4 March 2021
As nesting time approaches female birds roost near their intended nest in anticipation of egg laying. In a positive development at the Pitt peregrine nest, Morela spent much of last night perched at the front of the nestbox.
Morela’s nighttime sojourn began when she and Ecco bowed at 6pm.
Then Morela fell asleep on the green perch for six hours.
I’ll bet no one was watching when she woke up just before midnight and left the camera view. She returned at 5:30am and stayed until the sky began to lighten at 6:17a, the start of civil twilight.
I learned all this by watching the 24-hour timelapse below which compresses 24 hours into two minutes (7am March 3rd – 7am March 4th). In it Ecco and Morela go back and forth to the nest, first Ecco then Morela. They mirror each other’s movements. Ecco even preens on the green perch. Can you tell who is who?
Tomorrow it will be a month since Terzo was last seen on camera. Today Ecco and Morela are still the only two peregrines at Pitt and they are getting closer to nesting. Watch them on the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh.
(photo and video from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)
I saw Morela at the nest last night before I went to bed and I was thinking that it was a good sign that nesting would begin soon. I hope Terzo finds a new mate and has a successful nest somewhere. He deserves it, after suffering through several nesting seasons with Hope.
It is the same wonderful excitement for me year after year no matter who the parents are. Here is to a successful season!
Kate, do you think it is safe to confirm that Ecco has won the nesting site and is the male mate now of Morela or do you think that the war between him and Terzo is still happening? Or like I said is it safe to say that Ecco has won the site?
Michael, yes I believe Ecco is the reigning male at the Cathedral of Learning.
Hey Kate. Sorry to be a pain in the butt with all these questions (I feel like I’ve forgotten everything since it’s been 2 years since the last season where eggs were laid and hatched when Hope was still around). Anyhow, I’ve noticed that today Morela has been spending most of the day at the nest. I’m not sure if she was there overnight. So I guess I have 2-3 questions lol.
1. Do you have a copy of yesterday’s replay to see if Morela is still consistently spending nights at the nest
2. Is she looking like Eggs will be laid soon
3. Has she showed any signs of it
4. Where can I find those quick laps of the whole day like you do.
Michael, here are some answers:
1. March 8-9 replay is on today’s blog at https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2021/03/10/peregrines-are-active-at-night/
2 & 3. The real hint when Morela is about to lay eggs is that she will spend time crouching over the scrape.
4. The timelapse videos are password-protected in a non-public section of the streaming site. The National Aviary graciously allows me access to them.