Mystery solved!
The new male peregrine at the Cathedral of Learning nest — Black/Red, N/29 — hatched in 2013 at the (PNC) 4th and Vine Tower in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.
He remained a mystery for days because his band colors indicate he’s from the Midwest but Cincinnati doesn’t enter peregrine band numbers in the Midwest Peregrine Database.
This did not daunt Kathy Majich of Toronto, Canada. Her excellent detective work uncovered a news story with a photo of N/29 on his Banding Day, Tuesday 18 June 2013, when he was about three weeks old. She sent me this link on Saturday with a photo of him showing off his bands.
I sent Kathy’s link to Art McMorris who contacted Ohio DNR. Jennifer Norris sent confirmation today, adding that N/29’s parents are “feisty” … so we’ll have that to look forward to.
Hope’s new mate should feel right at home at the Cathedral of Learning. He hatched on a 31-story Neoclassical building, completed in 1913, shown below.
There’s even a webcam at his former home. Watch it here at RaptorInc.org.
N29 was not named at banding so he earns a name now that he has a nest. As the third tiercel to reign at the Cathedral of Learning, his name is “Terzo” which means third in Italian. (In Italian it’s pronounced Tare-tzo; rhymes with “scherzo.”) Click here to read how he got his name.
Welcome to Pittsburgh, Terzo. We’re happy to have you here.
(top photo from the National Aviary falconcam at the Univ of Pittsburgh. photo of PNC 4th & Vine Tower linked from Wikipedia. Click on the image to see the original)
Yay! Welcome right on up the Ohio, N/29. I wonder if that’s how he made his way here.
This news made my day, after waiting patiently to hear the history of N29!I hope he has many,many years with us at the COL. Thanks so much,to everyone who worked on finding out his identity, and a BIG thanks to Kate, for her hard work and dedication,in keeping us informed!!
Obviously a young male and praying he’ll stick around for Hope the new Matriarch at the COL. Great work on the ability to find out his identity, also.
Do you happen to know how old Hope is? I see that the new male is only about 3 years old. About how old are they when they become sexually mature(able to product offspring)? Thanks!
Candi, Hope is 8 years old. Peregrines usually begin breeding at two years old but some start as early as age 1 or wait until age 3.
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY KATE!!! I really hope he stays and builds a great life with Hope. All we need now is a name.
did he have a name
What will galen to the eggs she already laid? Will they destroy and eat them (no protein gets wasted) or will she lay more and hatch all together?
Sabrina, peregrines do not destroy eggs. New peregrine pairs usually lay additional eggs together and then incubate and raise all of the young.
Gotta wonder. Why no central database? And why certain places don’t use the database they have?
Ugh, just what we need, a Bengals fan in the heart of Steelers country (or a UC Bearcats fan in the heart of Pitt Panther country) 🙂
Good to finally know who he is/where he’s from. Guessing he wasn’t given a name at banding?
Welcome Cinci!! Hoping you and Hope have many happy years and offspring together. Starting with a few of E2’s added in the mix this first time around!
I’m going to call him Antoine. Short for Antoine T-9.
Ah, so now we even have a baby picture of the new guy! 😀
Great detective work. Always nice to know background info about any falcon we watch.
Yay, mystery solved! Here’s hoping for many happy, long years for N/29 and Hope at the Cathedral. Assuming all goes well, will this be his first year (as far as anybody knows) that he’s fathered young? And I saw in your post about naming peregrines that Ohio generally does name their chicks – is that no longer the case, or does he have a name already?
So happy to find out where he hails from. Will he be given a name like the others? Welcome to the Burgh N/29!
Love the detective work ev1 did. Thanks for passing on this information to many concerned University Falcon watchers. Hope he stays around and helps Hope with getting food and incubating.
Could N/29 possibly be the young male that Hope was with last spring at the Bridge??
gjlfdl, probably not based on plumage. The plumage of the young male last year means he was probably 1 yr old. That would make him 2 yrs old this spring. N29 is older than that (3 yrs old this spring).
Even as a baby he liked to stick that leg out to show off his N/29 band!
Ahh baby pictures. How embarrassing for N29….. ?
How related is N/29 to Hope? Any way to tell? And wondering about that central database myself (being a data warehousing guy).
Steve, I don’t know their parentage but their regions of origin are so far apart that I doubt they are closely related. Hope is from southeastern Virginia (Hopewell). N29 is from Cincinnati, Ohio. Not likely they’re related.
I see from the map that it’s a little under 300 miles to where he was hatched. Is it normal for peregrines to fly that far away from where they’re hatched? I’m not sure what the norm is. I love your blog Kate, the drama is better than any prime time TV! Thank you
Hi! Longtime reader, first time poster. I was coming into work at Pitt yesterday morning (3/28/2016) at around 7 AM and saw what looked like a total of three peregrines flying around the Cathedral. At first there were just two flying but then I saw a third join them which struck me as strange. Has anyone else seen this?
Andrew, thanks for reporting it. I haven’t heard this from anyone else but you were probably the only one who noticed it. Let me know if you see it again.
Has there been any sightings of Louie and Dorie? I was so disappointed when they didn’t nest at the Gulf Tower. I hope they are both ok and have just decided to nest elsewhere.
Sheryl, we don’t know where they are. If you are Downtown please keep an eye out for them.
Thank you Kate. I’m sort of a newbie here (second year) but I have learned so much from reading your blog and from other posters. I now have a better understanding of what to look for so I will keep an eye to the sky from them.
Hi! Has N29 been there recently? I keep checking the cam, but haven’t seen him lately. I am hoping he decides to stay with Hope!
Heather he is perched above the cam staring at Hope. The camera view is tiny compared to the area where the birds can perch!
That is great to hear!! Thank you!!
I really like his name, good choice 🙂
Thank you, Kathy!
So exciting! My kids and I have been keeping tabs for the last 5 years or so, lot’s of questions this year about death and life. They are VERY exciting to see a new male back after the recent death. Can’t wait to see what happens!
The report is that his name is “Terzo” will we be using that, now that we know it? Thanks Kate!
Donna Mc, yes.
A new a wonderful adventure has begun with Hope and N29. I can’t believe the soap-opera drama that surrounds peregrines. Looking forward to another interesting season.
And, Kitty, did you see he has a name now?
I can’t wait to see what “feisty” means!
I think it is a most perfect name, it just suits him for some reason. I had lunch today at Schenley Drive area, and hoped to spot one of the pair, but no luck. Is the nest area on the side of C/L facing Forbes, or is it on one of the other sides?
Thanks Kate for all of the work you and others have done keeping us informed. It looked pretty grim for a while and you helped keep up my spirits. Seems we may have a happy ending after all. Fingers crossed!
Ellie, I happened to be luckier when I stopped by a Schenley Plaza at 3pm. Both of them were flying around. The nest is on the Forbes Ave side so Schenley Plaza is a good place to watch from. Here’s where to look on the Cathedral of Learning: http://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/peregrine-faqs/question-where-should-i-be-looking-to-see-the-peregrines-at-pitt/