ViewCast has donated its live streaming technology to allow students and faculty at the University of Montreal to watch the progress of a family of peregrine falcons that are nesting on campus. The company has donated its Osprey 440 video capture card and SimulStream software as part of the “peregrine falcon monitoring project” to stream live real-time video of the falcons to researchers, project supporters and wildlife conservationists around the world.
Once an endangered species in North America, peregrine falcon populations have soared in recent years due in part to the efforts of people like Eve Belisle, the University of Montreal’s peregrine falcon project leader, who discovered the high-flying falcons in the area in 2007. Belisle aided in the construction of a nesting box atop a 26-story tower on campus, where the falcon family has nested since 2009.
Utilizing two video cameras, an IBM server and ViewCast’s four-channel Osprey 440 video capture card, Belisle has streamed live video of the falcons to as many as 2000 viewers per day, chronicling the birds’ nesting behavior and the arrival of five falcon chicks over the span of two nesting seasons.
The two video feeds are supported by ViewCast’s SimulStream software, which leverages the Osprey 440’s multichannel capabilities to capture and output multiple video streams simultaneously.
View live video of the peregrine falcon nest at the University of Montreal.
