Dorothy laid an egg overnight! Here she is, examining it.
I first saw the egg via infrared light at 6:16am when she left the nest. Under infrared light the red egg looks white. Click on Dorothy’s photo to see the first daylight image of the egg, alone in the twilight before dawn.
More news – and images – as the day unfolds!
Update:
Nora at the CMNH Falcon Forums captured an image of Dorothy with her first egg at 1:29am today. Wow!
Check my Peregrine FAQs for questions, answers and information on peregrine falcons and their nests.
(photo from the National Aviary’s snapshot webcam at Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning. To see the snapshot camera, click the link on the camera name. To see the streaming camera click here.)
Kate!!!! I just clicked on the camera before going to your blog and there it was!!! Yahoo…the new season has begun.
VERY COOL!!!!! 🙂
How neat!! I love being able to check the nests in the evenings. Thanks again for your wonderful BLOG!
How exciting!! Spring must really be coming. Can’t wait to see how many she lays and to watch them as they grow. Thanks for the updates, Kate.
Awesome! Last year you were remarking how Doroty laid her 1st egg several days earlier than usual and this year she lays her 1st egg before Tasha2 who traditionally lays her eggs early. Wonder what’s up with that?
Yes, it sure is a mystery. We all thought the earliest she’d lay would be 3/18. Peregrines ALWAYS do something that surprises me.
By strange chance I JUST discovered these cams 2 nights ago. I was thrilled at how cool they were, and was checking in often. The first night I discovered this (Wed) I watched her sleep at the Cathedral around 11pm, on the perch. Then in excitement I found your blog and read up on their habits and such. So last night I checked in again hoping to watch her some more, and she was playing with something orange on the ground. It could not have been later than 8pm. I thought it must be an egg, and was clearly visible on the other angle (still) picture too. In super excitement I thought “I can’t be the first person to see this, maybe the lady with the blog has more information!” But nothing was here yet, maybe I really was the first person. 🙂 I could not believe it was orange, I didn’t even know for sure it was an egg until I googled it.
Hey Kate, are there any other known peregrine nesting sites in Allegheny County besides these two?
It’s 6:15pm Friday night – is it my imagination or are there two eggs??? at the Gulf Tower? I swear there are – but they blend in with the gravel so much, I just can’t be positive. I can’t get the chat to work to see if anyone else thinks the same…
Kate, can you tell??
I feel like an odd duck asking this question but are the bird anatomy lessons done now that Peregrine nesting season is here?
Diane, there will be an anatomy lesson tomorrow. It got pre-empted by Dorothy’s egg but rest assured it will show up tomorrow. K
Traci, can’t tell. It’s too dark and Tasha is on top of the scrape.
Around 5:00-5:30 Tasha seemed very active around her scrape. She kept turning in circles and hunching over while also digging at the scrape so it seemed like an egg was iminent if it hadn’t already been laid. Also, not sure if it’s just a matter of perspective (the cathedral camera looking down on the nest at a higher angle than the Gulf tower cam) but it sems like Taaha makes a very deep bowl in the gravel while Dorothy only makes a very shallow one if she makes one at all.
The angle makes a big difference. It’s always been hard to see into Tahsa’s scrapes because she makes them deep & the camera location is just a bit higher than the rim of her scrapes. You can see she’s made 4 scrapes this year. Busy lady!
So good to see the egg. Makes the days more exciting now. lFrom what I learned from Kate last year it just makes me feel so much smarter. Faith Cornell
Well, now that its the light of day, I don’t see any eggs at the Gulf Tower.
I was wondering, since Tasha is older and all her eggs aren’t always viable – will she always lay eggs? I mean, biolocially, even as she ages, will she continue to lay eggs?
If she does, and none of the eggs hatch – how does nature play out? Will they continue to pair and nest, even if no young are reared? I wonder at what point, her position as the dominant female at that site, will be challenged?
Yes, the older females lay fewer viable eggs, though they don’t stop laying. While we see the bird’s age through lowered egg production, peregrines probably see it in other ways. A younger, stronger female can probably see age and weakness in ways we cannot and she will try to claim the site. We won’t know when that’ll happen but we’ll see the results.
Is anyone else besides me unable to see the streaming video? All I see is a big gray aquare (where the video should be) with a small x in a box in the upper left corner. I do see the smaller refreshing image on the right. I looked all over the aviary site for “tech support” info and resorted to sending email to their “contact us” page. Any pointers forme out there? I am in a panickto see the streaming pictures!
And a question for Kate, where do you think Dorothy and E2 spent their time during the horrendous snowstorms? They were in my thoughts on those cold nights.
Patricia, I don’t know if others are having trouble seeing it. The streaming comes from Wildearth.tv and they would know the most about troubleshooting your problem. Contact them at support@wildearth.tv and tell them the name of the stream you can’t see (such as “Cathedral of Learning Falconcam”).
>Where do you think Dorothy and E2 spent their time during the horrendous snowstorms?
I’m sure they stayed home at the Cathedral of Learning. There are many protected nooks and crannies and places with a “roof” big enough to shelter a peregrine.
Cory asked about “other known peregrine nesting sites”
The other sites are on bridges, the most famous being the Monaca-East Rochester Bridge in Beaver County.