Watch Live Peregrine Falcon Cam Nest Box!
In partnership with Missouri Department of Conservation and Ameren Missouri, the World Bird Sanctuary is pleased to be able to bring you a live video camera on a Peregrine Falcon nest box. Watch a pair of peregrine falcons as they nest and hatch their chicks with our live video feed. During our Falcon Season, the video runs from 7am – 8pm (central time) each day.
Have a Question About Peregrine Falcons? Ask Jeff!
Every May and June Jeff Meshach, Deputy Director, bands the Peregrine babies in at least 7 of the 9 known nests in the St. Louis area. Jeff considers his banding efforts to be one of the greatest privileges in the world. “Getting to put my hands on the fastest animal in the world, even for just a few minutes, is an unforgettable experience.”
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and your question maybe be answered at Ask Jeff!
May 18, 2020
May 18, 2020
Hello all. We’ve had tragedy at the nest box. This morning as I was getting out of my vehicle at Ameren’s Sioux Energy Center to get ready for banding our 20-day old chicks, I was informed that 2 had jumped from the box and one had passed away in the box. The chick that passed away in the box died sometime overnight. Around 6 this morning the other 2 jumped from the box. With the chicks not even walking on their feet yet, them jumping from the box was very surprising.
I still climbed to the box to retrieve the passed chick that was still in the box. I found another just under the box, where 2 I-beams come together. That chick was also dead. The third chick fell to the ground. All 3 bodies will be necropsied (that’s an animal autopsy) and we will try to find out why the chicks so suddenly died.
The person that pans the camera looked at recorded footage from last night. He watched until he could not see into the box because of darkness. Nothing about the chicks’ behavior gave him any hint there was trouble.
When I climbed onto the beams near the box to retrieve the chicks, mom falcon acted as normal, pummeling my yellow helmet with her feet as she rapidly flew by. Dad falcon was also flying very close, yelling at me. The box had feathers from prey items, just as normal.
This tragedy was the last thing I expected, as WBS staff person Darcy Evelhoch and I made our way to the Sioux Energy Center early this morning. In previous ASKJEFF’s I’ve spoken of how nature can seemingly be cruel, not only in our situation, but with all other living things on the planet. Still, when you get to see so much of our Peregrine Falcon pair and the chicks they produce and raise, one cannot help but become attached. My attachment comes through in the respect I have for the species, our 14 year old female and her 16 year old mate. They have been together for 5 seasons now and have contributed 8 fledglings to the North American Peregrine population.
I really didn’t think the last ASK JEFF would come so quickly in the nesting season, but again, nature has her own agenda, and it sometimes doesn’t work out for the human onlookers. If we get definitive answers from testing the chicks’ bodies, I will write another ASK JEFF.
I hope everyone has a great summer, and I look forward to writing to you in 2021.
Jeff Meshach, Deputy Director
Jeff Meshach, Deputy Director
