We have been working since almost the day Trey & Princess laid their eggs to get access to the ledge to provide them with a short-term nest-tray to provide a bit more security in the event of a major rain event. I have been working on this with Canada's foremost peregrine expert, a biologist that has had many years of experience doing exactly what we are attempting and while the operation isn't difficult or dangerous to anyone - people, peregrines or eggs/chicks, we just hadn't had cause to do it in our 29 year history. We have done it once now, with the West Winnipeg birds, and it was textbook - we installed the nest-tray, Jules (a first time nester) returned to the eggs and immediately resumed incubation. With Princess and Trey, both very experienced parents that are much more tolerant of human activity near their nest than Jules and Ivy, and given how dedicated Princess was to protect the chicks last year during the June 6th storm, we are anticipating that this installation will be equally straightforward. Because we actually have to use specialized equipment to access the ledge, we, the Project and Manitoba Conservation, decided to have one less thing to worry about so we are installing the tray before the cam goes live. CBC Manitoba, Shaw TV and the Radisson Hotel/CanadInns are all in agreement with our decision.
Now our window of opportunity is closing quickly so the webcam will go online in the next few days. I hope to have a firm date/time tomorrow but I need to confirm it first with our partners at CBC Manitoba. I will email everyone on our updates list and here on the Forum - about 3,000 people all told. If you are a member of the Forum, you will automatically receive a notification by email.
So please bear with us, we are trying to reduce the chances that last year's tragedy will be repeated. We made the decision to have a webcam on this nestsite even though this site is inherently more dangerous for the chicks and we risk the condemation of the public if something happens to any of the birds. The reality is that 40-50% of all the young hatched this year in North America will not make it to this time next year. We are trying to improve those odds for our birds by hopefully helping them make it through their first 4 weeks on the nestledge by installing a nest-tray. The trade-off is that you all have to wait a few more days to watch the Radisson peregrines live. We have tried to provide everyone with regular/semi-regular updates and photos to help survive the delay, at a considerable cost of time for three volunteers with jobs, families and other responsibilities.
The Peregrine Chick
