28 June 2022

Back in mid-May I thought it unlikely that Pittsburgh’s Downtown peregrines would have a successful nesting season. Terzo was seen with a new unbanded female and Dori, at 16 years old, had low prospects for a healthy youngster. But I was wrong.

Yesterday morning Lori Maggio stopped by Third Avenue to look for peregrine activity and found three: Terzo, Dori, and a loud fledgling. The youngster had fledged to a safe zone across Third Avenue and was whining loudly.

Terzo whined back. (Read the captions for the story.)

Terzo picked up the prey and delivered it to the fledgling.

Meanwhile the female watched from one of the gargoyles on Lawrence Hall. Lori couldn’t get a photo of her bands but I can tell this is Dori. Her face and chest markings match this positive ID photo of Dori.

On 29 May I saw two nestlings through my scope from Mt. Washington. Yesterday Lori didn’t see a second youngster but it may have been silent.

Here’s hoping the loud fledgling did well on his next flight.

(photos by Lori Maggio)

26 June 2022, Updated 27 June

In late June young peregrines are learning to hunt before they leave home in July. Here’s an update for southwestern Pennsylvania.

Cathedral of Learning, Univ of Pittsburgh

The peregrine chicks that hatched two months ago have learned how to hunt but still wait in Oakland to beg from their parents. The youngsters’ favorite haunts are St. Paul’s Cathedral steeple, Webster Hall roof, Heinz Chapel steeple, and of course the Cathedral of Learning. In the photo above I’m watching two juvies on Webster Hall roof while Ecco monitors them from St. Paul’s. Since June 16 or 19 I have seen only two of the three juveniles, both females.

Downtown Pittsburgh, Third Avenue

Lori Maggio visited Third Avenue around 8am on 27 June and saw three peregrines: Dori, Terzo and a fledgling. Read more here.

Monaca Bridges, Ohio River: Mark Vass saw a single peregrine on 25 June.

Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge, Ohio River: Mark Vass saw one peregrine on 11 June.

Sewickley Bridge, Ohio River: Mark Vass saw one peregrine on the bridge on 12 June. Jeff Cieslak photographed one on 8 June.

Eckert Street / McKees Rocks Bridge area, Ohio River

The Eckert Street juvenile peregrines are learning how to hunt! Yesterday Jeff Cieslak watched the parents fly by holding prey as if to say, “Come get it!” The youngsters chased and grabbed, including this one grappling with a pigeon. Their favorite place is now the water tower at Western Penitentiary (SCI Pittsburgh) next to the Ohio River.

This family has a wide selection of food because they live so close to the river. On 17 June I found a prey item in two pieces in Don’s Diner parking lot: Body-with-legs and head-with-a-stray-leaf. Green heron.

Westinghouse Bridge, Turtle Creek

UPDATE: On 26 June Dana Nesiti was lucky to see both the female and the lone juvenile peregrine at the Westinghouse Bridge. The juvie was whining for food. The female brought some.

Clairton Coke Works

Dana Nesiti reports on 21 June: “I inquired about the falcons at the Clairton Coke works and was told that 2 of the juvies were caught on the ground and put back up on the quenching tower and all 3 are flying good now.”

62nd Street Bridge / Aspinwall / Highland Park Bridge

On 19 June 2022 Mark Vass saw three peregrines at the Highland Park Bridge including an adult feeding a juvenile. When I stopped by on 25 June I saw one adult. Mark’s observation confirms that peregrines bred in this stretch of the Allegheny River but we don’t know where.

Tarentum Bridge, Allegheny River

The nestlings at the Tarentum Bridge fledged earlier than the other sites and were flying really well when Steve Valasek and his kids visited on 17 June. They saw four peregrines fly by!

Here’s a summary for southwestern Pennsylvania, all in one place.

(photos Rick St. John, Kate St. John, Jeff Cieslak, Dana Nesiti, Dave Brooke)

7 June 2022

There are First Flight updates at the end of this article.

Yesterday the young Pitt peregrines practiced their flight skills by making short flying leaps to nearby ledges. The snapshot camera captured their antics, sometimes quite close!

Today they won’t be so active because it’s raining all day. Wet feathers are heavy so young birds who’ve never flown don’t make their first attempt in the rain. Today’s Fledge Watch is canceled because …

Why Peregrines Don’t Fledge In The Rain

UPDATES between bouts of rain:

FLEDGLING UPDATE: 9:30am and noon from rooftop in North Oakland: It appears one of the chicks fledged this morning to the high side of the Cathedral of Learning, facing Heinz Chapel. (My guess is Red Boy.) Why I think this: Morela is babysitting in unusual places on 40th and 38E patio ledge. Morela’s behavior is a Fledge Watch Tip, described here.

FLEDGLING UPDATE: 12:30 to 1:00pm on a quick walk to Schenley Plaza: Two juvenile females were on the nestrail flapping, leaping, skimming the nestrail. At 1:00pm the darker one (I think Silver Girl) launched from the nestrail and flew a lot! Morela & Ecco both zoomed in & herded her back to the CL. (Ecco dropped his talons to herd her.) She landed on the netting at SE 26 & is cooling off, probably getting her heartbeat back to normal.

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

6 June 2022

Yesterday at the Westinghouse Bridge Dana Nesiti captured a photo series that shows us a young peregrine in first flight. He almost didn’t capture it at all, as he describes below.

