Camera Rain Protection

Weather blamed in falcon chicks' death

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Two falcon chicks featured on CBC's live-streaming camera have died and the weather is being blamed.

"We have lost a second chick to the horribly wet weather Brandon has had this spring. It is most likely that the prolonged wet weather and the very young age of the chick was the cause," Tracy Maconachie, a conservation biologist, posted on the comments section of the Falcon Cam page .

Maconachie is the co-ordinator of the Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project, which has partnered with CBC to offer the CBC Falcon Cams in Winnipeg since 2006. The Brandon cam was added this year, where Hurricane and Brooklyn are the featured parents.

They had four eggs hatch this year but one of the chicks, the third to break out, died soon after, said Maconachie.

"The chicks are too young to thermoregulate on their own so getting wet and cold is deadly for them," she said.

A handful of rain and wind storms have blown through the Brandon area over the past week and temperatures, for the most part, have been below normal.

"The first chick was in trouble, probably before it completed hatching … and it too hatched during a torrential rainstorm. It looks to have hatched before dawn on June 3rd and died within the first couple of hours," Maconachie said.

As for the second chick, chances are it was the youngest of the four, she added.

"And at three days of age it was affected most by the wet."

Hurricane did her best to shield her chicks, but she isn't large "and with three chicks and a day-long deluge like yesterday, it was going to be almost impossible to keep them perfectly dry and warm," Maconachie said.

Like the falcons in Winnipeg, the Brandon birds have access to a nestbox that offers some protection. Hurricane was tucked under the cover of the roof all day on Tuesday "but she and Brooklyn did need to feed [the chicks], at which time there was no way to keep them entirely out of the wind and the rain," Maconachie said.

"Had this been on a ledge on a cliff, none of the chicks would have been likely to survive at this young age," she added.

"Deaths are unfortunately inevitable with any wild species and all anybody can do, is over-plan for the worst, hang-on through the bad and hope to see the chicks flying come the summer."

So far, the four chicks in Winnipeg are doing well, thanks to the efforts of their parents, Princess and Ivy.

"While the rain wasn't nearly as bad in Winnipeg, Princess was taking no chances with her chicks [Tuesday]night even though they are twice as old as the Brandon chicks and much more capable of withstanding bad weather in their much larger nestbox," Maconachie said.

Camera usage in the rain | Mexico & Central America Forum ...

I am leaving for costa rica in 9 days. I have my camera and back pack ready. Even ordered some rain protection for the camera from Amazon - cheap plastic bags but they look like they will do the job. We are going to be involved in water activities (white water rafting/kayaking/canyoning) and didn't think I would be able to bring my 60D with me on those trips. Any tips on camera safety/usage when the conditions are less than ideal? Needless to say, I am not an expert! thanks in advance for your help...

Even if you don't dunk them in the whitewater or shower them under a waterfall most digital cameras are susceptible to the environmental conditions in Costa Rica. The very high humidity can totally trash them especially when combined with air conditioning. If you use a non-waterproof camera be sure to keep it inside an air tight (ziplock works well) container for at least half an hour when you take it outside from an air conditioned space. The silica gel packs will not likely gain you anything. In the tropics, they reach their very limited capacity quickly. Reusing old gel packs is pointless. Do what's needed to prevent bringing a cold camera into warm or hot, moist air. Cameras get cold in airconditioning, so some people keep their cameras in the bathroom, closet, or some other area that is not airconditioned. If you put your camera into a plastic bag filled with moist air, and it gets cold, the moisture in the bag will still condense on and in the camera even if you have a dozen packets of silica gel in with it. Over time the gel packets will absorb moisture up to their capacity, but they are not quick-acting dehumidifiers. A camera in a baggie placed in airconditioning will get cold enough to create condensation before the gel can act.

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