Yesterday during a 12 hour period three of five eggs hatched at the Gulf Tower in Downtown Pittsburgh.
Mother peregrine, Dori, was so protective that the nestlings did not get their first feeding until 6:15pm. Above, Louie and Dori bow near the three nestlings. The first feeding is about to begin.
Here’s a slideshow of yesterday’s highlights. The nestlings are at the very cutest stage right now.
- First hatchling with a pipped egg
- Second wet hatchling at 1:47pm
- Third wet hatchling at 2:39pm
- Dori feeds the chicks 6:21pm to 6:31pm
- Louie tries to feed them but they are too full and sleepy. Only one raises his head.
- Within five minutes, Dori returns. She tries to feed them again.
- Dori watches them sleep for a moment (with her back to us) then settles on them to brood.
Watch the falconcam to see when the other eggs hatch.
(photos from the National Aviary falconcam at the Gulf Tower)
p.s. The nest will be hard to see for about an hour after sunrise because the sun reflects off the dirty camera cover. Don’t despair. The view clears.
Hi Kate,
Thanks for all your information on birds and nature. I enjoyed the new chicks pics and feeding. Where did you pull them from? I asked Pix Controler if they could turn on the archives for Dory and Louie yesterday? Nothing yet.
Best Regards,
Steve
Steve, I use the still snapshots from the Gulfcam. I asked WildEarth about the missing archives & will ask again.
LATER: the archives from hatch day are now available at the WildEarth Gulfcam site.
Hey Kate,
Just found your blog. I live in Oakland and saw 3 falcons yesterday afternoon over Panther Hollow engaging in a fairly aerobatic flight. I don’t know a lot about falcon behavior and was curious if you had heard of or seen anything to indicate who #3 might have been? (assuming 2 of the 3 were the pair nesting on Cathedral of Learning) Interloper seeking new territory? Previous year’s offspring?
Andrea, On Friday I saw two red-tailed hawks courting over Panther Hollow and then E2 got mad and flew off the Cathedral of Learning and attacked them. He made cranky sounds the whole time which is why I noticed. Perhaps the red-tails are trying to soar again. They like to soar over their nest area and E2 cannot stand it. Even though he doesn’t have a family this year, he still defends the area around the Cathedral of Learning. (Here’s news of Dorothy and E2. She laid one egg in March but it isn’t going to hatch: http://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2014/04/08/pittsburgh-peregrine-update-early-april/)