Thousands around the world log on to see falcons

Frosty talons on a chilly Nottingham morning

Although the falcon eggs aren’t expected to hatch until the end of April, since the launch of Falcon Cam 2013 visitors from around the globe have logged on to watch and read about our resident pair of peregrine falcons.

We’ve registered visitors from countries as far and wide as Australia, America, Russia, India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia,  Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Iraq, Argentina and many, many more.

More than 220,000 people have logged onto the cameras to watch the birds sat up high on the Newton building, while one of the birds has remained firmly sat on her eggs to keep them warm during incubation.  On average, each visitor spent an average of six minutes and 47 seconds watching the cameras.

There have been visitors from 99 different countries.  After the UK, the most common countries for visitors are America, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and France.

The peak number of blog readers since the 2013 launch was on Monday 25 March, with more than 4,600 unique readers. It’s surely no coincidence that this influx followed a weekend of snow which caused much concern among the doting Falcon Cam viewers, many of whom were worried for the birds’ wellbeing.

News of the falcons’ three eggs being laid ahead of Easter made the headlines, with stories appearing in the Scotsman as well as regional newspapers the Eastern Daily Press, the Hartlepool Mail, Northern Echo, Sunderland Echo, Western Daily Press and more.

BBC Springwatch presenter Martin Hugh-Games also mentioned the project in an article in the Daily Telegraph. And the picture at the top of this blog, which was taken by one of our members of staff, was circulated to the media by the Press Association.

Interviews with people from the university and Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust also took place with BBC Radio Nottingham and a story was published on the BBC Nottingham web pages.

We may expect another surge of visitors to the cameras in the not too distant future. If the eggs do hatch before the end of the month, it will surely lead to thousands of people logging on in the hope of seeing new-born falcon chicks.

Although we’re yet to discover whether the wintry weather took any toll on the eggs, the anticipation of new chicks will surely create a great deal of excitement. Let’s just hope this year provides less of an emotional rollercoaster than last.