2017

April 2017

We are sad to announce that we will not be hosting the downtown Boise Peregrine Falcon web camera this season. We know how much everyone loves to watch the family fledge chicks every year, and hope that you will also enjoy watching our family of American Kestrels again this spring as they raise their chicks just south of Boise. American Kestrels are a declining species throughout much of North America and your assistance to monitor them and provide observations through our interactive website is valuable in helping us to solve the mystery of their decline. The kestrels have just begun investigating the nest for the season, so the camera will “go live” as soon as the first egg is laid.

We are also working with the Friends of Camas National Wildlife Refuge who have been setting up a Peregrine Falcon web camera in the refuge for live-streaming. Once that goes online we will notify you so that you can watch that falcon family grow. In addition, we are looking at options to host another camera again in the future. Thank you so much for all of your support and understanding and we look forward to sharing the Bosch KestrelCam and other future web camera opportunities with you soon!

2016

June 27

We have received confirmation that all of the chicks have successfully fledged the nest! We wanted to thank all of you for watching the FalconCam this season and please come visit us at The World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho this summer!

June 7

Greetings! We are working to get the camera position changed back to the nesting platform. We're not sure why it was repositioned and do not have control over that aspect of the set-up, but will do our best to switch it back quickly so that you can see the chicks again! Thank you for your patience and support!

June 2

You've probably started to notice that the chicks are not always in view of the camera now. They've become much more active and mobile the past few days and now spend time running around the nest ledge. This stage of development is called the "branching" stage and the chicks are now referred to as "branchers." They will spend a lot of time flapping their wings in the coming days to strengthen their muscles for flight.

May 26

The Peregrine Falcon chicks are getting new jewelry this morning courtesy of Idaho Department of Fish and Game! They will be banded as well as receive check-ups to ensure that everyone is growing and doing well. This information helps biologists to better monitor Idaho's population of Peregrine Falcons and ensure the overall health of the species. Because of this activity, the camera will be turned off for a short period of time this morning. When it comes back on, you should be able to see all four chicks with their shiny new bands!

May 12

As many of you have probably noticed, there are now four chicks in the nest! It took us a while to get a good enough look to confirm four little heads, but we were finally able to this afternoon. We first suspected that there were more than three after receiving an email message from falcon fans Don and Mary K., so special thanks to them for asking about it! Anyone watching will notice that the chicks are growing very quickly at this point. At one time yesterday morning we noticed only 20 minutes between feedings and yesterday afternoon the female brought in an enormous pigeon for dinner! Both the male and female are often out hunting at this point since it's warm enough outside during the day that the chicks don't need to be constantly incubated.

May 6

Just in time for Mother's Day weekend, we have chicks in the nest! The first two chicks hatched at some point before noon yesterday. We're keeping an eye out for others, but mom has been doing a really good job of incubating! The other eggs should hatch at sometime in the next few days, so keep a lookout for them! The young falcons will grow up quickly. When they hatch, they are covered with fluffy white down and have very large feet in proportion to their bodies, but in just 5-6 weeks, the falcons will be fully feathered and ready to fly.

Edit: We just saw mama get up and there are 3 chicks hatched! Happy Birthday, little fuzz-ball!

April 22

Happy Earth Day to all of our falcon-watching friends! Earth Day is kind of a big deal for Peregrine Falcons. It was in the late 60s and early 70s that scientists, falconers, and bird watchers started working to save Peregrine Falcons in North America. Earth Day and the environmental revolution helped bring about awareness across the continent and paved the way for the banning of DDT and the development of the Endangered Species Act. The first Earth Day was an exciting time for wildlife conservation.

Today is equally as exciting. The Peregrine Falcon was removed from the federal Endangered Species List in 1999, but we haven't stopped working to save species. The Peregrine Fund today is taking the lessons learned from our efforts to help in the recovery of the Peregrine Falcon and is using the information to save raptors world wide! From critically endangered vultures in Africa to Gyrfalcons in Alaska to Ridgways Hawks in the Dominican Republic to California Condors in Arizona your support enables us to ensure these magnificent birds are around for many future generations.

So take some time today to appreciate our growing family of Peregrine Falcons in Boise, Idaho and reflect on just how successful we can be in saving species when we work together!

If you're looking for a way to give back this Earth Day, make a contribution in celebration of Peregrines everywhere at: https://idahogives.razoo.com/us/story/Peregrine-Fund. Your gift will help in the quest to recover the California Condor so that it too can be removed from the Endangered Species List!

April 12, 2016

We've had a few folks notice that the video is a bit foggy...it's likely that the lens on the camera is smeared. Falcons can be a bit messy, but if we were to go up and clean the lens right now, it would disturb the parents and nest. Idaho Department of Fish and Game makes sure to clean it each year when they're banding the chicks, so we will have to wait until then to clear it up. Thanks for your patience and for now, please enjoy our blurry feathered family!

April 11, 2016

Welcome to the 2016 FalconCam season! This is the eighth year a webcam has provided you with a front-row seat for watching the daily activities at a nest box in downtown Boise.

The female Peregrine Falcon is already incubating eggs, and we’re excited to see that 4 eggs have been laid. Peregrine Falcon eggs are typically incubated for an average of 34 days before hatching which means our first chicks should make an appearance at the beginning of May.

The Peregrine Fund was instrumental in the recovery of Peregrine Falcons in the United States and our work led to them being removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List in 1999. It is particularly neat to get to watch a pair doing so well right in downtown Boise!

We would like to thank our FalconCam partners Idaho Department of Fish and Game and Fiberpipe Data Centers for their support in monitoring the birds and for providing live streaming video. We hope you enjoy watching the Boise Falcon Family grow!

March 31, 2016

Good news—a pair of Peregrines has been courting on the nest ledge for several weeks! We're working with our partners to turn on the cameras and broadcast video to this page. Please click the blue button at the upper right and sign up for notifications — we'll let you know the minute we go live!