Yesterday morning I joined Bob Mulvihill (National Aviary), Jason Martin (M&P Security Solutions) and Phil Hieber (University of Pittsburgh Facilities Management) at the Pitt peregrine nest box for annual maintenance of the nest and cams. We planned to cover the slippery plastic-pipe front perch, assess the gravel’s condition, and clean the webcams.
The top perch turf was loose so Bob reattached it with zip ties, above. Then he began to wrap the lower perch with thick sisal rope that’s used at the Aviary for birds of prey.
Meanwhile I took measurements.
Unfortunately the pipe circumference is 5.5 inches and the rope was too short. (We wish we’d had those measurements ahead of time!) Bob zip-tied the old plastic turf back in place and drilled new holes under the gravel to improve drainage.
The resident female peregrine, Hope, zoomed by several times so Jason held up the broom to protect our heads. Thankfully she never came close.
Then Jason examined the cameras and cleaned the domes …
… and added more pea gravel to the nest surface. (Thank you, Phil.)
We were all done by 11:10am.
Two and a half hours later Hope stopped by to check out the new digs.
Thank you, Bob, Jason, and Phil, for all your help.
It’s looking good!
(photos by Bob Mulvihill and the National Aviary snapshot camera at University of Pittsburgh)
Great work, guys! These birds don’t know how good they have it with everyone helping them out.
Yay! The site looks so good with the new gravel and re-done perch. Happy to see that Hope came by for a visit after the clean-up.
how marvelous that those good people are willing to give their time and efforts so we (and the birds) can enjoy the live stream during the year. Many thanks, to all involved.
Thank you to all!! You are all very much appreciated!
Looks terrific. Hope will love it, just as Dorothy did.
I have a question about your camera setup. I guess Jason would be the one to answer it if you could redirect my question to him.
I noticed that you’re using a Vivotek camera. At Innis Point Bird Observatory are also using a Vivotek camera for our Osprey nest. An SD8363e more specifically. You can see some pictures of our setup at https://www.facebook.com/pg/InnisPointBirdObservatory/photos/?tab=album&album_id=977760775606410
My question is: are you using an external microphone with your Vivotek camera? If so, what brand/model is it?
William, I’m pretty sure I know the answer: We get audio from the camera itself. The camera is *very* close to the nest so it’s not a problem to do it that way.
What’s the model number of your camera?
Vivotek SD8363E (or something like it)
Same camera as ours. There’s no built-in microphone. It has to be added on to the camera. The microphone we’ve tried to use for the last three years gives intermittent audio and hasn’t stood up well to the weather, even though it’s advertised as weather-proof.
Perhaps the sound you hear is coming from the smaller camera that’s at the top of the picture.
William, I will have to email you.