Category Archives: Peregrines

Closer To Ecco

June 22, 2020Bird Behavior, PeregrinesKate St. John

Ecco and Morela appear to touch beaks, 16 Jun 2020, 8:17am (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

22 June 2020

Though the peregrine nesting season has failed at the Cathedral of Learning, Morela continues to visit the nest and bow with her suitors, Terzo and Ecco. In a normal year this activity would have ended with egg laying in March. This year, over a period of (now) four months, we’ve been able to observe individual behavior in the two males and Morela’s relationship with each one.

Indeed their relationships are different. I’ve noticed that during the longer courtship sessions Morela bows closer with Ecco than she does with Terzo.

During this five minute bowing session on 16 June, Ecco and Morela turn their heads side to side and nearly touch beaks. This is a more intimate form of bowing than merely bobbing up and down.

On 18 June, Terzo initiates a three minute courtship session that lacks such a close approach.

Since we are humans, not peregrines, we don’t know if the behavioral difference is due to the males’ personalities or Morela’s chemistry with each one. But we can see that Morela comes closer to Ecco.

p.s. This month Ecco has been bowing with Morela before dawn! Click here for a bowing session at 5:30am on Sunday 21 June.

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

At Least We Are Spared This

June 19, 2020Bird Behavior, PeregrinesKate St. John

Recent peregrine news out of San Francisco is sadly familiar. SFist reports that people watched the falconcam in horror as a male peregrine, nicknamed Canyon, killed and ate his first hatchling at the PG&E nest.

We know what this is like. Every year from 2016 through 2019 Hope, the female peregrine at the Univ of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning, killed and ate some of her chicks as they hatched. Most years she ate two of them. In 2017 she ate only one. Morela replaced her in October 2019.

Read the SF news here https://sfist.com/2020/06/18/bad-news-male-falcon-eats-young/ and if you have a strong stomach watch their video. Hope’s behavior is mentioned in the article.

Screenshot from SFist, San Francisco, 16 Jun 2020

Peregrines eating their hatchlings is so unusual that in the 20 years I’ve tracked it I know of only four peregrines who’ve done it:

Hope at the Univ of Pittsburgh Cathedral of Learning, 2016 through 2019
a female at UMass Amherst in May 2017
a female at a wild cliff in Wyoming where fire retardant was sprayed (can’t find the link)
Canyon at San Francisco PG&E, June 2020.

Some of you are wondering if this male could be one of Hope’s offspring. No, for at least two reasons:

This unbanded young male peregrine, nicknamed Canyon, hatched in 2019. All of Hope’s offspring from 2016 through 2019 are banded. An unbanded male born in that timeframe cannot be one of hers.
Canyon is too far away to have dispersed from Pittsburgh. San Francisco is the other side of the continent.

As crazy as 2020’s failed nesting season has been at the Cathedral of Learning, at least we have been spared this.

(screenshots from SFist article)

Ecco is Back, But So Is Terzo

June 17, 2020Bird Behavior, PeregrinesKate St. John

Ecco and Morela court at the Pitt peregrine nest, 16 June 2020, 8:16am (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

17 June 2020

When I reviewed yesterday’s time lapse video I saw Morela entice an unseen male to court with her at the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest. She bowed with him in the 7 and 8 o’clock hours but she wasn’t with Terzo. Ecco is back!

In this Day-in-a-Minute video you can see both courtship sessions with Ecco, then Terzo at the nest alone at 10:30am. (Nothing else happened for the rest of the day.)

Morela and Ecco bowed at 7:08a in the video below.

In their second bowing session at 8:17a they nearly touched beaks, then Ecco checked the sky.

Ecco and Morela bow at the Pitt peregrine nest, 16 Jun 2020, 8:17am

Ecco checks the sky while bowing with Morela, 16 Jun 2020, 8:20am

Terzo arrived two hours later and felt comfortable standing there, unthreatened, for 50 minutes.

