Raptor nesting season is already upon us. Bald eagles have eggs. Peregrine falcons will lay them soon. Here are some opportunities to watch their nests from the comfort of your home.
- Peregrine Falcon Cams:
- Cathedral of Learning, University of Pittsburgh: My all-time favorite webcam shows Hope and E2 as they prepare to nest together for the first time. Watch for eggs this month.
- Gulf Tower, Downtown Pittsburgh: Dori and Louie, shown above, are spending time at the Gulf Tower this spring after nesting at non-camera sites for a few years. Will they nest at Gulf this year? The real litmus test will be when Dori lays eggs, mid-March to early April. (*)
- Times Square Building, Rochester New York: The female at Rochester’s Times Square has a Pittsburgh connection. Beauty was born at the Cathedral of Learning in 2007. She’s Dorothy and Erie’s daughter.
- Wilmington, Delaware: Red Girl at Wilmington is one of the first peregrines to lay eggs in the Mid-Atlantic. She already has four, laid March 5 through 10.
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Falconcam: Another early nester, the female in Harrisburg began laying eggs on March 7.
- Bald Eagle Cams:
- Pittsburgh’s Hays and Harmar bald eagles: Two nests on one convenient web page at eagles.aswp.org. The Hays female laid her eggs on February 13, 16 and 20 so her first hatch will be (approx) March 19. Harmar’s first egg was March 9 so watch for hatching on (approx) April 13.
- Decorah, Iowa: Decorah is one of the longest running eagles cams in the U.S.
- Check the Eagleholic Eagle Cam list for a list of webcams complete with egg dates. Pittsburgh’s two nests are listed as “Pittsburgh Hays” and “Harmar”.
- Watch great horned owls, barred owls, red-tailed hawks and others at Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bird Cam page.
This list is just a sampling. If you have a favorite nestcam post it in Comments below.
(*) Keep in mind that the cameras show only a small piece of these birds’ lives. You must visit their territories and observe them in person to see what’s really going on. Case in point: Click here for two comments (read the question and answer) about yesterday’s lack of activity at the Gulf Tower.
(photo from the National Aviary falconcam at the Gulf Tower)
Dori and Louie seem to be MIA for the past 2 days after being seen on cam frequently.
Hope just laid an egg!
Hope just laid her first egg!!!!
Hope has an egg at the Cathedral! As of 9: 35 AM Sunday… although I missed the actual moment of arrival.
It’s so exciting to have an egg at the Cathedral. Way to go, Hope and E2.
In terms in other webcams that you might be interested in, I’m attaching a link to the osprey nest in the Chesapeake Bay, home of Audrey and Tom. This was an exciting nest to watch last year, with two adopted chicks placed in the nest after Audrey’s eggs failed to hatch. Plus, a wayward chick lovingly nicknamed ET stopped by the nest and was allowed to stay. I understand that one of the osprey has already returned from South America. Enjoy! http://www.chesapeakeconservancy.org/osprey-cam
dori and louie have not been at nest since early Friday morning, march11. up until then, I was sure she would her egg. was there at night and went from one scrape to another.
VEry strange
Why aren’t mom or dad sitting on the egg? Is that usual?
Diane, peregrines don’t sit on the eggs until the female has laid the next to last one. Here’s more about the peregrine’s incubation strategy: http://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/peregrine-faqs/question-sitting-on-eggs-or-not/
Eagle Cam with two young eagles in southwest Florida near Ft. Myers
Hi Kate,
Thanks for the great infomation.
As you remind us survival is tricky.
I like the local web cams of course.
I heard about the bald eagle web cam near the White House in DC. I heard about it from National News. As you known they had first hatch yesterday.They are called Mr. President and The First Lady of course. Link below. Two cameras with opposing views. I have never seen such high resolution in a web cam like this one. Bought to us by the American Eagle Foundation and the USDA. These cams put you right in the nest bowl. See link below for anyone who may not have heard of it.
http://www.eagles.org/dceaglecam/