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NEWS 9th October 2023 Cilla Kinross 1st hatch 2/10 0634 2nd hatch 3/10 1005 Both nestlings are strong and healthy, getting five or six feeds a day. The third egg is clearly unviable. It has been nicknamed 'Gabuda' Wiradjuri for 'egg'. She might still try and incubate for some time. I will remove it after fledging and check whether fertilised by candling (holding a torch underneath). If not broken, it will be donated to the Australian Museum. Fledgewatch starts 10th November, but going on averages, more likely from 12th. LATEST VIDEO Chicks home alone after a feed, Xavier arrives and Diamond returns. Chicks are five and six days old respectively. RADIO INTERVIEW 6/10 My interview with Alex James, ABC Central West is here NB Starts at 45 minutes 23 seconds in. NAMING of the NESTLINGS. Link to the website: Go to 'News' and follow the links. Voting open until 5pm Sunday 15th October. Only ONE vote allowed (up to three names). A juvenile female peregrine visited the box several times recently, giving poor Xavier a fright. Chased off by Diamond (I think). LAST SEASON Two chicks last year: Indigo and Rubus, both males. Indigo dispersed after Diamond blocked his entry to the nest box on 18th March. Rubus died of a flying accident nine days after fledging. DONATIONS Currently closed as we have sufficient thanks for your generosity FalconCam is funded through donations and these can be made via the CSU shop LINKS BLOG and WEBSITE can be accessed here: OTHER CAMS and VIDEOS can be accessed via this address: GENERAL INFORMATION This is a research project through Charles Sturt University, Orange, New South Wales Australia, studying the diet and use of a nest box of a family of peregrines living in water tower since 2007. We now have nine years' worth of diet and seven years of behaviour data The cams go right through the year and are in daily use. More information can be found below the chat rules. CHAT RULES To keep the chat open, pleasant and useful, we have a few rules. Those flouting the rules will be warned and could be blocked by moderators (mods, with the blue spanners) from commenting. Inappropriate comments will be deleted. 1. Chat should generally be just about this site, but out of breeding season some chat about other birds is acceptable if not prolonged. 2. Use English in this chat. If you do not speak English, there are on-line translators available. 3. Do not criticize people’s attempts to write in English. 4. Do not ask for donations (except for this site), discuss politics or religion, advertise other sites or products (including videos), use obscene language or hate speech. 5. Avoid using panic language if you see something unusual and remember this is a wildlife project with limited interference by the project team. 6. Respect each others' opinions, even if you do not agree. Do not be rude or get into arguments with other chatters. 7. If a rule is broken and no mod is present, do not engage; simply refer people to the chat rules if you wish. 8. Remember mods are humans, too. Please respect their decisions. 9. Use emojis and symbols (e.g. !) sparingly: only one emoji per post, please. HISTORY The birds have been observed using the tower (a working water tower) since 2007, breeding in the box since 2008, with an average of 2.8 eggs per clutch and 1.5 fledges per season. The parents' names are Diamond (female) and Xavier (male). Diamond took over from the older Swift in 2015 and Xavier replaced Bula in 2016 (who in turn replaced our first male, Beau, in 2015). Xavier arrived just as the eggs were hatching and saved the season by providing for Diamond and her three chicks. Assuming that they were at least two years old when they arrived, Diamond is at least 10 years old and Xavier nine (in 2023). The male is 15-20% smaller than the female, has fewer spots on the chest and has brighter yellow-orange talons and beak. The birds do not migrate and courtship rituals and some scrape (nest) building continues throughout the year, intensifying, along with food bringing by the male, in July and August. Eggs are laid usually in late August, with chicks hatching in early October and fledging in mid-November. The youngsters often stay around as late as March being taught to hunt by their parents, and often visiting the nest in the tower, so there is much to watch even out of the main breeding season. One male juvenile stayed until August the following year when his parents blocked his entrance to the box and he took the hint. INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESEARCH? Contact the principal researcher Cilla Kinross on ckinross@
