Here’s your chance to name one of this year’s Eyases!

We are very happy to announce that once again falcon fans will have an opportunity to choose a name for one eyas in the nest box atop the Times Square Building, and it will be in the form of a naming contest open to all viewers.

Much care and thought has been used to name past eyases. We’ve included the criteria for choosing a name. Please read the rules very carefully and use the link below to submit one (1) gender neutral name.

Please, only one submission per person!

The deadline for name submissions is 11:59 pm (EDT) on Monday, May 25, 2026.

Suggested Rfalconcam Naming Criteria Acceptable Categories for Names:

Explorers, Astronomers, Conservationists, especially those with
International appeal (e.g., Galileo, [Amelia] Earhart, Magellan), or those who have played a significant role in Peregrine re-population efforts.
Names inspired by Nature–topographic, meteorological, geographic, etc. (e.g. Kaver, Isaura, Fulmine, Alkyonis, Skye, Aconcagua)
Inspirational Names (e.g. Freedom, Hope, Destiny)
Words that refer to falcons in languages other than Modern English (e.g. Thlotli, Hafoc)

Categories that do not fit the criteria:

Names derived from religious, political, or popular culture icons.
Names directly related to a human person either living or dead, except as noted in the acceptable criteria above.
Names related to a commercial product, or a copyrighted or trademarked name owned by any corporation, individual or organization.
Names that reflect negatively on any group, organization, individual or entity.

Names should be well researched whenever possible. Supporting rationale for the name is required, so give us a few sentences that explain the name and the reason you chose it.

Submitting a Name:

That’s easy! Just click on this link to open the submission form. Only one submission per person please! If multiple submissions are sent in, only the first one that meets the criteria will be accepted.

https://forms.gle/xmu677Yk9EYCfXZ47

NOTE: IF SUBMITTING A NAME, PLEASE DO NOT DISCUSS IT HERE, ON THE FORUM, OR ON SOCIAL MEDIA. WE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THIS AS FAIR AS POSSIBLE TO ALL PARTICIPANTS.

Judging the Name Submissions:

The Rfalconcam Naming Committee will evaluate all name submissions for appropriateness, including (but not limited to) adherence to the naming criteria, well researched name, uniqueness of the name and how well it follows the “spirit” of past falcon names.

The committee will select the top 10 names from those submitted and create a poll for our viewers to vote for their favorite.

NOTE: MEMBERS OF THE NAMING COMMITTEE WILL HAVE FINAL EDITORIAL RIGHT OF REFUSAL FOR ALL SUBMISSIONS, AND THEY MAY REJECT ANY NAME SUBMISSION THAT DOES NOT MEET THE NAMING CRITERIA OR IS JUDGED NOT TO BE APPROPRIATE FOR ANY OTHER REASON.

Past Falcon Names that Meet the Criteria Above:

2002 Freedom, Isis

2003 Isaura – A wind that blows off the Greek Isles
Chayton – A Native American word for Falcon
Destiny
Thlotli – An Aztec name for Falcon
Edge – Named for Rosalie Edge

2004 Alkyonis – Named in honor of the 2004 Olympic games in Greece
Pride
Gahastey – Native American word for a type of wind
Grissom – Named in memory of Virgil “Gus” Grissom
Hafoc – Old English word for Falcon

2005 Esperanza – Spanish word for Hope
Ihteram – Arabic word for Respect
Fulmine – Italian word for Lightning
Aconcagua – A mountain in Argentina
Skye – An island in Scotland where falconry is practiced

2006 Aura – Latin word for breeze

2007 Ananta – A Sanskrit word meaning “infinite” and “endless.”

2008 Diamante – Spanish for “diamond”
Quest – A search or pursuit made in order to find or obtain something
Seneca – Named after the largest tribe of the Iroquois confederacy
Zephyr – The name given to the West Wind in Greek mythology

2010 Callidora – Gift of Beauty
Jemison – In honor of Mary Jemison, an American frontierswoman

2012 Orion – The constellation of “The Hunter”

2013 Baron, Rosetta, Voyager

2014 Tesh, Nettie, Nor’easter, Mercury

2015 Cadence, Genesee, Bronx

2016 Matilda, Aria, Lilac, Leo

2017 Seabreeze, Ontario, Charlotte, Rachel

2018 Mike, Letchworth, Sundara

2019 Lakota, Phoenix, Jupiter, Donna

2020 Roc, Hope, γεράκι

2021 Freyja, Golden

2022 Blaze, Zara, Kanfai Malachim

2023 Sterling, Artemis, Jubilee

2024 Justice, Meng, Walker, Mighty

2025 Denali, Anders, Zephyrus

The deadline for name submissions is 11:59 pm (EDT) on Monday, May 25, 2026.

Good Luck!

Our friend and fellow Rfalconcam Team Member Eileen Karle has worked hard to put together the Rfalconcam 2026 Egg Brooding Shifts Chart. This shows all the times Nova and Corazon spent on their eggs. Red for Nova and Blue for Corazon. You can see that Nova did most of the brooding, but Corazon helped during the day.

Thanks Eileen! Always very interesting!

cp

Our 3rd eyas arrived just before midnight, so s/he technically hatched on 5/8/26. There have already been two feedings so far early this morning. Nova will do most of the feedings while they’re this young, but that doesn’t stop Corazon from wanting to participate!

Now that all three eyases have successfully hatched, we will be able to watch this little family grow, very quickly. We hope you enjoy!

cp

Our Rfalconcam team member Dana Mulhern works really hard making these videos of our beautiful falcon family. Thank you Dana!

Please be sure to watch this awesome video of the arrival of our first two eyases. #2 had a bit of a rocky start, but with the help of Nova and Corazon, all ended well. Enjoy!

