Peregrine falcons have visited a nesting box on the Assomption Place building in Moncton for around ten years.

Nature Moncton has been following a pair of birds of prey that visit each year to breed.  In the past, they’ve used binoculars,  but the public can now follow them close-up online instead.

The Magnetic Hill Zoo, in partnership with Nature Moncton, has connected a webcam.

“We thought that this was a great opportunity to get people connected to nature, and to want to be inspired to help protect animals,” Zoo Director Jill Marvin says.

Using the webcam, viewers can watch the birds from courtship to laying their eggs to hatching and feeding and finally taking flight.

There are four chicks in the nest currently. They hatched on Mother’s Day.

Image: from Magnetic Hill Zoo and Nature Moncton webcam

“Sometime in June, we will probably see one of them taking their first leap. It’s incredible how quickly they do grow and are ready,” Marvin adds.

The Peregrine Falcon was at risk of extinction in the 80’s and that’s when it was first realized that some pesticides, mainly DDT were causing issues for bird species. Marvin says a lot of recovery programs were put into place to try and protect them, and that included watching specific species of birds.

“We’ve had over 58,000 hits from viewers on the webcam already. This has been an incredible opportunity for people to understand nature and wildlife. People have it on in their offices. They watch it in the corner of their desk,” Marvin adds.