Launched in 2015, Chesapeake Conservancy's peregrine falcon webcam features "Boh and Barb," named after Baltimore's National Bohemian beer and Maryland's U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski, who announced her plans to retire that year. Today, the cam is operated in partnership with explore.org and COPT Defense Properties. Located on the 33rd floor of a skyscraper at 100 Light Street in downtown Baltimore, this scrape has nurtured multiple generations of falcon eyasses since 1984. The action on this cam typically starts in March, but eggs have been laid as early as late February.

Found on every continent except Antarctica, peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) are one of the best known conservation success stories and are believed to be the fastest bird in the world, traveling up to 200 mph during hunts. These amazing birds have recovered from near eradication in eastern North America, now making many large cities and coastal areas their homes.

After a drastic population decline from 1950-1970 due to pesticide poisoning, peregrine populations have rebounded due to a large-scale captive breeding and release program. Scarlett, the building’s first falcon, was released by The Peregrine Fund at the Edgewood Arsenal area on the Chesapeake Bay in 1977 as part of this effort. Her first successful mating in 1984 with a wild peregrine, later named Beauregard, produced the first natural-born peregrines bred in an urban environment on the East Coast in three decades. View a chronological account of the scrape's early history here. With the departure of USF&G from the building in the mid-1990s, records on the falcon family ended until the Chesapeake Conservancy’s cam went live in 2015.

Now, peregrine falcons are pervasive throughout the U.S., nesting on skyscrapers, water towers, cliffs, and more. Maryland’s restored peregrines have preferred man-made structures, like the 100 Light St skyscraper, to make their nest in the region. Structures like the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Francis Scott Key Bridge and Route 301 Potomac River Bridge have been known to have nesting peregrines as well.

Because peregrines prey on other birds, they are particularly susceptible to changes in the health of the surrounding environment. There is potential for a tremendous amount of bioaccumulation of chemicals in their bodies, threatening the health and productivity of any future offspring. To make sure this charismatic bird continues to thrive, we are working to ensure that river corridors remain protected and that the Chesapeake Bay can support abundant fish and smaller bird populations.
‍