4 May 2022

Yesterday the tiny fourth chick appeared to be very weak and unlikely to survive. Morela and Ecco are aware of it and are doing the best they can.

As you can see in the slides above, labeled with feeding times on 3 May, Morela attempts to feed the chick even when it is on its back. Ecco looks for the chick every time he visits the nest.

Perhaps the two of them were communicating about this at 10:15am when Morela wailed at Ecco. In the video below, Ecco comes to the nest and looks for the fourth chick, then Morela arrives and wails.

This is the first time this pair has had a weak chick.

p.s. Thank you to Mary Ann Pike for alerting me to the 10:15 wailing session.

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

3 May 2022

Yesterday I was quite surprised when the fourth of five peregrine eggs hatched at the Cathedral of Learning nest. The chick emerged, pink and wet, while Morela was feeding his three older siblings at 1:20pm. (see update at end)

Morela laid five eggs in March but the fourth egg appeared three days after incubation began so I expected it to hatch three days after the other chicks that hatched on 26 April. In other words, on 29 April. Instead it was three days after that.

With its siblings nearly a week old the new chick looked tiny and vulnerable but it is not. We had already forgotten that newly hatched chicks must dry off and wait a bit before their first feeding.

Chick #4 is getting his fair share so far. Check out these slides from the 8:45pm feeding. (Yes, Morela feeds them after sunset.) The fourth chick moves around to the front of the pack and gets lots of food.

Morela she stuffs the older ones first, then focuses her attention on the smallest chick.

We now have four nestlings at the Pitt peregrine nest. Will we have five soon? According to my calculations the whitish egg#5 is due to hatch today. But we know how bad my calculations are.

Watch four chicks and the fifth egg at the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh.

UPDATE, 7 May 2022: The fourth chick was very weak and did not survive. Click here for details.

(photos from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

2 May 2022

Yesterday the three chicks at the Pitt peregrine nest were five days old, growing fast, and eating often — as many as five times yesterday. At this age their weight has doubled since they hatched.

Morela and Ecco feed them frequently in the late afternoon. At the 3:35pm feeding a blue jay was on the menu (above) but it had to be plucked and the nest got messy. This feeding was hard to see on the streaming falconcam because Morela’s back was in the way.

An hour later Morela stood to the side with an easy view as she fed the chicks in this 12 minute video. Listen for the chicks’ begging sounds and Morela’s “chupping” that encourages them to eat.

As soon as they eat they fall asleep. Morela tucks them in.

Nite nite.

There are still two unhatched eggs at Morela and Ecco’s nest. The reddish one is past its due date and probably won’t hatch. The whitish egg is due to hatch tomorrow, 3 May … but maybe not.

UPDATE AT 1:30PM: (Proving me wrong again) egg#4 just hatched!

Watch the chicks grow at the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh.

Check out the week-by-week development of peregrine chicks at this FAQ.

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

29 April 2022

This morning Ecco brought food before dawn to the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest. While Morela fed the chicks I watched closely, counting heads and looking for eggs. The chicks obscured the remaining eggs but with the family at three chicks I assume eggs #4 and #5 are still waiting to hatch.

Egg #4 is on its way. Yesterday morning I saw a pip, below, during the 10am feeding.

Will egg #4 hatch today? Will egg #5 hatch next week?

Watch the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh to find out.

UPDATE 7 May 2022: The fourth egg hatched 3 days late and the chick did not survive. The fifth egg never hatched.

(photos from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

27 April 2022, 6am

Yesterday was an exciting day at the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest. Three eggs hatched between midnight and 2:30pm and the fourth egg had a visible crack by 7:00pm (photo above). This morning I expect to see four chicks and only one egg remaining to hatch.

UPDATE 28 April, 5:30am: The visible crack must be an illusion. It was not evident in subsequent photos and the 4th egg was still in-egg on Wednesday evening. Oy! Will it hatch on Thurs 28 April? Watch the falconcam and see.

Glimpses of the tiny nestlings have been brief because Morela often stands in front of the streaming camera while she feeds them. The best views are from the snapshot camera but those are only still shots so I collected images from yesterday’s 4pm feeding and made them into a video. You’ll notice that Morela eats a little bit before she starts to feed the young.

Scattered eggshells? Are you wondering about the scattered eggshells on the gravel?

When a peregrine egg is hatching the mother bird does not help the chick open the egg but when it has emerged on its own the mother carefully lifts the discarded shell and sets it away from the scrape (the shallow bowl where the chicks and eggs reside). The photo above shows many discarded shell fragments.

• The shells are made of calcium carbonate deposited by the mother’s body.
• The color of peregrine eggs is embedded in the calcium. The color does not wash away but it is only on the surface. As you can see, the shells are white inside.
• Eggshells move around the gravel as the adult birds sweep in and out of the nest.
• The mother bird eventually eats the discarded shells to restore her calcium levels. Morela is eating a shell in the snapshot below.