Oh, and before I forget, it looks like we have a pip in Egg #3!

cp

Early this afternoon, Our 2nd eyas looked very close to hatching. But, for some reason, the eyas was not able to hatch fully from the egg. After hours of struggling and with a little help from mom and dad, eyas #2 broke free at approximately 6:05 pm. Thank goodness!

Our first clue was when we saw half a shell next to Nova. For just a moment we got a glimpse of a half wet eyas next to the first eyas.

Now we wait for Nova to move so we can get a better look at both eyases and the 3rd egg.

Keep watching!

cp

At approximately 9:18 am, under Nova, our first eyas arrived. Welcome little one!

cp

We have pips in two of Nova and Corazon’s eggs this morning. If you look very closely, you can see a tiny beak working hard to get out! If you’re watching our live stream, you’ll hear the chirps from the eyases inside their eggs.

Corazon brought in breakfast early this morning to give Nova a break. He is more than happy to take his turn on the eggs.

Nova decided to eat her breakfast inside the nest box, so she could keep an eye on the eggs.

Please join us in keeping an eye on the arrival of the new eyases. This is so eggciting!

cp

Welcome to the 2026 RFalconcam season featuring Nova & Corazon!

Our faithful cam watchers have been following along through the winter but spring and new eggs always bring new watchers. We welcome everyone, near and far, to share the miracle developing in those beautiful red eggs!

If all proceeds as usual we should see the eggs hatch in early May. Nova and Corazon will raise the eyases at the nestbox from tiny fluffballs to feathered juveniles over the next 5-6 weeks. Then they will fly & grace the skies over Rochester! That is also when the human watchers get involved!

There are times when the young falcons get into an unsafe situation and need our help. We would like to invite others to join our dedicated core team on the fledge watch! If you are local to Rochester, NY please consider spending some time keeping an eye on the young falcons!

If all stays usual timing, the prime in-person watch needs will be in early-mid June. They are usually most active early morning and late afternoon. No need to commit now. Please just keep it in mind as you are enjoying the antics of the eyases in the scrape!

If you are not local to Rochester please consider finding a scrape near you to help out! We have RFalconcam offspring and descendants in New York, Ontario Canada and as far away as Missouri! Whether a direct connection or just the wonder of the peregrine it is a great way to spend your time!

The Rochester, NY falcon cams have been instrumental in the recovery of the peregrine falcon since 1995! The Art Deco high rise building ledges simulate the natural ledges peregrines use for scrapes in the wild! The nest box provides shelter from the weather and a safe place for the eggs to hatch.

Maintaining our cameras and network can be challenging. From hardware and cameras to the social media integration there is a lot to do! If you are technically savvy and would like to help keep Rfalconcam running smoothly please reach out!

Thank you for reading this long post! We have a lot of information on our main website along with our forum, still and streaming cams at https://rfalconcam.com As always, thank you to our sponsors at GVAS https://gvaudubon.org

Welcome everyone and remember to keep your eyes to the sky!

Ei/cp

It wasn’t an Easter Egg, but it was really close to being one. Just past midnight, Nova stood up from her two eggs and at 12:39 am, Egg #3 arrived! It was 68 hrs and 26 mins between her 2nd and 3rd eggs. That’s a pretty average time for Nova.

Here is the video of Nova laying her 3rd egg! Thanks Dana!

We didn’t get a good look at all 3 eggs until hours later when Nova stood up.

At 5:09 am, Corazon came into the nest box to see the newest arrival and give Nova a break. Nova took off and Corazon attempted to cover all three eggs. It took a bit of maneuvering, but he finally got it!

Nova returned and had quite the conversation with Corazon, We call these stand-offs! Over the years, our Tiercels (males) sometimes are very stubborn and don’t want to leave their eggs. Nova was quite insistent and Corazon finally stood up and left.

Here is the video of Corazon coming in to give Nova a break. Thanks again Dana! Be sure to turn up the video!

We finally were able to get a close-up picture of all three big, beautiful eggs. Thanks Shaky!

Will there be a 4th Egg? Based on their behavior, I think they had already started hard incubation before the 3rd egg was laid. So probably not. But, you just never know!

Thanks for watching the Rochester Falcons!

CP

It looks like we have an Eggatha Christie Mystery on our hands! Our 2nd Egg arrived early this morning at 4:23 am. 121.57 hrs between the 1st and 2nd eggs. This was twice the time it should have taken. So, what happened to the real 2nd egg, if there was one?

This is not unusual. The same thing happened in 2021. Beauty and Dot.ca were very late laying a 2nd egg in the Times Square nest box. Rochester Falcon Watchers had witnessed an intruder in the area during that time. Once the intruder left, Beauty laid 3 more eggs. Only 2 of the 4 eggs hatched that year, Freyja and Golden. Territorial battles can be very stressful for our falcons.

A very big thank you to Kate for bringing it to our attention that Nova had laid her 2nd egg early this morning. Kate was up early watching our streaming video!

A few weeks ago, Rochester Falcon Watcher Dana reported seeing a 3rd falcon near the Times Square Bldg. No other Watchers witnessed a 3rd falcon, but could there have been an intruder that caused Nova to lay her 2nd egg somewhere else? We’ll probably never know. It’s a true mystery.

At 6:09 am, Corazon brought in breakfast for Nova and got his first look at his new egg. While Nova was gone, Corazon spent time on his eggs.

Welcome Egg#2! Now we wait to see if Nova will lay a 3rd egg?

Here’s a 2nd video from Dana. It’s a video of Corazon bringing in breakfast for Nova and getting his first look at his new egg. Thanks Dana for all your hard work!

CP