Osprey nest camera in Tartu County 2022
19.04.2012 | Rubriik: Veebikaamerad
In 2022, there are two Osprey nest cameras in Estonia, one in Võru County (camera since 2012) and the other in Tartu County (camera since 2013). The nest camera in Tartu County is called “kalakotkas2”.
The osprey camera nest in Tartu County was built in the winter of 2013 about 50 m from the natural nest that had fallen down that year. The pair of ospreys immediately adopted the artificial nest with the camera. The history of the nest can be viewed on the osprey cameras page. For the first two years, the resident male was Ilmar, whose migration routes can be seen on the migration map (autumn 2012 and spring 2013). Ilmar’s transmitter was removed during the summer of 2013. In recent years, nesting ospreys have mostly been ringed, so their origin and age are known. The current male bird Ivo (color ring ED) hatched in 2013 almost 50 km north of the camera nest. We haven’t seen the female bird Irma, who nested here for the first six years, in recent years. She was replaced in 2019 by a new female bird Iiris, but Iiris does not have rings and therefore we don’t know her origin. In 2021 Iiris layed three eggs from which three chicks hatched. The juveniles fledged in mid-July, but as they were not ringed we won’t be able to recognize them in the future.
In 2022 the public livestream from the osprey nest started on April 13th, though the camera had been working since April 5th. During that week the large spruce tree, where the ospreys liked to rest, fell down. Ospreys usually start laying in the second half of April, they have 1-3 eggs and the chicks hatch at the end of May. The forum covers all major events. For example, you will find foreign ospreys that have visited the nest, some of whom have also had rings and thus we know their origin.
We are using an AXIS F41 camera with a separate sensor and a microphone made by Omar. The windshield of the microphone has been damaged, so you can hear more wind noise than before. The camera image is transmitted with MikroTik antennas to the nearest broadband mast and from there to the server of )Estonian Fund for Nature via the Kernel network. Streaming to the viewers is done through the Eagle Club YouTube channel. We recommend following the Kotkaklubi channel in case you need to restart the live broadcast of the nesting camera for technical reasons, which may change the web address of the broadcast. All other Estonian eagle and black stork nest cameras and a capercaillie camera can also be found on the Eagle Club channel. The use of the stream from the nest elsewhere for non-commercial purposes is not prohibited, but please let us know if possible (send a message to urmas (at) kotkas.ee)
Osprey nest cameras operate autonomously without external energy and data communication. Energy comes from the sun, it is stored in batteries for stability. Data is transmitted via WiFi links to the broadband mast. With the help of supporters, we have been able to update the technology over the years to make the camera image sharper and better. Environmental Investment Center supports the installation and maintenance of cameras.
Osprey nest camera team and supporters:
Eagle Club – camera installation and information sharing
Beta-Grupp OÜ – camera testing and setup, microphone construction, technical support
Looduskalender – camera forum
Estonian Fund for Nature – server
Akukeskus Tartus – battery support
Kernel – antenna setup, image transmission to the Internet
Environmental Investment Center – financial support for everyday activities
Private donors – covering unexpected and expected hardware costs
Bea – moderator of osprey camera forums
Thousands of viewers – who are the most important, because otherwise the camera would not make much sense!
