WALLINGFORD, Conn. – April 14, 2006 – The Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group (SCPBRG) today announced that it is streaming live video of a peregrine falcon nest perched on a San Francisco office building using equipment from VBrick Systems, Inc.  The two peregrine falcons – dubbed “George and Gracie” – are currently caring for four eggs, which are expected to hatch in April.  Tens of thousands of bird enthusiasts and curious spectators across the globe flock to the SCPBRG website daily to gain a rare glimpse into falcon nest activities live at http://www2.ucsc.edu/scpbrg/peregrine_cam.htm. 

SCPBRG initially launched the “Peregrine Nest Cam” during the 2005 nesting season.  In 2006, SCPBRG proactively set up the nest cam to focus on the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) building’s 33^rd floor ledge area that the falcons used for nesting since 2003.  After setting up the camera and recording equipment, SCPBRG realized that the falcons established a new home at a building across the street, requiring PG&E technicians to move the camera quickly to track falcon nest activities. 

The VBrick video streaming appliance combines portability and “plug-and-stream” capabilities that enabled quick nest cam relocation and set up.  Approximately the size of a dictionary, the VBrick appliance receives the video feed from a video camera that records nest activity around the clock.  The VBrick appliance then digitizes and streams the Windows Media format video to PowerStream, a streaming reflector service that fulfills global Peregrine Nest Cam demand.  “The quality of the video is awesome.  I can’t imagine you’re going to get a better look at things from anywhere,” said a post on the group’s Yahoo! Message board.

“Interest in the San Francisco peregrine falcons is soaring at an all-time high, thanks to the Go Back     SEND TO FRIEND