Based on the lack of courtship activity at the nest, I think it’s safe to assume that the contest between Terzo and the unbanded male is still ongoing.
On Tuesday 21 April at noon, Karen Lang and I visited Schenley Plaza for 5-10 minutes (social distancing from our cars). We were extremely lucky to see two peregrines fly to the Cathedral of Learning, land on the bulwark and mate! Of course we couldn’t identify the male from that distance.
Yesterday, 22 April 2020, Pa Gal saw Terzo at the nest for 15 seconds at 7:07pm. In the video below he bows briefly with Morela and leaves.
If you see any activity on the National Aviary falconcam, let me know. With so little courtship activity it’s no surprise there are still no eggs.
(photo and video from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)
I wonder, if as suggested before, if the unbanded male is Dori’s new mate. If he is, does Dori have eggs this year? Maybe he’s only coming over to harass Terzo in between incubation duties now? It just seems odd to me that this is on going for so long. At some point, a hormonal falcon would give up and move to try for another site as they want to reproduce and that clearly isn’t going to happen here now this year. The fact that Dori was seen here on cam is a strong hint that he may be her new mate and wants the ‘better nest site’. Just thinking out loud with this speculating. With all the territorial issues I’ve seen up here – at some point you either get a serious battle with a clear victor and/or the other one moves on to find greener pastures.
Based on distant observations I believe Dori is on eggs and is sharing incubation. … However we don’t know for sure because we don’t have daily monitoring on the ground like we used to.
FYI From great spirit bluff cam in MN re an immature falcon visiting the occupied nest. They have a video clip.
“Great Spirit Bluff had a visitor on April 14! Nina M/04, a 2019 HY Peregrine falcon banded by Greg Septon at the UW-Milwaukee Engineering and Mathematical Sciences building, dropped by the nest box to visit Newman as he incubated eggs. We talked to our Board, who found the whole encounter quite interesting! Dave Kester, Jim Robison, and John Howe all pointed out her non-aggressive body language and behavior, including the adorable semi-chup vocalizations we hear at the beginning of the video, and her slight bows, which we also see in falcon courtship. She makes it clear that she is not interested in an aggressive interaction and Newman responds in kind, although he doesn’t get off the eggs to engage with her. Greg has seen this sort of interaction at this sites, but it is the first time we’ve ever seen it at ours. Dave, Jim, and John all felt that this interaction could have been more aggressive had Nova been in the box, but she was out stretching her wings and Nina left before she came back.
I loved a chance to see a one-year old falcon: I see nestlings and falcons two and older, but this is the first time I’ve ever gotten a close look at a wild one-year-old! Note her brown plumage and the pale stripes on her head. A two year-old would still have a few brown feathers, but her head would not have the distinctive white stripe we see on Nina. And that baby chup – so cute! I would love to know whether that is a distinct vocalization on its own, or just an immature falcon attempting to ‘speak’ like an adult. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this video as much as we did! We’re anticipating hatch around May 3 for this nest.”
How fortunate we are to be able to observe the nest activity from afar. (I do wish that there were marks on the nest box so we could see sizes.)
Has a “GoPro” ever been attached to an adult bird to follow the breeding season?
No Go Pros on wild birds. I’ve seen videos from Go Pros on falconers’ birds.
Morela at the box from 13:19 until 13:32. She “laid down” at 13:27, like she was trying out the nesting area. Afterwards, she rearranged the grit.
Morela at the box from 13:19 until 13:32. She “laid down” at 13:27, like she was trying out the nesting area. Afterwards, she rearranged the grit.
Morela calling when I tuned in at 14:41 but nobody joining her in the nest.
Morela at nest 2:46. Looked to me like she was trying to lay an egg.
Unbanded churpping inside nest box 7:37 a.m. 4/ 24. Still going past 743.
It’s Morela. Thanks for posting. Another mystery… she’s wailing. Why?
Since about 9:30 this morning, Morela has been at the nest calling almost constantly, and wailing a few times. Sometimes she’s on the rail and sometimes she’s in the nest. Sometimes she speeds up the calls as if someone is close and she’s trying to get them to come in. She actually just left the nest, wailing as she went.
Yes, the wailing is mysterious