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Swainson’s Hawk

Photo by Flickr member JosieN2010

Your Photo Could Be Here

We want one of your nature photos to be the next Photo of the Day! Share your images with our Flickr group and tag them with “PhotoOfTheDay-NWF12“.

Don’t have a Flickr account? It’s free and easy to create one.

Knowing that hawks are able to rouse their feathers while keeping their head still, Tianne Strombeck captured this red-shouldered hawk in mid-shake, leaving the head in focus while the rest of the body is blurred.

This Photo of the Day was donated by a participant in the annual National Wildlife Photo Contest. See more photos or sign up for the 42nd Annual National Wildlife Photo Contest.

Clint Henderson

I recently had the pleasure to speak with Robert Anderson, the Director of the Raptor Resource Project, a non-profit wildlife preservation organization famous for its bird cams. The Raptor Resource Project has come a long way and in their 33 years of operation has gone from “breeding falcons” to “wildlife education.”

Decorah Bald Eagles (UStream screen shot)

Since then, the Raptor Resource Project has added a redtail hawk cam, the first ever turkey vulture cam, and supplanted the older bald eagle equipment with high definition cameras from 2M CCTV, which Bob says has “improved the video capability by light years.”  They are also in the midst of setting up two peregrine cams. , which Bob says has “improved the video capability by light years.” They are also in the midst of setting up two peregrine cams.

State-of-the-Art Technology

Bob Anderson and I discussed the technical aspects of his setup as well as the influence this footage has had on people across the globe. Bob has worked alongside Xcel Energy with bird cams at their plants across the country but, unfortunately, the limited bandwidth was causing streaming problems. In 2009 they decided it was time to start a new bird cam project.

With the assistance of Amy Reis, the webmaster at RRP, they integrated their 24/7 video feed with UStream, which now airs a stable of their high resolution live bird cam feeds. They use Adobe Flash Media Encoder, software used to stream audio and video in real time, to maintain high-quality streaming. Power flickers and other technical issues are alleviated with help from the UStream technicians, who work together with the techs that do the bird cams. Bob Anderson states, “They’ve been very cooperative. It would not be what it is today without UStream.”

The cameras used to record video are mostly PTZ (pan/tilt/zoom) cameras from KT&C. These cameras can capture night time video, as well as day time, through the use of the cameras’ infrared technology. The KT&C KPT-ON10T is the camera used for the footage of the Decorah Bald Eagle at UStream.

Bumps in the Road

I asked Mr. Anderson how he has dealt with various issues that his team has encountered since they’ve started recording wildlife footage. He says, “Every situation is different. You need to make sure an electrical power source is nearby, or you may need to use solar powered cameras. You also need to take weather into account.” For instance, the PTZ camera will sometimes make noise when panning if the temperatures fall below 10F. Another consideration is the proximity of the cameras to the birds and their nest. “There was a slight issue with a poop-covered lens on two of our cameras. So now we monitor the nests from up higher to prevent such a mess,” Bob says.

The Work Pays off: Eagles are an Online Sensation

There is year-round interaction on the Decorah Eagle Cam video page with students, teachers, and other bird enthusiasts using UStream’s Check-in & Chat feature, even when there is very little action in the nest itself. Video views start to increase in early January, when there are increased visits to the nest and views skyrocket in early April when the eggs hatch.

I asked Bob what has been the most amazing footage captured to date. He replied, “The most stunning footage we captured to DVD is the 3rd egg hatching in great light. National Geographic will be using this footage in an upcoming documentary on the Mississippi River.” Bob enthusiastically states, “In total, there have been 186 [of the 196] countries in the world that have tuned in to watch the Decorah Eagle Cam.”

Mr. Anderson says he was shocked and encouraged at the impact the birdcams have had on people’s lives everywhere. It has affected many people in many different ways. It has made people with disabilities forget about their illnesses. It has given residents in nursing homes a reason to get up in the morning. Many classrooms have the video stream up constantly for students to see. Bob states, “The Decorah Eagle Cam is the single most important wildlife education effort on planet Earth.”

The efforts of the Raptor Resource Project and Director Bob Anderson have strengthened raptor populations and stimulated participation in raptor preservation internationally. Many have witnessed the active enthusiasm online and how viral this has become. The Birdcam community at the RRP even worked together to get a Decorah Eagle design on a NASCAR Sprint Cup car! Check it out, it’s pretty slick! (Link takes some time to load)

Photo Credit: Belinda Serata

It’s not in the Guinness book but on Oct. 11, 2008 volunteers and scientists from Hawkwatch International set a world record for logging the most peregrine falcons ever seen in a single day, 638.

The count took place during the 10th-annual raptor migration count at Curry Hammock State Park on Little Crawl Key in the Florida Keys; the last year before funding disappeared; five years short of having data that provides reasonably precise estimates of population trends, according to researchers.

Raptors that migrate through the Keys come from as far away as New England, Canada and the Midwest. Eight species are counted (others are “noted”): osprey, northern harrier, sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper’s hawk, broad-winged hawk, American kestrel, merlin and peregrine falcon.
To discover changes in population trends will require at least 10-15 consecutive years of data, according to Ernesto Ruelas, postdoctoral fellow and Raptor Population Index project manager for the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA). Hence the disappointment at losing 2009 and the excitement over HMANA restarting the count for 2010.

“The importance of the Curry Hammock site, and the Florida Keys in general, is it’s the last point on the Atlantic seaboard where you can track the migration before the birds head off to Cuba, the Yucatan Peninsula, the West Indies and Central and South America,” said Ruelas.

Though no oil flowed onto the shores of the Florida Keys and South Florida — an estimated 206 million gallons of oil were pushed into the Gulf of Mexico — trend analyses of raptor migration will become especially important.

“In 2004 and 2005 we started to consolidate the data and develop tools for analysis,” said Ruelas. “Right now we can use long-term data to figure out how populations are doing, but to find the causes why populations are going up or down requires further research. In many cases we can connect the dots with other sites and data sets to understand population trends.”

The connect-the-dots approach will include postulating about food sources, especially those impacted by the spill. Ospreys, of course, feed on fish. Merlins, small falcons sometimes called pigeon hawks, will attack shore birds like sandpipers. Migrating raptors feed on birds or small mammals, supplementing their diets with reptiles and frogs, which populate coastal wetlands and offshore islands.

If over the next five or so years, migration counts continue and show a marked decrease, one might conclude the oil spill has claimed victims from hundreds, even thousands of miles distant.

The change of seasons is an important influence on animal behavior. Whether it’s the hot season turning cold or the dry season turning wet, wildlife has to adapt to survive. One strategy is migration. Songbirds, waterfowl, raptors and hummingbirds travel north and south each year, some as far as the tropics. Caribou and pronghorn shift their range based on the season to ensure access to food.  Even insects such as monarch butterflies and green darner dragonflies travel great distances to survive the oncoming winter.

One of the greatest things about fall migration is that it offers some pretty awesome wildlife watching opportunities.  Get outside this fall and see what migratory species you can spot.  You can report your sightings on National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Watch website, on Twitter or even using your iPhone.

There’s no excuse to stay indoors and not experience wildlife this fall!  In the meantime, watch this video about one of the species that has already begun migration, the ruby-throated hummingbird.