ϲ

Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • ϲ Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • ϲ Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Anne Marie Patti Higgins ’76, G’90 Expands Opportunities for Student Research by Upgrading Hawk Nest Cam

Tuesday, January 28, 2020, By Brandon Dyer
Share
camera view looking toward Lyman Hall from the rooftop of the Life Sciences Complex

A new camera installed atop the Life Sciences Complex offers live video and audio with a view across the street of the nest activities of the University’s resident red-tailed hawks, SU-Sue and Otto, at Lyman Hall.

An upgraded camera was installed on the roof of the Life Science Complex roof on Jan. 24 thanks to the generosity of Anne Marie Patti Higgins ’76, G’90, who established ϲ’s red-tailed hawk nest cam in 2017.

The new camera provides live video and audio with an additional view of the nest activities of SU-Sue and Otto, a pair of red-tailed hawks that have been building nests in the archways of Lyman Hall since 2012. Along with the two existing nest cameras on Lyman Hall, the enhanced perspective from the Life Sciences roof will give observers an improved ability to study the behavior of the hawks as they build their nest and raise their chicks.

“This new camera will provide a sweeping visual field of the hawks as they begin their nest activities, usually starting in February,” Higgins explains.

Higgins donated the cameras in memory of her husband, Thomas L’67, an avid birdwatcher. “I am so happy to help provide the campus community and the world more opportunities to enjoy and learn about this amazing, majestic couple,” she says.

The new pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera provides a broad view of both Lyman archways ensuring long-range sightings of the adult red-tails’ activities, including their flights to and from the nests.

Higgins says the nest cams can be a resource for students to learn and conduct field research augmenting their studies, and potentially their careers. “This semester, I have a graduate student volunteering in the evening doing nest camera operation and observations,” she says. “I’m overjoyed to provide opportunities for students to apply what they learn outside of the classroom.”

Streaming video and audio allows camera operation volunteers to study and archive the hawks’ activity 24/7 in their natural nesting habitat. Red-tails often build their nests in the tops of trees or on window ledges. Once the streaming begins, viewers can watch Otto and SU-Sue refurbish one of their four existing nests by carrying a steady supply of dry sticks and tree twigs in preparation for this year’s brood. “We will able to see SU-Sue lay her eggs via the nest camera most likely sometime in March,” Higgins says.

In addition to funding the live streaming video and audio, Higgins chronicles the hawks’ activities on her Facebook page: Red-Tailed Hawk Tales.

  • Author

Brandon Dyer

  • Recent
  • NASCAR Internship Puts Jenna Mazza L’26 on the Right Track to Career in Sports Law
    Wednesday, August 13, 2025, By Caroline K. Reff
  • Whitman School Names Julie Niederhoff as Chair of Marketing Department
    Wednesday, August 13, 2025, By Caroline K. Reff
  • Vanessa St.Oegger-Menn Receives Spotlight Award From Society of American Archivists
    Wednesday, August 13, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • ϲ Stage Announces Auditions for 2025-26 Theatre for the Very Young Production ‘Tiny Martians, Big Emotions’
    Wednesday, August 13, 2025, By Joanna Penalva
  • 5 Things to Know About New Student Convocation Speaker Andrea-Rose Oates ’26
    Wednesday, August 13, 2025, By John Boccacino

More In Campus & Community

Whitman School Names Julie Niederhoff as Chair of Marketing Department

The Whitman School of Management has appointed Associate Professor Julie Niederhoff as chair of the marketing department, effective Aug. 4. Niederhoff has been with the Whitman School since 2007, and also serves as co-director of the H.H. Franklin Center for…

Vanessa St.Oegger-Menn Receives Spotlight Award From Society of American Archivists

Vanessa St.Oegger-Menn, Pan Am 103 archivist and assistant university archivist in the Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center, is the 2025 recipient of the Spotlight Award from the Society of American Archivists (SAA). Established in 2005, the award recognizes contributions from individuals…

5 Things to Know About New Student Convocation Speaker Andrea-Rose Oates ’26

Excitement. Nervousness. Optimism. Hope. Andrea-Rose Oates ’26 can relate to the mix of feelings new students may face as they arrive at ϲ for Welcome Week. It was only three years ago that Oates embarked on her own Orange…

ϲ, Coca-Cola Enter Into Pouring Rights Agreement

ϲ has signed The Coca-Cola Company as the official non-alcoholic beverage partner of the University and ϲ Athletics. The agreement, which took effect on July 1, comes after a competitive year-long strategic evaluation process, led by a working…

Scott Tainsky’s Research Focus Aligns Perfectly With New Falk College of Sport

The earliest memories Scott Tainsky has involve playing sports and watching the golden age of Big East Conference basketball with stars like Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and ϲ star Pearl Washington. Now, as a father of two children who play…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

For the Media

Find an Expert
© 2025 ϲ. All Rights Reserved.