U of A Falcon Webcam – Watch Peregrines Nest in Edmonton

The U of A Falcon Webcam looks straight into a wooden peregrine falcon nest box on top of the Clinical Sciences Building at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. The camera faces the open front of the box, so the whole floor is in view under a shingled roof, with the building’s pale walls at the edges of the frame. From April to July a pair of peregrines scrapes a hollow here, lays eggs and raises chicks to the day they fly. Out of season the box sits empty. On a clear October morning the low sun reaches across the back wall and lights a floor thick with feathers left from a summer of meals, and before the falcons return in spring, city pigeons have been known to move in.

About the U of A Falcon Nest

The Clinical Sciences Building stands at 11350 83 Avenue NW, in the hospital and health sciences corner of the University of Alberta campus, south of the North Saskatchewan River. It was completed in 1969 and rises 13 floors to a roof about 62 meters (205 feet) above the street. In 2015 The Gateway, the university’s student newspaper, called this building the second most coveted peregrine nesting site in Edmonton. A falcon named Radisson started nesting here in the late 2000s and kept coming back. With her mate Chase she raised three chicks in 2013 and four in 2014.

The camera is part of the Peregrine Cameras project of the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA), which has broadcast nest box cameras online since 2011 and lists the University of Alberta among its project sponsors. The U of A Falcon Webcam is one of five ACA peregrine feeds, alongside Bell Tower, Genesee, Nutrien and Shell Scotford, and ACA biologists keep a dated timeline of each nest. In 2024 the pair here laid three eggs, but only one chick survived to fledge, on August 9. In 2025 the female was a yearling, too young to breed, after highly pathogenic avian influenza cut Alberta’s peregrine population by an estimated 30 percent. The box held no eggs that year, only prey stockpiled by an attentive male.

The 2026 season went far better. A falcon reclaimed the box from pigeons on April 7, scraped a bowl into its floor by April 20 and laid two eggs over the weekend of May 2 and 3, with a fourth in place by May 8. All four hatched within 24 hours around June 10 and 11. In mid-July three of the chicks were sexed, banded and kept at a nearby hack site, while the fourth was banded and returned to the box. It fledged on July 20, which closed the season.

Weather and Climate in Edmonton

Edmonton has a humid continental climate with long, cold winters. At Blatchford, the former City Centre Airport weather station, January averages a high of minus 5.8 C (21.6 F) and a low of minus 14.7 C (5.5 F), and significant snow usually builds up from late October and tapers off by late March. Those are the months the camera shows an empty box, because Alberta’s peregrines migrate south in September and October and come back in mid-April. The same autumn weeks bring flocks of sandhill cranes high over Edmonton, heading from northern Canada and Alaska to Texas and New Mexico, a route shown on our bird migration map.

Summer is the busy season on camera. July averages a high of 23.5 C (74.3 F) and a low of 12.6 C (54.7 F), and around the June solstice Edmonton gets about 17 hours of daylight. Heat can still be hard on the birds: during a July 2024 heatwave ACA biologists watched the adult shade its chick from the sun while the birds panted to cool off. The city logs about 2,344 hours of sunshine and 422.5 millimeters (16.6 inches) of precipitation a year.

Things to Do Near the University of Alberta

The Clinical Sciences Building is part of the University of Alberta Hospital complex, and Health Sciences/Jubilee station on the Capital Line LRT stops beside it, so the campus is an easy ride from downtown. A short walk away on 87 Avenue, the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium is one of the city’s main performing arts halls. The High Level Bridge crosses the North Saskatchewan River toward the Alberta Legislature Building, about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) northeast of the nest on the far bank.

The river valley below campus holds a long chain of parks and trails. Hawrelak Park, Fort Edmonton Park, which is Canada’s largest living history museum, and the Muttart Conservatory with its glass pyramids all sit in the valley.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

For more of Edmonton and more falcons raising chicks on a building, try these cameras next.

• Edmonton Webcam
• UMass Amherst Falcon Webcam
• Orange Falcon Nest Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the U of A falcon nest located?

The nest box is on top of the Clinical Sciences Building at 11350 83 Avenue NW, on the University of Alberta campus in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) southwest of the Alberta Legislature Building across the North Saskatchewan River.

What can you see on the U of A Falcon Webcam?

The camera looks into the open front of a wooden nest box with a shingled roof. From April to July it shows the falcons courting, incubating eggs and feeding chicks at close range. Out of season the box is empty, its floor covered in feathers, most likely the remains of prey brought in over the summer.

Why is the U of A Falcon Webcam nest empty right now?

Peregrines only use the box in the breeding season. In Alberta they arrive in mid-April, raise chicks until late July and migrate south in September and October, according to the Alberta Conservation Association. The last 2026 chick fledged on July 20, so the box is usually empty from late summer to early spring. The stream keeps running, and ACA expects the falcons back in spring.

When do the peregrine falcons return to the University of Alberta?

Usually in April. In 2026 a falcon reclaimed the box on April 7, after pigeons had used it in March, and in 2025 the first peregrine showed up on April 25. Eggs follow in May, hatching comes a little over a month later, and the young fly in July or early August.

Who runs the University of Alberta peregrine falcon camera?

The Alberta Conservation Association runs it as part of its Peregrine Cameras project, with the University of Alberta listed among the project sponsors. ACA staff post dated updates on the nest through each season.

What is the weather like in Edmonton?

Winters are long and cold, with January averaging a high of minus 5.8 C (21.6 F), while July averages a high of 23.5 C (74.3 F). Significant snow usually lies from late October to late March.

How many peregrine falcons are there in Alberta?

The peregrine falcon is classified as At Risk in Alberta, with only 50 to 60 breeding pairs across the province, according to the ACA. Numbers recovered as pesticide residues in their food declined, but avian influenza has since caused an estimated 30 percent drop.

Source: Alberta Conservation Association