WATCH: Baby falcons hatching atop Montreal tower
It's a joyous day for Eve, resident peregrine falcon at the Université de Montreal: her babies are hatching.
The event is being live-streamed Sunday from a nest box atop the 23rd floor of a tower on campus.
The first egg hatched around 7:40 a.m., while the second opened up around 12:50. There were still two eggs to go as of the early afternoon.
You can watch the other babies hatch in real-time here:
The nest box was installed in 2008 on the southeast side of the tower, facing the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery.
It initially played home to falcons Spirit and Roger, who successfully raised their young for the first time in 2009.
The pair that now occupy the nest are Eve and a male known as "M."
The tower makes for an ideal nesting spot for the birds, which like to make their homes on cliff faces.
Ornithologist David Bird says it's what makes cities so attractive to falcons.
"To them, the skyscrapers in the city of Montreal, and virtually every other large city in North America ... represent cliffs to these birds. They’re not buildings, they’re cliffs," he said.
Once the chicks hatch, they'll spend their time eating, growing, and eventually learning to hunt.
Life as a peregrine is unlike most other birds. First off, they are the fastest animal in the world, reaching speeds of over 300 km/h while diving through the air.
They hunt using what Bird called "the old fighter plane strategy, where they come out of the sun."
"They usually hit the prey in the head area with the hind talon."
Despite that spectacular speed, the chicks won't have an easy go at life outside the nest.
The name itself -- "peregrine" -- means wanderer. Once the chicks have enough strength and down feathers, they'll leave mom and pop behind.
They'll have find a place of their own, which can be challenging in a city like Montreal, which you could say is in a housing crunch for falcon digs.
"They’ve got to find themselves a territory, and the territories in these cities are limited," said Bird. "These birds do not like to live next to each other, and they’ll actually kill each other to get a territory."
What's more likely is that they'll wind up outside of the city, or even in another urban centre in North America.
Bird cited a study he and a team had done in the late 1970s, where they released about 50 falcons in downtown Montreal.
"None of them stayed in the city," he said. "One of them went to nest in Detroit, and another one went to nest in Winnipeg."
With files from CTV's Cindy Sherwin.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Rainfall warnings of up to 80 mm among weather alerts in effect for 6 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres and other alerts have been issued for six Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Bus plunges off a bridge in South Africa, killing 45 people. An 8-year-old child is only survivor
A bus carrying worshippers headed to an Easter festival plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames in South Africa on Thursday, killing at least 45 people, authorities said.
Calgary bridges remain closed due to ongoing police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.