Welcome to the 2022 Season of the National Aviary’s Peregrine Falcon Nest Cam!
Each spring and summer, the National Aviary hosts a live stream of the Peregrine Falcons residing high up on the southeast side of the Cathedral of Learning on the main campus of the University of Pittsburgh. From there the falcons can access Schenley Park and the Monongahela River to the south.
The 2021 season was a success, with a new pair, dubbed Morela and Ecco, raising four chicks that all fledged in early June. Through mid-summer, the young Peregrines stayed close to their parents as they developed the skills they would need to survive on their own. Morela had first appeared at the nest in September 2019, and two males, Ecco and Terzo, courted her throughout 2020. Female Peregrine Falcons rely on their mate to share in the incubation and raising of their young. Because neither male was present at the nest often enough, Morela’s eggs that year did not hatch.
Terzo made his last appearance on camera in early 2021, and Morela and Ecco were successful in raising four chicks to fledging. As expected, they have returned to the nest for the start of the 2022 nesting season, and we all can look forward to watching them as they move through all the stages of their second nesting together.
This camera offers a window into the behavior of wild Peregrine Falcons. Some content on this live nest camera may not be appropriate for all audiences.
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Give Today!2022 Nesting Season
April 7, 2022: Birds can be surprising! Last week, on March 30, Morela laid a fifth egg, almost 5 days after she’d laid the fourth one. Both Morela and Ecco had started incubating once the third egg arrived, which is typically a sign that only one more egg will be laid.
Morela’s surprise fifth egg isn’t unusual, though this fifth egg is unique. Peregrine Falcon eggs are usually a ruddy brick red with small spots. The egg Morela laid on March 30 is white on one side with red speckling, while the other side is the typical reddish color we would expect. When a bird lays a large clutch, it’s not unusual for the last of the eggs to be a different size, shape, or color. This variation is normal when the nutrients needed to produce eggs decrease as each egg is produced. Morela appears to be healthy and is acting normally.
The timing of this fifth egg being laid might affect incubation, and there is a chance the egg won’t fully develop. This is a very normal situation across species—not every egg that is laid hatches. But, Morela and Ecco are dutifully sitting on the eggs, and their nesting success last year shows that they are well positioned to give their eggs the best chance to thrive.
March 28, 2022: Morela’s fourth, and likely final egg of this nesting season, was laid around 6:30 am on March 26. It appears that she began to fully incubate the eggs after the arrival of the third egg on March 23. Peregrine Falcons incubate their clutches for about 34-35 days, so we should start to see hatchings in late April.
Now that Morela almost certainly has a full clutch to incubate, Ecco will be stepping up his involvement at the nest. Morela will be on the eggs overnight, but Ecco will play an important role in bringing her food, and he may also do some of the incubating himself. The division of incubation duties varies from pair to pair, but last year Ecco was on the nest often.
March 25, 2022: Morela laid her third egg on March 23. This may be her final egg of the nesting season, but we will have to wait to find out. She appeared to be incubating the eggs after the second one was laid, which would mean this third egg is the last one in the clutch. Only time will tell!
March 22, 2022: Morela’s second egg arrived sometime around 3 am EST yesterday. While Peregrines don’t begin to incubate fully until the second-to-last egg is laid, parents will cover the eggs to prevent them from getting wet or too cold, or very hot. Morela laid four eggs last year and we may still expect two more. But, Ecco and Morela both look like they may already be in an incubation position, so it could be that this second egg will only be followed by one more. Only Morela knows how many eggs will be in her clutch this year—we have to wait and see!
March 18, 2022: Today’s the big day! Morela laid her first egg of the season around 8:30 am. Peregrine Falcons take breaks of around 48 hours in between laying eggs, of which there are usually 3 to 5, but may take as long as 72 hours. The female Peregrine will begin incubating once she has laid the next-to-last egg. Many birds delay incubation of the early eggs in their clutches. This strategy helps the eggs develop at the same pace and hatch relatively closely to one another.
March 10, 2022: We are inching closer to potential egg laying, and Morela is continuing to show signs that she is settling in for the coming breeding season. Among the earlier signs of Peregrines preparing to nest is visitation to the nest site, and both Morela and Ecco have been visiting regularly for weeks. Last week Morela hit a major milestone and spent the night roosting at the nest. The pair have been observed mating off-camera, so it’s hopeful that Morela will begin laying eggs very soon.
Peregrine Falcons typically have a clutch of about 4 eggs. The process of laying eggs takes several days, with a break of around 48 hours between each egg. Once the next-to-last egg is laid, the female will begin incubation.
March 1, 2022: The countdown for egg laying is on! Last year, Morela’s first egg was laid on March 17, and courtship at the nest has intensified in recent weeks. Morela and Ecco have been observed on camera bowing to one another – a hallmark of Peregrine courtship and a hopeful sign that eggs are on the way. Both birds are making regular visits, which will only become more frequent as we get closer to potential egg laying.
