Yesterday at lunchtime Karen Lang and I saw a brief peregrine encounter at the University of Pittsburgh.
It started when I saw a peregrine circling very high above the Cathedral of Learning almost invisible against the bright blue sky. Based on size I guessed it was a male. I assumed it was E2 — except it didn’t act like him.
The bird dove obliquely toward Heinz Chapel without losing much altitude. Dorothy came off the Cathedral and made a large, sweeping circle but didn’t fly with the other falcon. This was odd.
Was this bird E2? Or was he on the eggs? A quick check of the snapshot camera using my cell phone showed E2 still incubating.
This peregrine was a third bird.
Peregrine falcons don’t always fight when they encounter each other. They can signal their status by the way they fly.
The third bird stayed very high and made another small circle above campus. At this point E2 came off the eggs — he wasn’t in a rush, he paused to stretch first — and circled with Dorothy. The third bird could see this territory was claimed.
E2 returned to the eggs and Dorothy to the top of the Cathedral of Learning. The third bird circled once more, then set its wings and sailed toward Downtown Pittsburgh. There was no sound during this encounter. Later, Dorothy creaked a few times from her distant perch (heard on the video archives). All was calm.
Who was this third peregrine? Was it someone they knew? A youngster from a prior year? Or was it a visitor, checking the scene.
We’ll never know.
(photo by Kim Steininger)
MAYBE IT IS OUR STELCO LOST AT SEA – COME HOME STELCO!!! ALITTLE MORE NORTH AND A WEE BIT WEST!!!
I hope Stelco comes home too Dina! I know some other falcons that are late and am reallly hoping it’s the weather that’s delayed them. This time of year is always hard..we hope for our falcons to come home but have to resign ourselves that some may not. Stelco’s father was born at the nest site where I work in Toronto so I’ve been a fan of hers for a few years now!
“sailed toward downtown” Maybe it was Louie coming to say hi to his mom and son.
Anyways, I just wanted to tell you about an email that was sent out to the Human Genetics department mailing list. Aparently a pair of Red Tailed Hawks have built a nest behind the man sculpture on the front of Parran Hall. Would Dorothy and E2 tolerate a Red Tail nest so close to their own?
Kathy from Toronto…are you guardian of Rhea Mae and Tiago?
maybe it was Tasha2
>Would Dorothy and E2 tolerate a Red Tail nest so close to their own?
Yes if the red-tailed hawks don’t fly any higher than the tree tops. E2 is the one who really hammers the red-tails but he lets them hunt among the trees on campus if they don’t rise above the canopy. The residents know this and stay low. Migrating hawks get in trouble and have to leave quickly.
Next time you see this visitor, be sure to point him north, where a beautiful young female is looking for a mate on the other side of Lake Ontario. 🙂
Very interesting! With all the drama I am glad this encounter was resolved quietly.
>>Would Dorothy and E2 tolerate a Red Tail nest so close to their own?
>Yes if the red-tailed hawks don’t fly any higher than the tree tops. E2 is the one who really hammers the red-tails but he lets them hunt among the trees on campus if they don’t rise above the canopy.
Kate, I’m curious why peregrines seem to dominate red-tails so thoroughly. Aren’t the red-tails larger? A naive person would think they could hold their own.
Red-tails are heavier birds with wings made for soaring, not for high-speed manouevers. They’re like cargo planes trying to fend off a fighter jet.