Looking back, 2015 was an emotional roller coaster for Cathedral of Learning peregrine fans. It began at a low ebb with Dorothy showing her age and ended with Hope for the future.
As promised, here’s the long awaited slideshow of 2015 Pitt Peregrine Highlights with a summary below:
- In March we began to doubt that Dorothy would lay viable eggs because of her age.
- April 2-9 Dorothy beat the odds and laid four.
- Only one egg hatched but it generated lots of viewer excitement on May 10.
- The chick had health issues which became obvious on Memorial Day weekend. When he fell on his back in the early days(*), Dorothy flipped him immediately but on May 24 she decided not to. He remained on his back, struggling and complaining. This generated a viewer firestorm until Dorothy flipped him upright. Within a day he never fell over again.
- On Banding Day, May 29, the chick received a complete health check. We learned he had delayed development, blood-sucking parasites and anemia. Treated for parasites and returned to the nest, his fans had high hopes.
- On his first flight June 21 he landed on the Cathedral of Learning lawn. Quite unusual!
- On his second flight June 24 he landed on the ground again and was taken to rehab where medical exams revealed he had defective wing feathers, neurological deficits and other health issues.
- Despite expert medical attention his birth defects were too much for him. He died on July 20.
- Dorothy continued to show her age and disappeared in early November. (See her video tribute here.)
- On November 30, a female peregrine named Hope arrived at Pitt. Since then Hope and E2 often court at the nest. We have hope for a good nesting season in 2016.
Watch the slideshow of 2015 Pitt peregrine highlights below. Click on any photo to see the it full-screen.
(photo from May 24, 2015 at the National Aviary falconcam, University of Pittsburgh)
*NOTE: A healthy chick normally doesn’t fall on his back and if he does he’s able to right himself quickly. In reviewing the snapshots for this slideshow I discovered that Dorothy had been flipping the chick for weeks. She was so quick we hadn’t noticed.
Oh man, what memories this brings back. From the highest of highs when Dorothy laid her eggs, to the lowest when Silver/Fuzzy was lost. Thanks for putting this together for us, Kate. And Hope, you have some mighty big shoes to fill and I’m rooting for you and E2 this year!
Awesome review of the difficult 2015 nesting season and subsequent disappearance of Dorothy in the fall. I have hope for E2 and Hope that they will have a large brood this spring, and carry on the legacy of Dorothy. Thank you KSJ for you work on these highlights!
It is still hard to belive That with the thousands of viewers that last chick had,he was just discarded when he died. Something more fitting could have been done to finalize that saga.
Dorothy was getting so frail last summer I was wondering if she would make it through the winter. I know she used every bit of strength to raise Silver. Her legacy continues in her large family. Fly high Dorothy.