Want to see activity from yesterday? Click here to view the time-lapse.
This video is updated daily and made up of still images captured by the camera every 15 seconds on the previous day.
What’s Happening at the Nest?
4/26, 11:48 AM:
We now have three chicks in the nest as the third egg hatched yesterday around 4 PM. Shortly after hatching, chicks will have a lot of visible, pink skin and wet down feathers. These feathers dry with time and in just a few hours they will look very different with a fluffy, white almost cotton ball-like appearance.
As of this writing we are still awaiting the fourth egg to hatch. Hatching is an incredibly exhausting activity for a chick, and as such it can take a chick anywhere from a few hours to a few days to completely hatch. In the periodic glimpses that we get of the fourth egg, it appears to be making progress and we hope to see the chick fully emerge today.
The third chick, minutes after hatching, is visible under the wing of 95/AK
4/25, 8:52 AM:
Two eggs have hatched. The first chick appears to have hatched around approximately 8 PM on the evening of 4/24 with the second chick hatching sometime in the early morning hours of 4/25. Keep watch and you may catch the next chick hatch, or see the current chicks receive a meal.
59/BM arrives to the nest box where two chicks have hatched. A third chick is nearly out of the egg as evidenced by the “zippering” on the eggshell in the front.
4/24, 10:34 AM:
After 32 days of incubation, we can expect to see signs of hatching start this weekend! Peregrine falcon eggs are incubated for roughly 33-35 days which means we should expect to see our first signs of hatching around April 25th-April 27th.
Keep your eyes peeled during incubation exchanges for pips! A pip is a small crack or hole that chicks hammer through the internal membrane and external shell of the egg. Once a pip is observed on an egg, it means the chick inside has begun hatching and if all goes well, will be out of the egg within the next 12-48 hours. And, if you have the audio on, you may even be able to hear ‘peeping’ from the chicks hatching within the eggs.
We will be watching closely and continue to report on any newly hatched chicks!
The male peregrine falcon, 59/BM, comes into the nest box for his turn to incubate the eggs.
In the absence of a fifth egg laying event, this years clutch is now complete with four eggs being incubated near continuously. Incubation also means that Falcon Fans are just about guaranteed to see one of the adults on camera at all times as the eggs are generally not left unattended for extended periods of time during incubation exchanges. Peregrine falcon eggs are incubated for roughly 33-35 days which means we should expect to see our first signs of hatching around April 25th-April 27th.
Both the male and the female take shifts incubating and thus have developed paired brood patches (featherless patches of skin on the bird’s breast which aid in incubation). By selectively losing these feathers, more direct contact area is created with the skin of the adult bird’s breast and thus the numerous warm blood vessels which are used to maintain the eggs temperature. Although the brood patches are obscured by an outer layer of feathers and therefore not visible to Cam watchers, you may observe the incubating bird shifting its position or shimmying atop the eggs. These movements allow the bird to better position the eggs to ensure maximum contact with their brood patches.
The female falcon (95/AK) pauses on the lip of the nest box before she continues to incubate her clutch of four eggs.
Egg laying is underway with the fourth egg of the year having being laid at 9:17 AM on the morning of March 26th. Peregrine falcon eggs can range in color from a creamy white or pale pink to a deep reddish-brown and are often mottled with darker brown or red blotches. Normally, the more recently laid eggs will have a brighter appearance relative to older eggs. Can you spot the new egg in the nest box?
Peregrine Falcon clutches average 3-4 eggs in size, but five-egg clutches are laid occasionally. Falcon eggs are typically laid in intervals of 48 to 72 hours so pay close attention to the Falcon Cam on Saturday (3/28) to see if a fifth egg is laid. We will be providing all egg laying updates as the occur, so be sure to check back regularly!
2026 Egg Laying Dates:
First Egg: 3/19 between 6-7 AM
Second Egg: 3/21 Approximately 1:58 PM
Third Egg: 3/23 at 10:45 PM
Fourth Egg: 3/26 at 9:17 AM
The falcon nest downtown now has four eggs! The male (left) and female (right) share incubation duties, regularly taking turns on top of the eggs. Here, the male prepares to leave, while the female waits for him to get up so she can replace him.
- Read more updates in the archive…
Internet service to the Falcon Cam provided courtesy of Comcast Business.
The DWR Falcon Cam follows the breeding season of a peregrine falcon pair that nests in downtown Richmond, Virginia. The nest box is located atop the Riverfront Plaza building. If you’re in the area, look up! You may catch a glimpse of the famous birds! We hope each year that the pair will once again choose to nest at this site, so that our camera may provide an educational experience for all to enjoy.