Yearly Archives: 2010

First Mishap – But He’s Rescued

Peregrines

This morning Todd Katzner of the National Aviary had to rescue a peregrine chick from a first floor window well at the Cathedral of Learning.  It appeared to be unhurt — just shaken up — so he returned it to the ledge.  A side benefit of this adventure is that Todd restarted the streaming video camera while he was up there.

The chick who had this adventure is the same one who got bumped into the gully about a week ago.  Perhaps he’s now cured of his fixation with gullies.  🙂

UPDATE from Tuesday afternoon:  At 2:20pm, five juveniles were visible simultaneously.  At Fledge Watch tonight we saw only four, one of which flew back to the nestrail to be on hand for tonight’s feedings.

First Fledge! Around 5:00pm May 31

Peregrines

Mary DeVaughn (chat name WildSow) dodged thunderstorms yesterday evening and was rewarded by witnessing the First Fledge!

Not only that, she had her telescope and camera set up so she got pictures.

Here’s the little guy on top of the Cathedral of Learning.

Mary posted the whole episode in the comments on my last blog entry and included photo links.

Click here for her story.

Who knew he’d fledge between thunderstorms?  I didn’t.

After all that waiting around earlier in the day, I’m sorry I missed it!

(photo of first fledge at the Cathedral of Learning by Mary DeVaughn)

Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch Update #2

Peregrines

I’ve spent hours and hours, day after day, at the Schenley Plaza tent but not one of the young peregrines has fledged at Pitt — at least not as of 2:00pm today when I last looked. 

By 8:00am all the birds were off the nest and out of the camera’s view.  By noon all five were on the nestrail — proof that none had fledged.  I looked at the nestrail at 2:00pm, saw five birds (I think) and jumped into my car because a thunderstorm was coming.  It was a cloudburst so I’m sure none fledged at that point.

The Fledge Watch schedule has changed because of the weather forecast.  It is now:

  • Tuesday June 1, ONLY from 5:30pm until 7:00-ish.  Rain is forecast all day Tuesday until 5:00pm.  If it’s still raining at 5:00pm this slot will be canceled too.
  • Wednesday June 2, very briefly 8:00-8:20am + noon to 2:00pm. This is the “good weather” day.  Lunchtime Watch has been expanded.  I won’t be there after work but you’re welcome to come on your own.
  • Thursday June 3, very briefly 8:00-8:20am + 1:15pm to 2:15pm + 5:30pm until 7:00-ish.
  • And maybe some times on Friday June 4.  I’ll know more about Friday in the next day or two.  Stay tuned.

(photo by Jennie Barker on Saturday May 29.  That’s me gazing through Mary DeVaughn’s super binoculars)

Unusual nest

Nesting & Courtship, Songbirds

Last Thursday on Craig Street I noticed two women taking cellphone pictures of the underside of Kiva Han’s awning.

When I found out what they were looking at, I took a picture too.

This is a very bad photo from my cellphone but if you look closely inside the red circle you’ll see two baby robins, almost old enough to fly.  Both are standing tall with their necks stretched up and their beaks open. 

It was hot that day and it must have been very hot under the awning.  They were panting. 

Interestingly, their nest is only a few yards from the traffic signals where the “Don’t Walk” robin had a family last year. 

I wonder if this nest is hers.  I wouldn’t be surprised.

If you haven’t read about the Don’t Walk Robin, here’s her story in three parts:  Don’t Walk, Getting ready to walk, Don’t Walk, Fly.

(photo by Kate St. John)

Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch Update

Peregrines, Schenley Park


We’ve been having fun at Fledge Watch for the past two days, even though none of the youngsters has fledged as of noon today.

The juvenile peregrines have been easy to find and their parents have been putting on a show.  The youngsters flap and run on the nestrail, then sit and rest while Dorothy & E2 give flying lessons, demonstrate prey exchange, and circle over our heads.  Though we know they aren’t doing it for our enjoyment, we’re impressed anyway.

You’ll find five to twenty of us at the tent.  We often discover we know each other, even though we’ve never met.  For starters, everyone knows my name from this blog but you might know each other from the blog comments or the webcam chat.  If you’re on the chat, say your chat name and you’ll be surprised how many people know you.  Today I met mindysmom + dh, charliechaplin, cousin, whitch and thewildsow.  And I know I’m forgetting many names!

In the photo above I’m the one pointing up, describing where to find the peregrines on the Cathedral of Learning.  In the photo below we’re all gazing up to see them.

So come on down to the Schenley Plaza tent for Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch.  The new times are listed below, weather permitting.  Hope to see you there.

