Bird Cams Around the World

Mike, how long before we can tell them?

Sleeping!

Some flappercising before thunderstorms this morning:



Very cool moment around 4 p.m. For a few minutes The Boss was really eyeing up that front perch! He nearly tried stepping onto it! Then Athena shows up with an intact bird (smaller then a pigeon), which the Boss promptly snatched from her and took it to the other side of the box! Athena left, and Boss began feeding on his own!! It turned into half-eating, half-playing with the prey, as he dragged it to the middle of the box and would walk away, then return and strike the prey with his feet!




Apparently he got bored


It was interesting how anxious he got before the delivery, nearly leaving the box. I wonder if Athena had the prey and stayed on the roof, trying to coax him outside?

Six arrived to show Boss how's it's done



Boss is very energetic now, really close to going out on the front perch! You can see that he wants to more and more!

Oh, speaking of Athena...... (hanging curveball down the middle of the plate...who can hit it out of the park? ).

Well, it looks like I checked in here just in time! I'm with ljames...hope you got her band number. You sure got close enough!! Your photos are absolutely gorgeous Mike. You've come a long way baby!!

Oh, Mike, you devil. How dare you mislead these poor, starved for information folks...

Shall we feed them all the info together?

Some of you are VERY HOT.

Wait...so, you DID get her band number?...OR...we have been misled?...BUT, yet we are "hot"...

Are you getting a new cam system?

Oooooo, new cam system! Great idea. Send money to Conserve Wildlife Foundation NJ.

http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/

And even keeping the current system, CWF has to take over the cost of running it starting next season, as DEP can't afford it anymore.

Ok, here's the big news we've been teasing. Yes, we've got about 99% confidence we finally have Athena's complete band #: 1807-44114! Her origin is a shocker too: banded as a hacked bird near Maiden Creek, PA on June 8, 1995, making her a whooping 18 years old!!!

Here's my long-winded story of how it was narrowed down. Back in the fall of 2005, and again in March 2006, a worker at 101 Hudson (Ira M.) took numerous photos of Athena eating prey just outside the windows. His Flickr gallery is here (some photos are graphic): http://www.flickr.com/photos/machefsky/sets/1389353/with/64327122/ In there, you'll also see a different adult, which was probably a tiercel that was present in-between the one who lost a wing in a wire collision in April 2005, and Six who debuted for the '06 season.

He got the first 7 of 9 digits on Athena's band, 1807-441. The numbers are best viewed in the largest size of the pics, so I'll just link to them, from beginning to the cut-off:
18:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/machefsky/112542227/sizes/o/in/set-1389353/

07:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/machefsky/112543361/sizes/o/in/set-1389353/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/machefsky/112543509/sizes/o/in/set-1389353/

44:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/machefsky/112544902/sizes/o/in/set-1389353/

One of the above 4's, and a 1:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/machefsky/65984551/sizes/o/in/set-1389353/

In my pics of the band from last week, I got part of the 807:


The 44:


And a 14 towards the end of the band:


Kathy Clark did some research with the Bird Banding Lab, and started with 1807-4414x. All the birds banded 1807-44140-9 got color auxiliary bands.

So Kathy tried 1807-44x14. The only Peregrine possibility was 1807-44114, a female from PA, the one mentioned above! The only discrepancy is that bird was supposed to have an auxiliary marker. What exactly the marker was (tape, band?), and if the bird actually got it, we don't know yet. But looking at Ira's and my photos, not sure who else Athena could be. So whatever happened with the marker, we're quite sure we've finally got our girl!

Mike did a fantastic job of photographing her legs this year. CONGRATULATIONS!

We were thrilled to learn about our old lady. We knew she was old, but we thought she was hatched in 1998 or 1999. Kathy knew from the band numbers we had she was from PA. Now, where she came from before she was hacked is the next mystery to be solved.

Actually, I got a few band numbers in 2007 and that led to searching for more band numbers.

What great detective work...I loved all the links back to the pics...and I am just in awe that Athena is 18!!! Holy smokes!!! Congrats on knowing the birthday place of your girl!!! YEAH!!! Its been how many years trying to figure this out? WOW again...so glad you both stuck with it!!

...and on to the "Boss" who has had several false starts this morning to the perch..(he is currently tracking a bug...very cute...actually, I think its a bee...yikes..)

anyway...a little play time..

The Boss is one handsome bird. Time to schedule a trip to JC.

Thank you!!