The Providence Peregrine Live Stream

A 4th egg was laid today around 9:15 am! Click here to open the image in a new tab.

FAQ: How can I tell if the falcon I am seeing is the male or the female?

Most of the time, the falcon sitting on the eggs will be the female, but there will be times when she leaves and the male will take over the “egg-sitting” duties. Typically, the female relies heavily on her mate to provide food periodically during incubation and consistently for the first 10 days after the eggs hatch. So unless they are at the nest box at the same time, it may be hard to tell them apart. Here are some ways to distinguish the two parents this year. In the side-by-side photo, the female is on the right and the male is on the left.

· Size: The female is taller and broader, with a larger head and thicker neck than the male. Females can weigh up to 50% more than the males. The male is generally smaller and more streamlined (this makes him more agile and better at catching highly maneuverable prey, while females are better at catching larger prey.)

· Color: The male's beak is darker than the female's beak. Differences can also be seen in the 'bare' parts: the skin around the eyes, the cere (skin around the beak), and the legs and feet. The female’s coloring is a more muted yellow, while the male’s coloring is a brighter yellow-orange. These differences are especially strong during mating season.

· Throat: They have slightly different markings (green arrow) – on their left sides (pictured) the female’s marking is shaped slightly like a sideways heart, while the male’s markings are more blocky-looking.

If you can spot any other differences, let us know! Happy viewing!

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A third egg has been laid in the early hours. WATCH THE VIDEO REPLAY!

Keep watching to see if there will be a fourth!

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A second egg was laid this morning! The female will lay the clutch of three to four eggs at approximately 48 hour intervals. Incubation will not begin until the second-to-last egg is laid, which ensures all eggs will hatch around the same time. Once incubation starts, one of the adults will be sitting on the nest (with the exception of brief moments during warm weather or when the male and female need to exchange food.)

Thanks to a viewer for submitting this image. (Zoom into the picture here)

Welcome to the 2024 nesting season! The first egg was laid on March 18th. VIDEO HIGHLIGHT: check out the moment the egg was first revealed! Hopefully, more eggs will be coming any day now.

This season marks the 25th anniversary of watching these fabulous birds of prey – check out the tables below to see the parents and offspring, as well as the dates of major events for each year. Over the season, watch the male and female tend to each other and to their young.

You may be wondering how we get the nestbox so clean each year? The answer is “we” don’t! It is nature that cleans the nestbox for us – wind, rain, snow – nature slowly cleans the box once the falcons leave it so that by early spring, it’s ready for the next nesting season.

Image and video captured by Audubon volunteer Sandi B. (Zoom into the picture here)