  • Tuesday June 1, very briefly 8:00-8:20am + noon to 2:15pm + 5:30pm until 7:00-ish.   Watch the skies!  If it’s raining I won’t be there.
  • Wednesday June 2, very briefly 8:00-8:20am + 1:00pm to 2:15pm.    None after work on Wednesday.
  • Thursday June 3, very briefly 8:00-8:20am + 1:00pm to 2:15pm + 5:30pm until 7:00-ish. 
  • There are also unofficial times:  I believe at least one young peregrine will fly this weekend so I’ll be stopping by briefly in the mornings and evenings every day, though my exact times are unpredictable.
  • And I will extend Wednesday lunchtime if Tuesday is rained out, so watch the blog for more updates.

News about the streaming cams:  It looks like the streaming cameras will be down until Tuesday.  Someone has to get into both the Gulf Tower and Cathedral of Learning to fix them and that’s not possible on this holiday weekend.  🙁

Special thanks to Jennie & Ken Barker (mindysmom + dh) for these Fledge Watch photos and to Mary DeV (wildSow) for bringing her high-powered binoculars and telescope.

A partial key to who is who:  In the first photo, “mindysmom” is in the yellow shirt, “whitch” is in the red shirt.  In the second photo “TheWildSow” is in the dark blue Tshirt.  Oh, and on the chat my name is “KPeregrine.”

(photos by Jennie and Ken Barker)

Good Mom!

Peregrines


This picture is not recent — it was taken on May 4 — but I knew you’d like it.

This is Storm, the female peregrine at the Westinghouse Bridge, protecting her nest and eggs.  Her chicks hatched some time before May 21 (we’re not sure when; there’s no webcam) so her babies are about a week to ten days younger than those at the Gulf Tower.

She’s very protective.

What a good mom!

(photo by Joshua Parry)

Anatomy: Tarsus

Bird Anatomy

28 May 2010

Today’s anatomy lesson is about legs.

It’s easy to identify the birds’ toes, but where are their ankles and what’s in between?

Like cats and dogs, birds walk on their toes and look as if their knees bend backwards. Their “knees” are actually their ankles.

Between toes and ankles birds have a single bone, the tarsometatarsus, that’s the fusion of what would have been ankle (tarsal) and foot (metatarsal) bones if they were mammals.

This body part is called the tarsus. Plural is tarsi.

Fortunately we can still call it a “leg” in general conversation. 

(photo of a palm warbler by Chuck Tague, annotated by Kate St. John)

Goofing Around

Peregrines


Pre-dawn exercise. “We gotta be ready when the sun comes up!”
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Today the young peregrines at the Cathderal of Learning are very active — ledge walking, making short-hop flights and goofing around.

I’ll post interesting photos from the snapshot cam here, so watch this space for updates throughout the day.

(The white dot on the photos is bird “poot.”  There’s no way to avoid it on days like this.)


A short-hop flight, yesterday afternoon.
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They’re climbing everywhere — into the gully and under the snapshot camera.  The red arrow shows how they get out of the gully. The blue arrow is a bird under the snapshot cam.
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He asks himself, “Am I missing anything down there?”
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And he decides, “No, I’m not missing anything.  I’ll keep going up.”
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Close-up of a young peregrine.
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“I’m a blur!”
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(photos from the National Aviary webcam at the University of Pittsburgh)

Bears???

Mammals

May 27, 2010:

Let me start by saying that in 17 years of hiking alone I have only once seen a bear in the wild.

Granted, I have not been looking for them, but now it seems that I stand a better chance of seeing a black bear in my own city neighborhood than out in the woods.

Bears have been big news in Pittsburgh for the past two weeks.  At this time of year teenage bears leave home for the first time (mama bear pushes them out so she can start her next family).  They’re on the move, have no idea where to go, and are looking for a place to call home.

What’s unusual is that two or more of them are roaming the city and suburbs of Pittsburgh.  Bears have been seen in Tarentum, Natrona Heights, Brentwood, Baldwin, Overbrook and Frick Park.  They’ve been seen so frequently that the Game Commission has set traps for them and transported them to remote areas.   (See how the bear trap works in this WTAE video.)

But the big news for me occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning — 3:30am — when my neighbors called the cops on a bear at Magee Field.

Really?!?

There wasn’t a bear but if there had been I know why.

I’m a cleanup volunteer at the field and I can tell you it’s a black bear’s dream.  There’s garbage in open barrels and, sadly, on the ground.  The bear can’t show up too early, though. There are ball games at the Field until 10:00pm and some nights the drinkers — who happen to be garbage generators — hang out on the bleachers, drinking, eating, and leaving food behind.

As experts will tell you, the best way to catch a bear is with jelly donuts.  During my garbage roundups I’ve found pizza, sandwiches, chips and donuts.

So I’m taking the Game Commission’s advice.  I’ve pulled in my bird feeders and will keep my garbage bag indoors until the morning of Garbage Pickup Day.

City, suburb, or rural countryside the message is the same:  Don’t feed the bears!

 

(photo by Chuck Tague)