past 6 days - no sign or sounds of another female.  They did a search locally and no body found, no one has reported her injured (she is banded and is the sister of our resident female here at my site).