Having watched a season of Peregrine nestcams in the USA (where the birds are migratory), I’ve shifted to the livecam in Orange (NSW) (& hope again to see the Collins St (Melb) nestcam come online soon too).
The bird now occupying the ledge /nestbox in Orange appears so far to be the same individual.
Sources I’ve read make various (global) conclusions about pairs & seasonal pairing-up complexities – My questions today circle about details of Australian Peregrine pairings:
– Would both birds be currently present within the home-/nest- range? – & Year-round?
– Whether or not this is so, if the bird currently on-cam is the same individual, in Australia is it first the male or the female which annually (– &/or year-round?) locates, & then takes this solitary possession of the eyrie?
(US footage clearly shows males appearing to be v. uncomfortable in/on the nestscrape, avoiding the eggs, & “fleeing” the nestlings. While females remain with the brood at night, eyeshine shows the tiercel roosting elsewhere nearby.)
– Some sources indicate longevity of pairings: In Australia do we see same male+female breeding together at the same nest-ledge each year? – With/without annual pairing competition?
– The current Orange occupant is “swimming” shape into the stone nestscrape, a courting precursor which you can see performed by both male & female in America (& post-breeding there also). If the bird in Orange now is the same / female, do the Aust. tiercels ever have this opportunity to “swim” the nestbowl stones…?
Probably my curiosity is getting a bit too detailed here. Sources I’ve checked, though, (& Debus’s hand-guide, for example,) are silent on these questions. Perhaps you-all out there could cite references on such finer detail locally?
Many thanks as always
Judith
SEQ 500m
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JudithLA
