Several friends were watching the falconcam yesterday, March 9, as Hope laid her second egg at 11:21am. I heard the news immediately even though I couldn’t touch my cellphone (I was driving).

Experienced egg watchers knew she was laying an egg because she stood above the scrape for a while with her tail down, then raised it as shown above.  This posture is subtle in the still photo but obvious on streaming video.

It was cold yesterday — only 31 degrees F — so the peregrines stayed on the eggs to keep them from freezing.

When Hope left the nest for a break …

… Terzo arrived to shelter the eggs.

Though Hope and Terzo have been “on the eggs” they won’t begin true incubation until she’s laid her next-to-last egg.  Click here to read about the peregrines’ incubation strategy.

Hope typically lays four eggs, each two and a half days apart, so you’ll get two more chances to watch for that tail action.  However, her next egg will probably be laid in the middle of the night.

Click here to watch the Pitt Peregrines on the National Aviary’s falconcam.

(photos from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ. of Pittsburgh)