21 May 2021
Peregrine watchers were thrilled last year when a pair of peregrines established a nest at a new site in rural Bradford County, PA. Observers could tell the male was banded but no one could read his bands until Teri Franzen captured a photo last week.
Art McMorris, Peregrine Coordinator at the PA Game Commission (PGC), confirmed that Black/Green 58/AP hatched at the Third Avenue nest site in Downtown Pittsburgh in 2018 in one of the most unusual nesting years we’ve ever seen in Allegheny County.
When Dori and Louie began to nest in the spring of 2018, the building below their nest was being renovated to become Keystone Flats. At first the work was indoors but when it moved outside the workers would need a crane too close to the nest.
The developer believed he could not wait 20-30 days for the young to fledge so he got a takings permit from US Fish and Wildlife who delegated the job to the PA Game Commission (PGC). PGC removed the chicks on 8 May 2018, took them to Humane Animal Rescue and banded them. (Read the story here.)
On 31 May 2018, when 58/AP and his brother were nearly old enough to fledge, PGC fostered them with an established peregrine pair at a cliff site in Luzerne County. In 2020 he was found nesting in Bradford County as shown on the map below.
It was a real surprise to discover that this city-born peregrine chose to nest in the country. During Pennsylvania’s peregrine recovery program many young peregrines were released at cliff sites but they usually ignored their rural beginnings and chose to nest on man-made structures in towns and cities. 58/AP came from an urban site and chose the country.
See stunning photos of 58/AP, his unbanded mate, and youngsters at Teri Franzen’s website: https://www.terifranzenphotography.com/gallery/birds/raptors/peregrine-falcons/
p.s. Because 58/AP and his parents were banded we know his genealogy. He’s the son of Downtown peregrines Dori (2007-?present) and Louie (2003-2019) and the grandson of Erie (1998-2007) and Dorothy (1999-2015) at the University of Pittsburgh. Dorothy was the matriarch who fledged 43 young at the Cathedral of Learning.
(photos by Teri Franzen and Doug Cunzolo, map from Wikimedia Commons)
Yeah, the rescue worked. The banding worked. Bring back identification. Are we headed to “naming” like our local eagles?
What a great story thanks to all the falcon watchers throughout the state.
He’s also the grandson of Akron’s great peregrine pair, Chesapeake and the mighty Bandit, Dori’s parents. Chessie may have rivaled Dorothy for productive longevity, fledging 2 sons from the Landmark Building at 16 or 17 years old! I have photos of them somewhere, need to scroll through my photos to find what year.
I love to hear about the Pittsburgh Kids settling down somewhere and raising their own families! I wonder if “George” is still around?
ETA: I found the pix of Chessie and her last brood on Landmark. It was 2014. Scary little narrow ledge, not safe for banding at all! Chesapeake’s successor, Summit, nests in a nice new nestbox on the much higher and safer Huntington Tower across the street.
Are there any theories about why most peregrines seem to prefer city life to country life?
The theory is that it’s related to the peregrine recovery program. The program initially hacked young birds from traditional cliff sites but there was such high mortality from predators at those sites that the program started releasing them in cities instead. Many states like Nebraska had few/no peregrines prior to the recovery program because they did not have cliff sites. Now they have them in cities. Here’s a recent story from Missouri, March 2021. https://www.kmmo.com/2021/03/10/mdc-scheduled-to-offer-free-virtual-program-on-peregrine-falcon-recovery/