This spring I’m learning a lot about peregrine courtship, thanks to the Aviary’s webcam at the Pitt nest box.

Behind the scenes, the camera is sending snapshots to a server when it detects motion at the nest.  For the first time I’ve been able to see how often the peregrines visit the nest and what they do while they’re there.

I was surprised at how often Dorothy visits when the weather is good and how short her visits can be.  Sometimes she’s there less than 30 seconds.  Another surprise was how often the pair arrives to bow in courtship at the scrape.

Our web department put the snapshots in a slideshow so you can see the birds in action.  (The slideshow repeats.)

The slideshow moves fast to give you a sense of motion, but not the same speed as the snapshots were taken – one snap every 15 seconds.  If you leave your cursor in the slides’ area, captions will appear for some of the photos.  Near the end, Dorothy appears headless in one snapshot because she is preening behind her wing.  Talk about a flexible neck!

Later this month the Aviary will switch the falconcam website from displaying snapshots to a live motion video feed, almost like TV.

Stay tuned – and keep watching the Aviary webcam for updates.

To read more of my blog entries on peregrines, click here.