If you tune in regularly to the Nest Cam, you’ve likely seen Peregrines in the snow, rain, wind, and sunshine. Peregrines are some of the most widely distributed birds, found on every continent except Antarctica. They are well equipped to deal with Pittsburgh’s cold, damp springs when they’re laying and incubating eggs, and our hot and humid summers when they’re teaching their offspring to hunt. Their adaptability serves them well during our unpredictable springs!
February 16, 2022: We are still a couple of weeks away from Morela laying her first egg of the season, but there is plenty to see at the nest! Morela and Ecco have been making frequent visits to the nest box after hunting: Morela has been seen with a full crop, which shows she’s eating well. Peregrines naturally nest on cliff ledges, but have taken well to nesting on man-made structures like buildings and bridges. The Peregrine Falcon’s nest, called a scrape, is no-frills: it’s a shallow, bowl-shaped depression in the natural substrate or gravel. Both males and females work to perfect the scrape before eggs are laid. They lay on their chests and push gravel or dirt away with their legs. Males will often create several scrapes, and the female will choose the one she likes best.
February 9, 2022: With nesting season around the corner, Morela and Ecco are courting! Much of this species’ courtship takes place “on the wing” as the birds fly together. The pair engages in spectacular high soaring, power dives, and loop-the-loops. While we will not have the chance to see these flights on the National Aviary’s Nest Cam, we will be able to see various courtship behaviors at the nest scrape, which are a very important feature of Peregrine pair bonding.
The male begins performing displays on the nest ledge earlier in the season than the female. While keeping an eye on the sky, he bows and calls “eee-chup” repeatedly (more urgently if he spots the female flying past), rocking side-to-side on his feet. If female flies in and joins him at the scrape, then the two will face one another, bow, and excitedly “eee-chup” together. The purpose of all of this, as with all avian courtship behavior, is to synchronize and stimulate the pair’s breeding condition—because, in nature timing is everything, and the window of opportunity to breed will not be open for very long.
February 1, 2022: Welcome to the start of the nesting season! Morela and Ecco have returned to the Cathedral of Learning and have been making frequent visits to the nest box. The pair have been observed engaging in courtship behaviors like bowing at the nest. Keep an eye on the camera over the next several weeks as courtship intensifies!
For more news about all of Pittsburgh’s Peregrine Falcons, visit Outside My Window, Kate St. John’s Bird Blog.
The History of Peregrines at Pitt
2002 – Spring 2015: The Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh has hosted a pair of Peregrine Falcons since 2002, when “Dorothy” began nesting here with a tiercel (male falcon) named “Erie.” In the fall of 2007, after Erie disappeared, another male (“Erie II”, or “E2”) took over. Dorothy fledged a total of 43 chicks, 22 with Erie and another 21 with E2. She disappeared in the fall of 2015 at age 16, which is very old for a Peregrine Falcon.
Fall 2015 –2019: In November 2015 a new female, “Hope,” arrived at the Cathedral of Learning from her former nest site at the Tarentum Bridge (about 12 miles away) where she had fledged at least four young. Hope’s initial mate was E2, succeeded by “Terzo” when E2 died in March 2016. Hope nested at the Cathedral of Learning for four seasons, 2016 through 2019, during which time she displayed aggression toward her chicks. Hope’s behavior was very unusual. She raised 8 offspring to fledging age, out of 16 total hatchings. We, and the experts we have consulted, have no explanation for Hope’s highly unusual behavior.
Fall 2019 – present: In September 2019 a new unbanded female Peregrine arrived at the Cathedral of Learning, named Morela (Polish for “apricot”) for the distinctive apricot-colored wash on her chest and face that makes her recognizable on camera. Because she is unbanded, we don’t know where she came from. Morela and Ecco raised their first clutch, fledging four chicks in 2021.
Many thanks to our partners: University of Pittsburgh, M&P Security Solutions, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
More About Peregrine Falcons
Peregrine Falcons are the world’s fastest animal, diving at speeds of over 200 miles per hour! These fierce birds of prey grow quickly, too. Peregrine Falcons nest on cliffs or ledges of tall buildings (like University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning) where they lay a group of 2 to 5 eggs (called a “clutch”), in a bowl-shaped depression in gravel.
The female Peregrine incubates the eggs for about a month, sitting on them to keep them warm, and when the chicks hatch, they are small, nearly featherless, and very dependent on their parents. But, they mature very quickly, and within a week of hatching they nearly double their size! Within a month, they go from having soft, downy white feathers to dark brown feathers, or plumage. By around 5 weeks old, they are ready to fledge the nest! Peregrine Falcons stay with their parents through the beginning of summer, learning to hunt and navigate their world.
The next time you are out on a walk, look for Peregrine Falcons on the ledges of tall buildings or under the bridges along Pittsburgh’s three rivers!
Questions about Peregrine Falcons and other wild birds? Contact wildbird.questions@aviary.org.