This week Peter Bell (@PittPeregrines) followed peregrine fledgling C1 around the Cathedral of Learning as she practiced her flying skills.
Monday evening, June 13: Peter waited for C1 to fledge but left the area just 10 minutes too soon (video above).
Tuesday, June 14: C1 spent the day whining for attention and shouting for food. (Notice that the incoming adult is already molting.)
Wednesday June 15: A rare photo. C1 in flight!
Thursday June 16: Many thunderstorms and heavy downpours. C1 stayed put long enough for Peter to photograph her from above. She’s not as close as she looks. Peter’s camera can really zoom. 🙂
This weekend C1 will fly to other buildings as she expands her flight skills. Soon she’ll be hard to find … and that’s as it should be.
(video and photos by Peter Bell, @PittPeregrines)
Awesome photos Peter! Thanks for sharing them Kate.
C1, you will be missed but hope you have great adventures! Hope and Terzo, have a happy life and see you next year at the COL 🙂
wonderful photos! Godspeed C1!
Great photos! Hope and Terzo should be very proud.
Thanks to Peter, loved the video. Kate, thanks for sharing and for the updates on C1. Sounds like she’s doing fantastic. I will miss her.
She is just beautiful! Loved watching her grow up.
Thank you so much for the amazing photos, Peter- and for putting it all into context for us, Kate!
For those of us that are not in the Pittsburgh area but view from afar, these photos capture the very reason we have been following this falcon family. Thank you for letting us see the end result.
Wonderful photos and video, and music was perfect match for ledge walking. We are so lucky to be able to view these great shots of C1. Thanks so much Pete and Kate. So glad to know that this little sweetheart is flying now and making it look easy.
Thank you for posting this. A great ending to an interesting season.
Thanks for the beautiful pictures and video. I will miss you C1. Godspeed. <3
Happy ending this year after last years sadness. Thank you for keeping us posted. C1 is a beautiful bird. Long may she fly.
Thank you Peter for the wonderful video and pictures. As I watch this the tears are streaming down my face. I will miss her so much, but you are right Kate, soon she will be out of sight and that’s how it should be. THANK YOU AGAIN KATE FOR EVERYTHING. GODSPEED C1.
Thank you for the pictures and all the volunteers who make all this possible.
It was an exciting and educational season.
Thank you for sharing the beautiful footage and photos! I am happy to see C1 is retaining her tan feathers, it blends so perfectly with the blue/grey! It appears that she’s using the railing as a runway&it’s heart-warming, funny&interesting to see that C1 has definitely inherited Hope`s temperament-particularly when it comes to meal time!
Thank you again for your patience, talent and sharing them with us!
C1 will retain her brown plumage until late next summer!
She is a beautiful bird and will hopefully live a long and fruitful life. She definitely had a rough beginning but certainly had the spirit for life. So amazing how that little fluff ball turned into a very gorgeous falcon. Will miss her as well as the peregrine falcons on other cams. Awesome birds. Learned so much this year.
Just wondering if there has been any more sightings of C1 flying around. Haven’t heard of her in a few days. Thank you Kate, for all the information you provide to us.
Sarge, no we haven’t seen her since last Friday, but that’s normal. If we do see her I’ll post it on Facebook
Sarge, some news from @PittPeregrines: C1 has been on Heinz steeple pretty much all afternoon.
Kate, did you see that Terzo has a new “visitor” at the nest? I saw her on the camera today (6/22) at 3:58 PM. At first, I thought it was Terzo because she also has a black/red band, but the band numbers didn’t seem familiar so I checked the video archives later. The bands are black/red, 62/H on her left leg and purple on her right leg. Your peregrine history pdf says that this is Magnum from the Neville Island Bridge! Later at 4:40 PM, Terzo was in the nest, he called her in, and they bowed and chirped at each other. I went back farther in the archives, and she was on camera last night (6/21) at 18:58. If you have any thoughts on this development, we’d love to hear them! It seems strange that Terzo would be courting a new female so soon after C1 fledged, but after this year, I guess we should expect the unexpected! Do you know if there were any chicks at the Neville Island Bridge this year?
Megan, I went back through the 3:58pm archives & see that two are bowing. Unfortunately I can’t get the archive to play the exact moment when the female shows her bands. I’ve set my Archive Wizards on the case & they’ll gather evidence.
Thoughts on this development: A prime nest site like the Cathedral of Learning can change hands at any time. If Magnum has indeed claimed the Cathedral of Learning, it’s fortunate this happened after C1 fledged. (It’s not good to have a major change when nestlings are still in the nest.)
The Neville Island Bridge had 2 fledglings this year. One died (hit by a car on the bridge) & the other hasn’t been seen since the day after it fledged. Site monitor Anne Marie Bosnyak hasn’t been able to re-identify the female so she doesn’t know if Magnum was there this year.
I have a screenshot with her bands at 15:48:40. If your “archive wizards” can’t get the video to play, send me an email and I’ll send you the pic
Kate, I was just wondering if anyone has seen a battle between Hope and Magnum. I will really miss Hope. I have really grown attached to her.
Janet, see today’s blog post for answers to your questions http://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2016/06/23/magnum-claims-the-cathedral/
So should we assume something has happened to Hope & she’s out of the picture? I thought peregrines mated for life. I recall in the spring when eggs were in the nest another female stopped by and Terzo took off. I hope nothing happened to her.
Kerry, see today’s blog post for answers to your questions http://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2016/06/23/magnum-claims-the-cathedral/