Falcon Camera at Genesee

Live image updates every 5 seconds from dawn until dusk

The powerful Peregrine Falcon is one of the fastest creatures on the planet.  When hunting its prey, it soars to great heights before plunging into a steep dive, achieving speeds of more than 300 kilometres per hour.

Species at Risk

Classified as a Species at Risk in Canada, the Peregrine Falcon (Anatum subspecies) population has suffered great decline over the past decades, primarily due to DDT pesticide use in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

Although numbers have greatly improved over the past few years, the Anatum Peregrine Falcon (also known as the American Peregrine Falcon) remains on the "Threatened" status list under the Government of Canada's Species at Risk Act.

Peregrine nest at Genesee Generation Station

Today, approximately 2,000 to 3,000 breeding pairs of American Peregrine Falcons can be found in Canada, Mexico and the United States.  One of these pairs has made its spring and summer home atop one of the stacks at Capital Power's Genesee Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant south west of Edmonton, Alberta.

The unobstructed sightlines of the stacks provide high-quality conditions for a falcon nest box, while the large cooling pond, adjacent wetlands and open fields support a diversity of potential prey and foraging habitat for the falcons.

The active peregrine nesting site at Genesee Generation Station has been part of the recovery and maintenance of Peregrine Falcon populations in Alberta.  Capital Power continues to monitor species in the area and helps maintain current breeding opportunities.

Remote Camera Installed

In March 2005, Capital Power installed a remote camera on a nest box donated by Alberta Fish and Wildlife.  The camera provides a unique opportunity to document the behaviour of Peregrine Falcons, which have nested at the power plant since the early 1990s.  In 2009, CPC upgraded the camera and nesting box so that video images are streamed to Capital Power's website.  The excellent quality images have provided viewers worldwide with insight into the falcons' lifestyle.

Spring 2010 Update

Last year’s site male which was fitted with a transmitter, returned from the South late in the season this year. In the meantime, a few females arrived at the Genesee site and began looking for places to nest. The female who was fitted with a transmitter last year has yet to return – there has been no activity from her transmitter.

In mid-June this year, Genesee Operations staff found three Peregrine Falcon nests inside the vent of one of the Genesee Units. The nests contained five eggs. It’s thought since the usual male was late returning from his migration that a young male introduced these new nesting sites to the females rather than the existing nesting box. It appeared that the adults were not sitting on the eggs in the multiple nests so a decision was made by Gordon Court of Alberta Sustainable Resource Development to remove the eggs to a local raptor nursery. These eggs will be incubated to see if they are viable; if they are not, they will be used to monitor DDT levels in the eggs.

Determined to see falcons raised on the Genesee site this year, three falcon chicks were transported from a local raptor nursery and introduced to the nesting box on June 14. It was thought based on Court’s experience that the adult falcons, once they no longer had their own eggs to look after would accept and care for the chicks.

That same day, both a male and a female falcon were observed at the nesting box but did not return to care for the chicks. After two days of observation and hand feeding, it was concluded that the adults were not displaying any nesting habits. As a result, the chicks were removed from the nesting box and returned to the nursery under the care of Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.

From this it was concluded that there are no other nests at Genesee and unfortunately signifies the end of the nesting season at Genesee for 2010. We remain committed to maintaining and monitoring the Genesee nesting box and we will provide the public with updates if any nesting activity is observed.

Satellite Transmitters Track Birds' Migration

In 2009, two solar-powered satellite transmitters were placed on the nesting falcons, in cooperation with Geoff Holroyd's research for Environment Canada.

The backpack-style devices weigh little more than a wet teabag (30 grams) and are worn on the birds' backs, secured with a braided Teflon harness.  The harness itself is soft to the touch and is worn like a miniature backpack.

Every daylight hour, the transmitter determines its GPS location, speed, direction and elevation above sea level.  Every three days, the transmitter downloads this data to the polar orbiting satellites flying 850 km above the earth.

The satellites relay the data to receiving stations positioned at forty locations around the globe.  The data is processed by ARGOS Inc., who then relays the emails with all the data to Capital Power.

This system has been used on birds of prey for decades and does not harm the birds - they continue to hunt, feed, breed, and raise young without a problem.

Click here to read the Falcon Diaries from 2009.

Daily Observations

Once the Peregrines have returned to Capital Power's Genesee Generating Station, employees record their nesting activities through the remote camera.  Daily observations are made, including the date, time, and location of specific behaviours, and whether leg bands are observed.

The return dates for the adults, nest initiation (i.e., construction of the scrape), clutch initiation, hatching and fledging of the young are also documented.

Once the chicks have acquired a full set of flight feathers (usually around five to six weeks old), Capital Power employees start to keep watch a few days before the chicks are expected to fly, just in case they decide to fly early.

If a young Peregrine is found uninjured on the ground, a rescue may be necessary.  The chick may not have the muscle strength to return to the nest box, or nearby ledges and rooftops and the adults may discontinue feeding the chick.

If a young Peregrine is found injured, the bird is carefully moved to a safe location, unless doing so will further endanger the bird.  Provincial biologists then make arrangements for any injured birds that require rehabilitation.

Important Observation Periods for Northern Alberta