It's that time of year again when the hearts of young peregrine falcons turn to love and everyone can watch nature's renewal online through webcams on the Peregrine Falcon nest on the 15th Floor of the Rachel Carson Building in Harrisburg.

According to DEP’s @FalconChatter, the pair of falcons seem to have settled into their nest site, in spite of a challenge by another male.

As regular as clockwork, the falcon pair start laying their eggs about March 20,  they hatch sometime in April and are banded by the Game Commission in May, typically during a live event shared online and in person by students all over Pennsylvania. 

In June they start testing their wings and fly, helped by volunteers who pick up errant fledglings who end up on Market Street below their ledge.

Since 1997, a pair of Peregrine Falcons have made their home on a ledge off the 15th Floor of the Rachel Carson State Office Building. In Pennsylvania, Peregrine Falcons, a Pennsylvania endangered species, were extremely rare for many years.

Yet, through reintroduction programs, Peregrines have adapted to life in urban environments like Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Williamsport.

Each year, DEP and the Game Commission track the activities of these amazing birds of prey and share educational information with the world.

It is fitting the Peregrine Falcon nest is on the Rachel Carson Building, home of DEP and DCNR, because this Pennsylvania-born scientist and writer, Rachel Carson, who spotlighted the dangers pesticides posed to birds, including specifically the Peregrine Falcon.  Click Here to learn more.

For all things Peregrine Falcon, visit DEP’s Falcon Cam webpage.  Visit the Game Commission’s Peregrine Falcon webpage to learn more about the comeback of these amazing birds.

(Photo: Fledgling Peregrine Falcons, Joe Kosack, Game Commission.)

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[Posted: Feb. 2, 2017]

2/6/2017