A water tower in Orange, in the Central West of NSW, became the unlikely centre of international attention in October, when its resident peregrine falcons welcomed their latest arrivals. The nesting box was set up in 2007 when Charles Sturt University staff noticed the falcons in the area, and the first chick hatched in December 2008. Live streaming of the nesting box was introduced in 2011, and since then the audience has grown, with some 900 viewers accessing the stream at any one time. In parts of the world, the impacts of the use of certain pesticides saw the peregrine falcon become extirpated; however, recovery efforts proved successful, and the species is now found on every continent except Antarctica, having adapted well to man-made environments and the presence of humans. The FalconCam Project in Orange is run by a volunteer group of staff and ex-staff. It relies on donations and fundraising to cover the costs of the technical requirement and research. The current pair of mating falcons are thought to be around 10 years old, and in total, as of 2023, the project has tracked over 20 hatchlings, most of which survived to become fledglings. To view the webcams visit https://science-health.csu.edu.au/falconcam
JULIA GARDINER