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

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol Phillips

Nova usually averages 63 hours between eggs. It’s well past that now. But, in the past, our Falcons have taken much longer to lay their eggs. So, we wait. Maybe not so patiently. But, if you’re going to be a Falcon Watcher, you have to have patience!

We also have to remember that eventhough Corazon helped raise Nova and Neander’s three young last year, he is a new mate for her. Plus we’ve had some nasty weather and a very long Winter. Spring has finally arrived!

By Carol Phillips

After spending quite a few evenings in the nest box on top of the Times Square Bldg, Nova laid her egg early this morning at 2:49 am.

A huge thanks to Rfalconcam team member Dana Mulhern for this video of Nova laying her egg!

This is Corazon’s first egg. Last year he helped Nova raise her and Neander’s three sons. He did an awesome job!

Corazon brought a food gift for Nova and she took off with it to eat on a nearby building, leaving Corazon to have some time with his egg.

Will there be a 2nd egg? We’ll just have to wait and see!

It’s time that our new tiercel has a proper name. He has been doing such an awesome job helping Nova raise Zephyrus, Anders and Denali. No more New Guy!

The Rochester Falcon Watchers submitted names and voted for their favorite. There were so many awesome names to choose from. But, we decided that New Guy would now be called Corazon!

Corazon was submitted by Watcher Dana Mulhern.

“I would love to name him Corazon, which is Spanish for heart. Because of all the love he has shown to Nova and Neander’s boys, and also because of the hearts on his cheeks. ♥️

We will never forget Neander with his white Feather. He will forever be in our heart. Miss you Neander!

But life for our Rochester Peregrine Family must move on and Corazon will hopefully be a part of that for many years to come as Nova’s mate.

Welcome Corazon!!!

cp

I know that many of you have questioned why our new male hasn’t been given a new name yet. The reason is that the Rochester Falcon Watchers wanted to wait for our three boys to successfully fledge. Which has now happened.

NG has done an incredible job helping Nova raise her and Neander’s sons. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner for our Nova. She seems to have accepted him and we’ve witnessed them bonding. Zephyrus, Anders and Denali know him as dad.

For all the hard work the Rochester Falcon Watchers do, they will be given the honor of choosing a name for our new dad.

We’ll let you know when we’ve decided. Stay tuned!

cp

All of our young falcons have now fledged. Their first flights were successful! Now the Rochester Falcon Watchers are going to be very busy. We’ll be out looking for them and attempting to ID them to make sure they are all accounted for and remain safe.

Denali fledged early Saturday morning and he’s been flying well. Both Anders and Zephyrus fledged almost at the same time this afternoon.

Earlier this afternoon, Denali returned to the nest box. All three boys spent the afternoon napping and preening on top of the nest box. For now the nest box is empty, but hopefully they’ll return now and then for a visit.

As time allows, we’ll post updates to let you know how they’re doing. Be sure to follow Rfalconcam and the watchers on Bluesky to receive the live watcher reports.

cp

The Rochester Falcons eyases received their bands on Wednesday, May 21st, thanks to our friends at the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Introducing our Class of 2025!

Zephyrus (Male)

Zephyrus received band 27 Black over R Green, with red tape over his USFW band.

Name chosen by Elizabeth Simons’ students at Greece Olympia High School in Greece, NY.

“We offer the name Zephyrus to honor our Greece Schools and because it means ‘west wind’ symbolizing speed and agility.”

Anders (Male)

Anders received band 28 Black over R Green, with blue tape over his USFW band.

Name chosen by our naming contest winner, Lori Zurick of Hilton, NY.

Anders was chosen in honor of Neander and his guardian spirit, strength and bravery. His soul will live on in one of his new falcons so that he will never be forgotten to all who loved him and watched him be a loyal partner to Nova.

Thank you Lori and all that chose this name in memory of our beloved Neander. ♥️

Denali (Male)

Denali received band 29 Black over R Green, with yellow tape over his USFW band.

Named by Susan Kraftschik of Tucson, AZ.

Susan was a longtime Rochester Falcon Watcher. She chose the name Denali for the highest mountain, not only in the US, but in all of North America. It is also the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land. Mountains always remind me of falcons, not only for the cliffs that they nest on but for the height, strength and power that mountains represent.

We want to thank our friends at the DEC, Elizabeth Simons’ students at Greece Olympia, Lori Zurick, Susan Kraftschik, all those that watch the Rfalconcam and the Rochester Falcon Watchers, who were watching Nova and New Guy’s reaction from below! Also, a big thanks to the Rfalconcam Team who keep the cameras going, so we have this wonderful view into the world of a Peregrine Falcon family! The true stars are Nova, Neander, Zephyrus, Anders, Denali and New Guy who is learning to take care of this little family.

We all miss Neander. Since no territorial battle was ever witnessed, we’ll probably never know what happened to him. Fly Free Neander. We Miss You!

cp

Finally! This is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. It’s time to name an eyas!

The poll is open! From the many excellent suggestions that were received, Rfalconcam’s Naming Committee selected 17 names from over 100 submissions. Thank you to everyone who submitted a name!

Voting is easy. Just click/tap on the link below. It will open the ballot form where you’ll start by filling in your name and email address. Then select your favorite name and click/tap the Submit button. Be sure to read the brief description we’ve included with each name. It might help you make your decision. We’ll announce the winning name when the eyases are banded.

Use this link to vote:

https://forms.gle/VVmopSWEWBQU21xF7

Voting closes at 11:59 pm EDT on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

Good luck!