Yesterday one male and two female peregrine chicks were banded at the Cathedral of Learning. All three are in good health and very vocal. They were so loud they were nearly deafening!
Here’s their story in pictures.
Before the chicks were retrieved, Tammy Colt of the Pennsylvania Game Commission laid out the bands, one set for males’ small legs, the other set for females’ larger legs. The silver bands are unique 9-digit US Fish and Wildlife bands which cannot be read from afar. The black/green bands can be read through binoculars or in photos.
Wildlife Diversity Chief Dan Brauning shows how the silver bands interlock.
Meanwhile the mother peregrine, Hope, knows something is going to happen. She guards and waits for the action to begin.
As Dan and Tammy approach the nest, Hope shouts to defend her chicks.
From Schenley Plaza, Kim Getz saw Hope and Terzo strafe the area and dive on the banders.
Each chick was collected in a drawstring bag. The chick is weighed while in the bag to determine its sex. Even at this age males weigh 1/3 less than females.
The male chick, C6, waits and watches before his bands are applied. He was silent at this point, but not for long.
As his black/green band is applied, C6 grabs the bander’s thumb with his talons. Ouch!
The first female chick, C7, was loud from the start!
The second female chick, C8, was temporarily quiet. Notice how large her toes are!
In less than half an hour the banding was done. Dan returned the chicks to the nest.
And Hope checked on her nestlings.
All’s well that ends well.
(photos by Kate St. John, Kim Getz and the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)
Thanks for these pictures. It’s just fascinating.
Great pictures Kate!
Thanks so much Kate for the update. Great pictures too!
Thanks so much and for the updates
What a pleasure to watch them grow
Awesome pictorial, Kate! Did they put colored tape on the USFW bands?
Donna, no they didn’t use colored tape. They only had black tape this year & didn’t use it.
Thanks for the story and the pics. It’s great to hear that all the chicks are in good health.
On being returned to the nest, there was one bold chick which was giving Dan the business. It was sitting in front of the nest box while its two siblings were huddled together at the back. So much fun to see the difference in behaviors!
Thanks again, Kate, for all that you do for us!
Nice pictures, Kate. Could they actually tell the order in which they hatch or were they numbered just on who happened to get weighed first?
Trini, it’s just the order in which they were banded. Frankly we’re going to lose track of who’s who almost immediately.
I enjoyed the photos and the narrative so much. Love all their facial expressions!
As always, wonderful follow-up story and photos, Kate … can’t thank you enough !!
I watched when Dan returned them to the nest. Which one was in Dan’s face telling him off after being let of their bag. I noticed Dan was amused by the little one’s attempt to defend his/her territory.
Kate, you are amazing. Thanks for the great pictures and information.