A week ago two peregrine nestlings were banded at the Westinghouse Bridge.  This coming weekend we’ll hold a Fledge Watch. That’s how fast they mature and fly.

Banding Day, June 22, was the most excitement Pittsburgh Falconuts had seen for a very long time.  The mother peregrine, Storm, put on quite a show when the PA Game Commission’s Dan Brauning came to town to band her babies.

The only way to reach the nest was by using PennDOT’s bucket truck but that didn’t make it easy.  Storm lived up to her name by frequently attacking the three men in the bucket, screaming at them the entire time.

She was full of tricky maneuvers and soon made a direct hit on somebody’s helmet.  We gasped as it fell 240 feet to the ground.   My heavens, she knocked off his head!   Whew… not really.

The closer the bucket came, the harder she pushed.

Dan Brauning gave her something to hit — his hand.

She screamed non-stop for half an hour until the banding was done and the men climbed back into the bucket.  With her quiet at last on the catwalk railing, Dan Brauning took a moment to congratulate her.

As the bucket left the scene, Dan held up two fingers.  V for victory?  No, he means “2 chicks in the nest.”   1 male, 1 female.

Applause, applause!  And we all went home.

Stay tuned for the Westinghouse Bridge Fledge Watch schedule this coming Fourth of July weekend.   –> I don’t have dates and times yet because Westinghouse site monitor John English broke a rib last Friday.  Oh no!  Get well soon, John!

UPDATE July 2, 2015:
Fledge Watch has been canceled because Norfolk Southern Railroad doesn’t want us under the bridge. That area is their property.

(photos by Thomas J. Moeller and Dana Nesiti)

The Animal Rescue League Shelter and Wildlife Center posted this on their Facebook page at 2:30pm today, June 25.

This morning, the PA Game Commission brought a Peregrine Falcon fledgling from its nest(*) in Oakland to our Wildlife Center for care. We have admitted it for medical evaluation, which will occur over the next several days. The bird does not have appropriate flight feathers and may have some neurological issues. It will remain under our care until decisions can be made in the bird’s best interest.

The Animal Rescue League will provide further updates on the falcon’s medical condition and the future treatment plan once this is determined.

If you would like to donate to help support the care of the falcon, please do so by visiting our website at www.animalrescue.org/donate and type “Falcon” in the notes section.

The bold emphasis above is my own but it’s true:  If you want to help Silver, donate to the ARL Wildlife Center.  They are a non-profit organization and do really good work!

And, please, no visits or calls.  The Wildlife Center will provide updates as they have news.

p.s. * Slight correction to the text above: Silver was not brought literally “from the nest” but from his landing place near Hillman Library in Oakland.  Here’s what happened.

(photo from Animal Rescue League Shelter and Wildlife Center Facebook page.  Click here to visit ARL Wildlife on the web)

UPDATE, 26 JUNE 2015 from Animal Rescue League Wildlife Center:

“Peregrine Update: The Peregrine Falcon we received yesterday is settling in at our Wildlife Center. Upon initial exam, the bird was found to be dehydrated and thin. There are missing flight feathers, but new feather growth is apparent. In addition, one of the bird’s feet is noticeably weaker than the other. The bird has an appointment with a specialty vet on Tuesday & we will pass along any information that is discovered at that time. To be clear, our hope & goal is to rehabilitate the falcon so that it may eventually be returned to the wild. Long term goals, treatments, and plans will be developing as our Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitators work alongside the Veterinarian.”

This afternoon the Pitt peregrine chick flew for the second time and landed, unscathed, on the patio at Hillman Library.  Though Fledge Watchers were on the scene from noon to 2:30pm we missed him again, though we did see his parents.

Silver’s second flight was another straight down drop from the nest location, a vertical distance of 400 feet.  In the 14 years I’ve monitored this nest, we have never had a fledgling land on the ground on his first flight, let alone his second.

This unusual performance was puzzling to the PA Game Commission so they took a very close look at the bird.  Silver wasn’t injured by his two trips but his right wing has a feather-growth defect that explains why he can’t fly.  Officer Puhala called me to say he had recovered the bird at Hillman Library. The defect is sending the fledgling to rehab.

I looked for motion detection snapshots of the feather defect and was surprised it was so obvious.  It was there before he took his first flight.  We just never noticed. (All of the photos are from early morning June 21 before Silver left the nest.)

As you can see, his right wing is missing most of its secondaries, one of his primaries is flipped, and his upper wing coverts are short or missing.  Simply put, Silver’s wings are lopsided.  Of course he goes straight to the ground.

In this condition he cannot learn to hunt and would not survive his first year in the wild.  If it’s not a permanent defect — if he actually has the proper feather follicles — then he must go through a complete molt (a year from now) before he can begin to fly.  After the molt he will have to be taught to hunt before he can be released.  If his feather defect is permanent, he will become an education bird.  In any case, he’ll be in rehab for quite a while.

Below are more photos from before he ever attempted to fly.

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In late May we knew he was a special needs bird.  Now he’ll get the special attention he needs.

p.s. At this time we do not know what caused the defect.

(photos from the National Aviary snapshot camera at the University of Pittsburgh)