Sat. — Mon., January 18 — 20 | 1 pm | Included with General Admission

We’re counting down to the return of the National Aviary’s Peregrine FalconCam season (which returns on Sat., February 1) in an exhilarating way! 

ONE WEEKEND ONLY: Fly to our Helen M. Schmidt™ FliteZone Theater to meet one of the FASTEST birds on the planet…our new male Peregrine Falcon Animal Ambassador! Witness this species’ striking beauty up close, uncover the secrets behind their exceptional hunting abilities, and learn what makes this bird of prey oh-so talon-ted from an Aviary expert.

The National Aviary’s new male Peregrine Falcon Animal Ambassador

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Each spring and summer, the National Aviary hosts a live stream of the Peregrine Falcon pair residing high up on the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning:  the National Aviary’s Peregrine FalconCam. 2024 marked the first year of Peregrine pair Carla and Ecco occupying the Cathedral of Learning’s next box – and it was exciting! Carla and Ecco’s two chicks BOTH hatched on Earth Day and grew under the watchful eyes of Mom and Dad. As part of an ongoing statewide effort to monitor Peregrine Falcon populations – which were once on the Endangered Species list – Pennsylvania Game Commission biologists banded both chicks in late May. A few weeks later, both chicks fledged their Cathedral of Learning nest – onto their next chapter in life.

Wild Peregrine Falcon pair, Carla and Ecco’s chick during banding, 2024