6-5-2022 Westinghouse Bridge. We have a fledge!! When I got there early the female was sitting in front of the scrape. The juvie came out and hopped down the arch turned around and went back to the scrape. … I put my teleconverter on and the juvie flew, completely catching me off guard. It flew and disappeared under the bridge. The female came back and landed on the handrail to the left of the scrape. She looked around and when she took off she had prey … flew to a cache site and went back on the handrail. The juvie flew out and up over the bridge and I lost it. I had to pack up but did one more walk scanning the bridge and I found the juvie fleeping up the very center arch.

— Dana Nesiti at Pittsburgh Falconuts Facebook page

It’s easy to tell which bird is which in the slideshow. The mother bird is charcoal gray and white and is banded, Black/Blue 48/N from Indiana. The youngster is brown and cream colored, unbanded. He’s also quite awkward compared to his mother. (The slideshow repeats.)

And what is “fleeping?” Looks like “fly-leaping” to me.

Thanks, Dana, for the great photos!

(photos by Dana Nesiti)

5 June 2022

Yesterday the young peregrines at the Cathedral of Learning were up on the nestrail exercising their wings. We think one may have fledged in mid-afternoon.

Charity Kheshgi arrived at 11:00am and saw an adult bald eagle fly over, too high to inspire Morela to attack so there were no fireworks like these in 2012.

Red Boy was particularly active, running, flapping and levitating from the nestrail. At the end of each run he would pause, then walk back to his starting point and run again. The top photo shows him at the starting point with his sister.

Since the peregrines match the building, I’ve circled them in yellow in these photos by John English.

Their parents watched from nearby. The photo below shows four members of the family, Morela and Ecco at left and right with two juveniles in the middle.

But the fifth may have been in the picture too. Notice that as Morela is looking in the gully, one of the juvies is perched in the keyhole.

After we left Michelle Kienholz watched for a couple of hours. Around 2:50pm she saw a flutter of brown wings off the nestrail and then an adult flew. This is just the sort of quick confusing activity that heralds a fledging taking off for the first time. Was it Red Boy making his first flight, followed by a babysitting adult?

We’ll have to count heads at Fledge Watch today from 11:00am to 12:30pm. The weather will be perfect. We might even stay longer if we’re inspired. Join us (info here)!

p.s. If you come on your own, here’s a guide on where to look for the juvies: Where is the Nest at Pitt?

(photos by Michelle Kienholz and John English)

2 June 2022

Activity is frantic at Pittsburgh area peregrine nests as the 2022 nesting season races to a close in the next few weeks. Here’s the news from all the nests.

Cathedral of Learning, Univ of Pittsburgh

Talk about frantic! Here’s yesterday in-a-minute at the Cathedral of Learning.

Two chicks in Downtown Pittsburgh, Third Avenue

On 29 May I viewed the Third Avenue nest from Mt Washington near the Mon Incline. My lousy digi-scoped photo does not capture the two chicks and one adult I saw roaming the nest. The chicks are younger here than those at other nests.

Four at Eckert Street

Jeff Cieslak counted four chicks yesterday at the Eckert Street nest. They’re just a little bit younger than the Pitt peregrines.

One at Westinghouse

Every time Dana Nesiti visits the Westinghouse Bridge he sees only one chick, as shown on 28 May.

Three at Clairton Coke Works

On 25 May, Dana Nesiti accompanied Game Warden Doug Bergman to Clairton Coke Works to view the newest and most industrialized peregrine nest in western Pennsylvania (slideshow above). I’ve added two views of the coke plant to show the quench towers where the birds are nesting (red arrow). Learn more about this nest in Mary Ann Thomas’s article at Trib-Live.

Three Fledging at Tarentum

On 30 May Steve Gosser found that one of the three youngsters had flown at the Tarentum Bridge. The next day Dave Brooke confirmed there was still only one, but by now there are probably more. Stop by the Tarentum Bridge to see three young peregrines learn to fly.

And just in case you prefer text to pictures, here’s the summary for southwestern Pennsylvania.

(photos by Steve Gosser, the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh, Kate St. John, Jeff Cieslak, Dana Nesiti, Mark Dixon)

1 June 2022

Yesterday was an eventful day at the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest where, like a couple of yo-yos, two of the three chicks hopped into and out of the gully. As usual, food was the great motivator that brought them back to the nest.

Yellow Girl fell into the gully last Saturday so by yesterday she’d been down there three days eating scraps that fell from the nest. How was she doing? Bob Mulvihill at the National Aviary panned the falconcam so we could see her. At 12:12pm she was in the keyhole with her tail showing.

At 12:26pm Red Boy decided to try the gully for himself and disappeared below where he hung out with Yellow Girl in the shade (see slideshow below).

The youngest, Silver Girl (whose blue tape came off of her silver band), stayed topside. She’s quite well fed so when Morela fussed with food at 3:39pm, Silver Girl didn’t go for it. Red Boy did! When he saw Morela toying with food he jumped back to the green perch and into the nest.

The enticement of food worked so well that Morela made sure to take her time at the 5:37pm feeding. She knew Yellow Girl was watching and it didn’t take long before the wanderer jumped to the green perch, flapped to the nest, snatched the food from Morela and Red Boy, and mantled while she ate. Yellow Girl was hungry!

That happened fast, didn’t it! Here it is in a stop-motion slideshow. (If the slideshow doesn’t advance swipe it right to left.)

This morning all three chicks are in the nest but two have already ledge walked and now have the confidence to explore.

Don’t be surprised when they go off camera.

We’ll see them at Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch at Schenley Plaza June 4, 5 and 7. Meanwhile you can watch them on the National Aviary falconcam.

(photos and video from the National Aviary falconcam)