What about the 4th and 5th eggs? I feel lucky to have predicted Hatch Day (26 April) for eggs #1-3. My original guess was 28 April for the 4th egg and 3 May for the 5th. But I could be very wrong.

Watch the Pitt peregrine family on the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh to see what happens next.

(photos from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

26 April 2022

UPDATE at 12:20pm, 26 April 2022: This morning I thought 3 had hatched but as of noon only 2 of 5 eggs had hatched. I was mistaken because the chicks were draped over and hiding one of the remaining three eggs. See 12:20pm photo with 3 eggs at bottom of this article.

As of 7:03am two of the five eggs have hatched. In the photo above, the most recent hatchling is pink and wet. Today is Hatch Day at the Pitt peregrine nest!

The first egg hatched last night, 26 April 2022, at 12:38am. Before dawn I could tell at least one had hatched — even though I couldn’t see the chick(s) — because there was an open eggshell on the gravel. In fact there was more than one eggshell.

When Ecco came to relieve Morela at 6:55 I saw two chicks!

These two hatched on the same day because they were incubated for the same amount of time, as was the 3rd egg which is expected to hatch within 24 hours. The 4th and 5th eggs, laid later, will hatch later as well. Expect the 4th hatch around 28 April, and the much later 5th egg (the whitish one) around 3 May.

You will know hatching is a few+ hours away when you see a pip in one of the eggs. Here’s a pip seen last evening at 7:19pm.

Morela will be brooding the chicks for about a week.

Watch for more feedings and glimpses of the chicks on the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh.

(photos from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

22 April 2022

Hatching at the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest begins next week (or sooner!) but we don’t know what day it will be. Since a chick can take as long as 72 hours from hammering to hatch, today is not too soon to start Pip Watch at the Pitt peregrine nest.

The most obvious sign that hatching is underway will be a pip (hole) in one of the eggs. I zoomed the snapshot camera for a closeup of the eggs. The National Aviary’s streaming falconcam shows the action.

We will not be the first to learn that a chick’s been busy. His parents can hear his hammering and his vocalizations inside the egg. When Morela traded incubation duties with Ecco recently, I saw her fidget over the eggs for longer than usual and vocalize softly.  If she heard a chick “peeping” inside the egg her own chip calls would stimulate the chick to vocalize in return. They can have a “conversation” through the shell.

Want to know more about the process? Check out this vintage article. Watch for a pip at the links above.

How Do They Hatch?

Note: The snapshot camera receives a new photo every 10 seconds but does not automatically refresh. You must manually refresh the page.

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

19 April 2022

Incubation is boring, but hatching begins next week!

Of the eleven sites we’re monitoring in Southwestern PA, six of them are definitely or likely to be incubating. Right now it’s boring at all the sites but excitement is coming soon. Hatching begins next week at Pitt. The others can’t be far behind.

Cathedral of Learning, Univ of Pittsburgh:

Morela and Ecco’s first three eggs have been incubating since 23 March and are due to hatch on/about 26 April, the 4th egg around 28 April, and the much later 5th egg (the whitish one) around 3 May.

All the dates are guesses. Watch the Cathedral of Learning nest on the National Aviary falconcam to see if I’m right.

Meanwhile, get a flavor of how boring incubation is in this Day-in-a-Minute video from 16 April. Can you tell when Morela and Ecco trade places? Morela is the bigger bird.

Peek-a-boo! Did you see that whitish egg make an appearance?

Downtown Pittsburgh:

I set up my scope on Mt. Washington near the Monongahela Incline on 17 April to look into the nest on Third Avenue. See that small black and white spot on the left? It moved. It’s a bird. The Downtown peregrines are incubating. I have no idea when the eggs will hatch.

Monaca RR Bridge, Ohio River: Mark Vass reports a single peregrine on 15 April 2022.

Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge, Ohio River: No news since 8 March 2022.

Sewickley Bridge, Ohio River:

Mystery at Sewickley! We thought this pair was incubating eggs but Jeff Cieslak saw them mating on 17 April. Was there a changeover in one of the pair? Did the nest fail? Were they not incubating after all? Jeff’s visits and pictures will solve the mystery some day.

Eckert Street / McKees Rocks Bridge area, Ohio River:

Jeff Cieslak continues to see the male and female trading off at the nest, most recently on 18 April. Incubation is definitely underway at Eckert Street.

Westinghouse Bridge, Turtle Creek:

Incubation continues at the Westinghouse Bridge. Dana Nesiti saw a nest exchange on 16 April.

Tarentum Bridge, Allegheny River:

From a distance Dave Brooke can usually see the incubating adult in the nestbox at Tarentum Bridge, most recently on 10 April.

Graff Bridge, Rt 422, Kittanning, Allegheny River: No news since 16 March.

Speers Railroad Bridge, Washington County, Monongahela River: No news since February.

(photos by National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh, Kate St. John, Jeff Cieslak, Dana Nesiti, Amber Van Stein and Wikimedia Commons)