A few months ago, we shared the news of an amazing occurrence on Charles Sturt’s Orange campus. The on-campus water tower is home to a few peregrine falcons and is part of a Charles Sturt FalconCam Project. Why is it called FalconCam? Well, it’s because you can watch these majestic creatures go about their day-to-day activities live on YouTube!
It’s five months since our last report and we have some exciting news to share. There are babies on the way!
Three eggs have been laid. One on 31 August, one on 2 September and one on 5 September.
The two proud parents, named Xavier (father) and Diamond (mother), are taking it in turns to incubate and look after the eggs. But it’s the father who is spending the most time caring for the eggs, spending up to two hours to let Diamond go hunting for food. Xavier is spending a lot more time with the eggs and chicks than either of his predecessors. Nothing like a bit of paternity leave in the wild.
Thanks to the livestream, you can watch first-hand the changeover of the parents and the eggs.
So when are the babies due? Well, they are due to hatch during the first week of October. So if you love the sight of some incredible nature at its finest, mark your calendars for 4–5 October 2021.
When (and if, fingers crossed) all three eggs hatch, keep an eye on the livestream to see how the parents and new babies are coming along. Keep tabs on the Charles Sturt social media channels for any updates as well.
And finally, get creative. There will be an online competition to name the chicks. That’s right, you could get the chance to name one of the three new babies! This year we will be using Wiradjuri names for weather features so do some research and put your suggestions in when it opens. Stay tuned for more information over the next couple of weeks.
