For over a decade I’ve been involved in a project to monitor and protect a peregrine nest and cameras have been key to ensuring that the nest remains undisturbed. The cameras were originally installed on Nottingham Trent University’s Newton Building solely for security reasons and whilst functional, the cameras were very basic. When the University decided to upgrade them to high definition cameras, they hatched a plan to broadcast the footage from the nest as an educational resource. As partners in protecting the nest Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust were fully behind this move and saw real potential for the live feed to give people an opportunity to learn about the behaviour of the birds.
Within months of going live the web cam was being viewed around the world and in the first season, the cameras were viewed hundreds of thousands of times. In the seven years since the launch, the cameras have remained popular and are still gaining new converts each year.
The cameras have enabled us to observe new behaviours such as when a young bird from a previous year’s clutch turned up when the new season’s chicks were on the scene.
As well as enabling us to learn about behaviour the cameras present an opportunity to marvel at the birds’ skill and dedication as parents, such as the time when the female became buried under snow whilst hunkered down protecting her eggs. Last year we worried that the female might die after becoming egg bound but against the odds she pulled through, and it seems that she’s recovered very well having already laid two eggs already this year.
As well as watching wildlife on remote web cams advances in technology and the tumbling costs of tech mean we can now enjoy watching the wildlife in our gardens via trail cams or nest box cameras that broadcast to our TV, laptop or smartphone. So, if you have wild creatures in your garden or would simply like to find out what’s visiting when you are at work or after dark, why not get yourself set up for your very own ‘Springwatch’?
Barn owl camera adds interest at popular café
Whilst the Nottingham peregrine webcam can be viewed from anywhere on the planet via the miracle that is the world wide web, a new camera featuring a barn owl box at our Idle Valley Nature Reserve is adding interest for visitors to our café. Footage from the nest box is being shown on a screen and visitors were delighted when two adult birds were seen for the first time. Hopefully eggs and chicks will follow.
For details of Idle Valley Nature Reserve and the peregrine web cam visit www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org.
Barn Owl © Robert Hoare