23 September 2021

Though courtship season is four months away and egg laying won’t begin until March, Morela and Ecco have been cementing their pair bond by bowing at the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest nearly every day. Sometimes one remains at the nest to preen.

On Wednesday 22 September it was warm and windy as a line of storms approached from the west. When Ecco and Morela bowed at 11am, Morela became distracted. “What’s that?”

Ecco stayed behind to catch some sun on his back.

Late in the afternoon the rain began in Oakland in small shower-like drops. Morela opened her wings to bathe.

Watch the pair’s activities in this 2-minute video: Bowing and bathing at the Pitt peregrine nest.

Check the snapshots here to see if the peregrines are on camera.

(photos from the National Aviary snapshot camera at Univ of Pittsburgh)