Yesterday I went on a peregrine walk-and-bus tour in the City of Pittsburgh.

At Schenley Plaza both peregrines were easy to find perched on the south face of the Cathedral of Learning.  When Hope visited the nest, I heard Terzo kakking as he chased off a local red-tailed hawk. He isn’t mellow toward his neighbors in the spring.

Later in Downtown Pittsburgh I found no peregrines at the Gulf Tower but a lot of activity on Third Avenue.  Dori flew from place to place stirring up the pigeons while Louie perched at the nest opening or on the blue-green crossbar above it.

Both flew of them overhead and were easy to identify by size.

Then Dori alighted on the blue-green shield at the corner of Third and Wood and assumed the “come hither” position.   (She isn’t posed like that below. Lori Maggio took this photo a week ago.)

And Louie flew in to mate with her.  Eggs are on the way.

With so much peregrine activity at Third Avenue I wondered if the peregrines have tipped the scales away from the Gulf Tower this year.  Lori Maggio, who monitors the Downtown peregrines, says their constant presence here is similar to 2016 when they nested at Third Avenue.

Without a webcam we can only learn the answer through on-the-ground observation.  If you’d like to join this effort, stop by Third Avenue and let me know what you see.  Click here for information and directions.

(photos by Lori Maggio)