UMass Amherst Falcon Webcam – Watch a Peregrine Nest

The UMass Amherst Falcon Webcam points at a peregrine falcon nest box fixed to the roof parapet of the W. E. B. Du Bois Library, the brick tower that stands at the center of the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. The camera sits outside the box rather than inside it, so the whole structure fills the frame: a grey shelter with a dark entrance opening, a shallow gravel tray in front of it, and the brick parapet it rests on. Antenna masts and guy wires cross the left of the picture, and past the roof edge the ground drops away toward the Connecticut River valley and a line of low wooded ridges. What happens in that box follows the calendar closely, and for a good part of the year nothing happens in it at all.

About the UMass Amherst Falcons

The nest box was installed on March 27, 1988, on the 26th floor lower roof parapet wall of the Du Bois Library, which is the tallest academic library building in the United States. Peregrines did not take it up straight away. The first successful nesting on the library roof came in 2003, fifteen years after the box went up, and a live camera was added in 2012 so the pair could be watched without anyone going onto the roof.

The cam is run by the UMass Amherst Libraries with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement, the UMass Physical Plant Division, UMass Information Technology and Library Technology Systems, and the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, usually shortened to MassWildlife. That last partner is the reason the birds are individually known rather than anonymous. The adults are banded, and their bands are read off the camera: the female on the box in 2023 carried the band 72/BV and had been banded in Brockton in 2019, while the male, 45/BU, was banded the same year on the Coolidge Bridge in nearby Northampton.

The gravel tray is the nest itself. Peregrines build nothing, so the birds scrape a shallow hollow in the stones and lay directly into it, which is why the box holds loose gravel rather than sticks or lining. Chicks hatched here are banded on the roof in turn, and the site has become one of the better known urban peregrine nests in western Massachusetts.

Weather and Climate in Amherst

Amherst sits at about 90 meters (300 feet) in the Connecticut River valley, roughly 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of Springfield, with the Mount Holyoke Range to the south. The climate is humid continental, classified Dfa, which means four clearly separated seasons and a wide annual swing. January averages around minus 4.5 C (23.9 F) and the town takes roughly 93 centimeters (36.5 inches) of snow in a normal year, so in winter the parapet and the gravel tray often carry a layer of it and the ridges on the horizon go bare and grey.

July averages about 22.1 C (71.7 F), and summer air in the valley is frequently hazy enough to soften those distant ridges to a flat outline. Spring is the season the camera was really put there for, and it is also the wettest looking: rain beads on the housing and the picture can go soft for hours. Autumn brings long overcast spells, and because the camera is mounted in the open on a roof, snow, rain and low cloud all show up on the lens rather than being filtered out.

Things to Do Near UMass Amherst

The Emily Dickinson Museum is in Amherst itself, in the house where the poet lived and wrote. A short walk away, Amherst College holds two collections worth the detour: the Beneski Museum of Natural History, which is strong on fossils and mounted skeletons, and the Mead Art Museum. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is also in town, and the Yiddish Book Center sits on the Hampshire College campus.

For anyone who would rather be outdoors after watching a cliff bird on a building, the Mount Holyoke Range State Park runs along the southern edge of the area, with Mount Norwottuck the usual objective for a half day on foot. Northampton, the county seat, is close enough for an easy afternoon and gives the valley a second town center to work through.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

Other nest cameras and a neighbor in the same valley, if this one is quiet.

• Falcon Nest Webcam
• Old Saybrook Osprey Webcam
• Smith College Webcam
• Duke Farms Eagle Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the UMass Amherst Falcon Webcam located?

On the roof of the W. E. B. Du Bois Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in Amherst, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. The town is about 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of Springfield in the Connecticut River valley.

What can you see on the UMass Amherst Falcon Webcam?

An outside view of the peregrine nest box on the parapet wall, its entrance opening, and the gravel tray the birds nest in. Rooftop antenna hardware sits to one side, and the valley and wooded ridges show beyond the roof edge.

Why are there no falcons on the camera right now?

Because the box is only occupied for part of the year. Outside the breeding months the tray is usually bare gravel, and an empty box is the normal picture rather than a sign the stream has failed. Late winter and spring are when the adults are around the box regularly.

When do the UMass Amherst falcons lay eggs?

Egg laying at this site typically happens in May, with the chicks hatching shortly afterward. The weeks before that are when the adults spend the most time at the box.

When are the falcon chicks banded and when do they fledge?

MassWildlife bands the chicks on the library roof in late May or early June. Fledging follows in the middle or the second half of June, which is the last stretch of the season with much to watch.

How long have peregrine falcons nested on the Du Bois Library?

Since 2003. The nest box itself went up much earlier, on March 27, 1988, and stood unused by nesting peregrines for fifteen years before the first successful brood.

What is the weather like in Amherst, Massachusetts?

Humid continental, with cold snowy winters and warm humid summers. January averages about minus 4.5 C (23.9 F) and July about 22.1 C (71.7 F), with roughly 93 centimeters (36.5 inches) of snow a year.

Do the falcons build a nest in the box?

No. Peregrines bring no nesting material, so they scrape a hollow in the gravel and lay their eggs in it. That is why the tray is filled with loose stones.

Source: UMass Amherst Libraries