ON / Ottawa - Delta Hotel - 2009-13

[Banane]

I don't work downtown but do drive my sister to work in that area every morning. I haven't seen any activity but I avoid looking up while driving  . I have heard reports of two falcons hunting together in the Alta vista area of Ottawa this spring. I was surprised to hear that because I knew that Diana and Connor were possibly nesting and we shouldn't see both of them hunting at the same time so far from their nest.
They are so clever aren't they. From the report I heard, one of the falcons would scare the pigeons off the roof of an appartment building in Alta Vista (Near the Kilborn community gardens where I have a plot) and then the second falcon would chase one of spooked pigeons.
Anyhow, I hope that next year, our falcons find the perfect condition to have successful hatches.
I am glad Rosser, Rain, Beatrix, Cade and Carson are thriving. It would be nice to be in "the thick" of the action but they are in good hands with all the volunteers in Winnipeg and Brandon.
Thank you.
Anne

[Kinderchick]

We haven't heard anything new from Diana and Connor in a while? I supposed no news is bad news in this case. Did the nest fail? ...

I haven't heard anything since June 30th, Banane. I suspect that the nest has failed again. I do have a message into the site, to see if there is any more recent news of them. Have you been down to the Ottawa Crowne-Plaza yourself? I was visiting Ottawa last August and went down there with a friend to check things out. I was lucky to observe them flying overhead, at one point. So glad that you are enjoying our Manitoba peregrine falcons.

[Banane]

We haven't heard anything new from Diana and Connor in a while? I supposed no news is bad news in this case. Did the nest fail?
We haven't had much luck in Ottawa in the last couple of years? What's up?
I've been getting my "fix" from the Winnpeg and Brandon cams/forum for the last 3 years. I love it and enjoy seeing the younglings grow up and become confident birds.
Thank you.
 
Anne in Ottawa

[Kinderchick]

Hatching is expected any time now, although not sure how many eggs there are since there is no live webcam at this site anymore.

[Kinderchick]

There is a possibility that there may be a second pair of peregrine falcons in Ottawa, besides Diana & her partner. The website says to "stay tuned".

[Kinderchick]

Sounds as if Diana & her partner are still incubating eggs. Apparently a trio of Turkey Vultures flying overhead caused a commotion at the nest area today. Diana was observed to be making a lot of noise as they were passing overhead. But apparently, all is still well at the Crowne Plaza nest.

[Kinderchick]

Last Thursday's news from the Ottawa nestsite...

!!! Ottawa is down on eggs!
May 12, 2011 - Ottawa - Delta Ottawa City Centre
CPF Postmaster Reports:
We have just received news from Eve Ticknor that the pair have finally gone down onto incubation! Eve reports that their resident female “Diana”is well hidden, behind a pillar, 2 down from the northwest corner. Sadly, because of the pillars, we will have no way to count eggs nor to tell just when the hatch takes place. It will be a different kind of Falcon Watch this year.

Resident female has been confirmed to be Diana, although I still haven't heard if the male at this site is still Connor. It would be very exciting if Ottawa had a hatch or two this year, since this nest has been unsuccessful for the past few years.

[Kinderchick]

Friday's news of the Ottawa peregrine falcons...

!!! Copulation reported!
May 06, 2011 - Ottawa - Delta Ottawa City Centre
CPF Postmaster Reports:
No eggs as of yet in Ottawa in spite of mating being observed. Both peregrines are staying faithful to the hotel but there is still construction on the roof of the Constitution Square and nearby which may be upsetting their routines.
By the way, the Crowne Plaza Hotel is now known as the Delta Ottawa City Centre.
Eve

There may be eggs yet!

[Kinderchick]

Yesterday's news from the Ottawa Crowne Plaza...

!!! Birds are very much still on territory!
May 05, 2011 - Ottawa - Crowne Plaza
CPF Postmaster Reports:
Good morning everyone,

(7:20 a.m.) I was heading towards Kent/Slater Streets and in the distance I admired an aerial show from a pair of adult peregrine falcons. They both cut quite an impressive figure above the bustling city. By the time I reached the Crowne Plaza Hotel I found an adult perched facing inward on the SW corner of the rooftop.
Take care and keep smiling!
N. McKenna

[bccs]

 

[Kinderchick]

Yes, Elaine, I think we would all be happy with that news, webcam or no webcam.

[Elaine L]

Thanks for the info, Kinderchick.  Overall, what we all want are breeding falcons, whether we see them on camera, or not, so I would be satisfied just to know that our Ottawa falcons have chicks.

[Kinderchick]

And here is the rest of the e-mail I received, since attempting to post the whole e-mail in one post, put me over the 5,000 character limit.

...In any case, we are working on the cameras and hope to have many of them replaced by next year. Some of the temporary fixes and repairs are currently being done (where we can) to get these existing cams back on line until their replacement this fall.

