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Virginia “Falcon Cam” Falcon Laid Fourth Egg
Richmond, VA – The Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) is happy to report that they have spotted a 4th egg in the nest box! The female laid her fourth egg at 7:04 pm on Tues, March 29, likely completing this season’s clutch. If you didn’t get to see the egg being laid last night, check out the video below to see exactly when it happened!
Five-egg clutches are relatively uncommon in peregrines but not out of the realm of possibility. The original Richmond falcon pair, which nested downtown from 2003 to 2016, had only one 5-egg clutch during that entire period. That clutch was laid in 2013 at the now-demolished Dominion Building.
If a fifth egg were to be laid, it would be expected to arrive sometime on Thursday or Friday!
Peregrine falcon clutch size averages between three to four eggs, although five egg clutches also occur on a less frequent basis. Because this female has consistently spent each of her previous breeding seasons downtown, they know that all of her previous clutches to date have contained four eggs. Time will tell if this pattern will continue for a third year in a row, or if they will begin to see some variation in the number of eggs laid.
Falcon eggs are typically laid in intervals of 48 to 72 hours, so pay close attention to the Falcon Cam and you may be lucky enough to another egg laying event! During this time, viewers may notice that the eggs are frequently left uncovered. This behavior is normal for peregrine falcons as incubation often does not begin until the second to last egg is laid. By delaying the start of incubation, the eggs will hatch closer together resulting in the chicks developing at roughly the same pace.
For the latest blog posts and to view the Virginia Falcon Cam, please visit: dwr.virginia.gov/falcon-cam/2022/03/but-four-is-a-party/ and dwr.virginia.gov/falcon-cam/.