Fotoeins Fotografie

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Posts tagged ‘Church of the Holy Spirit’

24T06 Heidelberg: Church of the Holy Falcons

E05

The Church of the Holy Spirit stands tall over Heidelberg’s Market Square. But up top its central steeple is an annual springtime renewal: a new family of falcons.

For a number of years, volunteers have managed the “nest box” in the steeple above the clock face, and run the Wanderfalken website. A couple of falcons pair up, mum lays eggs in the cozy church box on high, and parents raise the chicks over a timescale of weeks: until the chicks “disappear” in flight. All of this is in view of everyone who has Internet access.

The nest’s entrance faces “out” to the east, as seen in “Webcam 1” with Heidelberg’s Karlsplatz and Kornmarkt visible. Webcam 2 faces “in” to the “back” of the box, and Webcam 3 from the outside faces west to the roost next to the entrance.

Church of the Holy Spirit, facing west from Marktplatz (Market Square): 1x digital zoom.
Falcon nest in the square “hole” above the clock face. In shadow to afternoon light, the presence of a falcon on the perch is barely discernible in this 10x digital zoom. At 1535h, on 13 May 2024.
Perched is a winged guardian out front, from the live stream.
Two sleeping chicks, from another live-stream camera.
Two chicks awake 35 minutes later and grooming themselves.

I made the first two images above with an iPhone15 on 13 May 2024, plus remaining same-day screen captures from webcams on the Wanderfalken website. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.