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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?
5/22, 3:45 PM: Despite the overcast weather in Richmond today, the four falcon chicks atop the Riverfront Plaza West Tower have been banded and returned to the nest box. All of the chicks were alert and judged to be in good health based on their appearance and overall behavior. Following the completion of banding and data collection we assembled the pen which has been used in previous years to prevent premature fledge events. After its assembly, the chicks were swiftly returned to the nest box where they were then fed by the adult female shortly after staff left.
Before attaching their bands, each chick was weighed and received a leg measurement to determine its sex and the corresponding size band. Based on these measurements, we determined that this year’s brood is made up of three males and one female (the youngest chick), who despite being approximately four days younger than her brothers, ended up weighing the most. Peregrine falcon chicks can be accurately sexed at this age based on their size considering females are roughly 30% larger than males, which accounts for the difference in weight. After being banded, a piece of colored tape was wrapped around the federal band on the right leg. This tape is applied each year during banding and is used to help biologists keep track of the birds after they fledge — it will fall off naturally within a few weeks.
This is the sixth year that the adults have successfully raised chicks within the pen and as such, we don’t anticipate any issues with feeding but will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure the chicks are still receiving meals. When they are old enough to fledge, staff will open the pen door at which point the chicks will be free to disperse from the nest box and pen at their leisure. Be on the lookout for a future post which will announce the anticipated Fledgewatch dates for 2026.
The chicks, having just received their bands, are returned to the pen.
These banding and monitoring efforts are incredibly important as they allow biologists to track the movements, lineages, reproductive history, and longevity of individual birds. This is especially important in small falcon populations that are still recovering, as is the case in Virginia. Finally, we also want to extend a special thanks to the VIP guests that joined us today including staff from the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources office, staff from the Auditor of Public Accounts, and our lucky 2026 raffle winners.
5/18: As of today, the chicks are now between 20-25 days old. In the past week we’ve seen more feather development with facial, wing, and tail feathers visible on all four chicks amongst the fluffy white down. We’ve also seen all four chicks leave and come back to the nest box periodically as they begin exploring their surroundings along the ledge.
What should you expect in the next week?
As they become increasingly mobile and better able to walk around, they are likely to wander off camera for several hours at a time, or even spend the night off camera. This is a normal part of peregrine falcon chick development and has taken place in past years with other broods. There are several other sheltering opportunities along the ledge, and viewers should not become overly concerned if they are not able to detect the chicks on camera as reliably as they used to. Further, the parents will continue to watch over the chicks and provide them with prey items.
Pending no inclement weather, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources biologists plan on visiting the Riverfront Plaza building on Friday, May 22nd to band the falcon chicks. This will be an incredibly exciting year for us, as we will be accompanied by the winners from our Falcon Banding Day Raffle. We want to extend our thanks to everyone who supported our wildlife conservation work by purchasing a ticket and our congratulations to the winners who have already been notified by DWR staff.
On the day of banding, three of the chicks will be between 24 and 29 days old. In addition to receiving their life-long leg bands, each chick will be weighed and measured and we will determine its sex. Banding is an incredibly important tool used to facilitate the identification of individuals throughout the remainder of their lives. This can yield information on where these young birds travel in the quest to establish their own individual breeding territories, as well as on their lifespan, productivity (number of eggs laid and chicks hatched) and relationship to other banded falcons with which they may interact. As a whole, banding allows biologists to better track the Virginia falcon population as it continues on its path to recovery.
On banding day, DWR biologists will also deploy the pen that has been used in previous years to prevent early fledge events. The camera will be turned off for up to a few hours while staff are banding the chicks and installing the pen. After this work has been completed, the chicks will be returned to the nest box and the camera will be turned back on. Be on the lookout for a follow-up post which will contain updates from banding day!
The female, 95/AK, stands in the nest box surrounded by her chicks.
The four chicks sleep sprawled out in the nest box after a recent meal.
5/10/26: The Richmond brood is now between 17 and 12 days old. The chicks seem to be keeping 59/BM and 95/AK busy based on the amount of prey items we’ve seen them deliver this past week (and subsequently the amount of feathers littering the floor of the nest box)! All of the chicks are fairly mobile and will regularly reposition themselves within the nest box, or approach the adults when a prey item is brought in. When not sleeping, the chicks can often be observed sitting upright, with pin feathers visible on the wings. The older three now have a thick layer of second down and the youngest is continuing to do well. While obviously smaller than the older siblings, it appears to be keeping pace developmentally and still getting plenty of food.
What should you expect in the next week?
Continued growth! Peregrines typically fledge between 40-44 days or so, and as such we can continue to expect the chicks to “grow like weeds” as we get closer to banding and fledging. Feather growth will also continue and we may even begin to see some facial feathers start to develop on the older chicks. Further, the brood will become more and more active as they continue to explore their surroundings and may be seen sleeping individually on warm days instead of in a pile. We might even see the first chick leave the nest box in the coming week, but if not that is almost sure to happen in the week following!
- 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.