1 September 2023

The National Aviary’s streaming camera is off for the season so the Pitt peregrines are virtually out of sight, but they are not off my mind. Every day I check the Cathedral of Learning’s ledges to see where they’re perched and I look at the snapshot camera in case they’ve been to the nest.

Activity at the nest picked up this week because fall is coming and migration is underway. The length of day is similar to spring and they’re taking an interest in songbird migration as prey flies overhead at night.

Ecco and Carla bowed at the nest three times yesterday, including an extended bowing session, to strengthen their pair bond and their claim on the nest.

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All of Pitt’s resident peregrines(*) stay home for the winter and I expect Ecco and Carla to do the same. They don’t need to migrate because there’s plenty of food in the winter (pigeons and starlings) and their “cliff” is too valuable to lose by vacating it for six months.

So I’m still watching. The Pitt peregrines may be out of sight but they are not out of my mind.

(*) There’s a lot of history that allows me to say that. Peregrines have lived at the Cathedral of Learning for 22 years, spanning 8 adult birds.

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

25 August 2023

Because the Pitt peregrines had no eggs this year I miss seeing their young on camera. To fill that gap I’ve been following the Fulham and Barnes Peregrines at Charing Cross Hospital in London, UK whose daily lives are chronicled by @FaBPeregrines.

Azina, Tom and their son P6T (named for his band number) are frequently seen on camera, even in late August. P6T’s dispersal from his natal site is on a later schedule than we’re used to in Pittsburgh.

Juvenile peregrines in Pittsburgh fledge in early June and leave in July. At Fulham and Barnes, P6T fledged in the fourth week of May and is still hanging around in late August. His persistence gives us an opportunity to watch a peregrine family in late summer when the youngster hunts on his own.

The whole family on the ledge for a very brief moment when Tom comes and snatches P6T's prey while P6T is busy annoying his mum
(P6T had brought in that pigeon not long before that and eaten only part of it) pic.twitter.com/Srvl55fNIb

— FaB Peregrines (@FaBPeregrines) August 23, 2023

Notice how the ledge is cluttered with prey on 23 August compared how clean it was on 17 July, at top . Someone has been messy.

Follow this peregrine family @FaBPeregrines on X, formerly known as Twitter.

(tweeted by @FaBPeregrines)

6 August 2023

Each year the National Aviary falconcam at the Cathedral of Learning runs from February through July to cover the peregrine breeding season. Streaming ended on 31 July but just the day before, on 30 July, Ecco and Carla bowed for a long time at the nest and Carla occasionally ate some gravel. (*more information on gravel below)

The entire bowing session lasted 8 minutes but they paused a lot so I sped up the video to double-time. At 3 minutes in, it looks as if Carla has left but she’s merely off camera. As she comes close again Ecco resumes e-chupping and bowing. Finally Carla flies away and Ecco stands up straight to watch her leave.

Though the bowing looks like courtship they won’t be starting a family anytime soon. Ecco and Carla live at the Cathedral of Learning all year long and bow to strengthen their pair bond, even in July.

The pair is generally less active in the summer but they’ll perk up when fall migration begins in earnest as they watch birds flying south over Oakland.

You can still see them at the nest — if they’re there — via the snapshot camera.

(*) Carla swallows bits of gravel to help her digestion. Here’s why:

(photo and video from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)