While I am very pro web camera, there are other CPF directors that see them as a huge money pit that no-longer helps the foundation in its financial challenges and needs.  I must agree as I can argue with the overall costs of maintaining added costs of hi-speed internet connections, telephone lines and the huge increased bandwidth cost from the CPF web site host for all of the images.  Last year we had some 80.6 million hits to the CPF web site and the cost of the bandwidth was excessive indeed!

We have several other cameras that are not publishing to the CPF web site, ones that we can not display to the public (as per our agreements with the nest site hosts) not wanting them to be made “public”.  These cameras are for monitoring purposes and as with all of the cameras, they are primarily used to help us and the building management groups manage the sites, allowing us to gather logistics necessary on the birds activity to help them schedule routine building maintenance and repairs on their commercial buildings in and around, before and after the birds activities to avoid problems with the provincial endangered species acts that protect the peregrines.  We are managing some 16 different active peregrine nest sites,, all on private property.  This is our primary focus for the cameras these days, not so much the show and tell aspect anymore.  Although I am still a firm believer of the educational value of the cams and will be a staunch supporter of the web cams.  We have learned so much about the behaviour of the birds and still after more than 16 years since CPF installed one of the very first and only peregrine web cams on the internet – (back in 1995), and still learning something new most every day with their use!

Please bear with us and stay tuned as we’re working on it.  We do have a CPF news page, where all of the updates are being posted and we’re trying our best to stay current, - http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/news.html , but remember,, we tooo are a volunteer driven organization that depends on the many volunteers to help us through day to day and keep us updated on the current happenings.

Wishing you guys a great season, and please say hello to all of our friends out there!

[Kinderchick]

Sometime near the end of March, I sent an e-mail, inquiring about Conner & Diana and the Crowne Plaza webcam in Ottawa, which does not seem to have been operating for awhile now. Earlier this week, I received a reply, which does not sound too promising for an upgraded webcam any time soon...  

Sorry for the long time to respond as I have been in the field and on the road for the past weeks doing site visits, nest box repairs, and addressing client and building site nest hosts. Thank you for your support and interest.  Welcome aboard and glad to have another peregrine lover!

Sadly, we have had some terrible challenges with several of our web cams over the past two seasons, and this year is shaping up to be another problem year. With aging cameras (some of them are now 14 years old), with many of them having been running for the past 14 plus years, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 12 months a year, and 365 days a year since they were installed back in  1995, 1997 and 1999 respectively. As you may know, most of our southern Ontario urban nesting “adult” peregrines do not migrate south for the winter and can be seen all year long on the nest ledges. While we not keep the images viewable to the www and the general public throughout most of the winter months – (due to the excessive cost of the bandwidth with the entire world watching) , the cameras are all still on and we are accessing them directly – and daily – real time live through our own office and home computers with the security software we have installed on the remote computers located at each camera/nest site.

That being said, while they were all the best that money could buy back then (and they were all very expensive cameras then), and even decent technology even by today’s standards, they are starting to fail and let us down given their age and high use.  As such, we are trying to replace each camera as the money become available. Remembering that we are a small Canadian registered charity, (one that is not government funded or supported in any way) and solely dependant on the generosity of the publics support through donations and contributions to exist day to day. Then there is the added new expense of replacing the web cams. We have never been cheap, (but always poor),, and will not replace the cameras with anything that will not stand the test of time. We got 14 plus years from our existing security cameras without ever having to anything more that clean the camera lenses at banding time.

Sadly, some of the newer existing cameras that were added several years ago were cheap patch work quilt stuff that only allowed us to monitor the nest, and the quality is what you would expect from cheap equipment. They were never designed to provide the general public with a show and tell image...

[Kinderchick]

2011 NESTING SEASON

News from the Crowne Plaza in downtown Ottawa...

Ottawa adults are both on site and very visible.

April 13th /2011
While it is still a little early for eggs in Ottawa for the peregrines, it is worth reporting some of the recent updates and observation reports and question that have been coming in.

With a huge thank you to the reporters, it is being reported that both birds are now being observed daily (and at the same time now), on the Crowne Plaza Hotel upper ledges, (and in particular), both in and on the south west and south east corners of same. While these spots on the ledges are also favoured roosting spots, the increased photo-cell, longer days and the sun starting to both appear and stay more often these days, we expect to see some serious courtship activity very soon. Copulation, egg fertilization and production is not far away!

The birds have for the most parts in recent years utilized both ledges on the southeast and southwest sides to lay and incubate their eggs and raise their families. Sadly, with the un-timely scheduled window washing activities over the past years and the territorial battles between squabbling females fighting it out for the nest site, it is very likley that these additional stresses have added to the recent problems of low production at this nest site.

Historically, the site had always been a low production site.

As a result of these types of disturbances and intrusions, it has forced the birds to move back and forth to the opposite sides of the building during the birds courtship, nest ledge selection routines, and the critical period of egg fertilization, egg production and egg laying processes.

We can only hope that at least the non-essential and critical human activities will be held off until later in the summer and that the territorial disputes diminish to allow the birds the space they need to both lay, incubate and successfully hatch their eggs, and raise their hatchlings to fledge.
Stay tuned………