Terzo checks the sky when he arrive s , 16 June 2020, 10:39am

Terzo stands near the unviable eggs, 16 Jun 2020, 11:01am

These two male peregrines still haven’t figured out who “owns” the Cathedral of Learning but at this point it doesn’t matter. It’s too late in the season to raise a family.

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

Peregrines In The Sun

June 12, 2020Bird Behavior, PeregrinesKate St. John

Terzo sunbathing at the Pitt peregrine nest, 11 June 2020, 13:55 (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ. of Pittsburgh)

In a turnabout since early May, Terzo is now spending more time at the Pitt peregrine nest than Morela even though there’s no nesting going on. He sunbathes at the nest and sometimes shades the eggs.

Morela sunbathes, too, though not as often.

This is quite different from Terzo’s behavior in May after Morela laid eggs on May 9 and 16. At that point he was still in a contest with an unbanded male named Ecco. On May 17 Morela began incubating the eggs but neither Terzo nor Ecco helped so she stopped on May 22.

Apparently Ecco is gone. Terzo is so confident of this that he closes his eyes and sleeps in full view of the sky. We don’t know if Ecco is gone forever but Terzo isn’t worried.

This week Terzo sometimes shelters the eggs even though they aren’t viable. He seems to know this and never incubates.

Every day is similar. Morela and Terzo bow at the nest around 9am. Terzo later sunbathes or shades the eggs if the weather is hot. Morela may sunbath or perch in front. Many hours pass with neither bird at the Cathedral of Learning nest. The peregrines come to enjoy the sun.

Watch Terzo and Morela’s activities in four Day-in-a-Minute videos, June 8 through 11. Each video lasts 60 seconds; it will take four minutes to watch them all.

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

Terzo On Camera

June 1, 2020PeregrinesKate St. John

Terzo at the Pitt peregrine nest, 31 May 2020, 12:23p (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ. of Pittsburgh)

1 June 2020

Yesterday Michael Potoski remarked that he hadn’t been watching the falconcam often “but when I do look it seems the eggs keep moving to different positions with no sign of Morela, Terzo or Ecco.” A mystery! So I looked into it.

Sunday 31 May 2020 was a very active day at the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest even though the eggs are no longer incubated. In this Day-in-a-Minute video you can see Morela come to the nest at 9:20am and move the eggs into a pile. Then at 10:05am Terzo shows up for one of many visits.

It was chilly yesterday with a northwest wind but the nest side of the building was out of the wind and in full sun. At 12:15pm Terzo arrived to sunbathe for about an hour.

Terzo sunbathing at the Pitt peregrine nest, 31 May 2020, 12:51pm

Then at 1:50pm Morela came too and bowed with Terzo for more than 4 minutes. This is the longest time they’ve spent together at the nest since Ecco, his rival, made Terzo so cautious. This video includes the full 4.5 minutes even though there’s not much action.

Terzo was on camera a lot yesterday. Ecco was absent, at least for the day.

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

Remember When: The Car-Surfing Peregrine

May 31, 2020Nesting & Courtship, PeregrinesKate St. John

Peregrine fledgling on the roof of a pickup truck, 30 May 2013 (photo by Ericka Houck, National Aviary)

When a young peregrine lands on the ground on his first flight he doesn’t yet have the upper body strength to flap and get airborne. He has to be rescued and put on a high perch to start over.

In Downtown Pittsburgh the Third Avenue nest site is so low that fledglings land on the ground every year. Thankfully, passersby call the PA Game Commission at Central Dispatch 1-833-PGC-WILD to rescue the downed birds.

Downtown’s fledglings are often found on the sidewalk but sometimes a bird gets creative. Last year one waited at the bus stop. Seven years ago a fledgling landed six feet off the ground on a pickup truck roof rack. Then things got interesting.

Read about 2013’s car-surfing peregrine in this vintage article: Fledged For A Ride.

(photo by Ericka Houck, National Aviary, 30 May 2013)

Peregrine Chicks At Westinghouse

May 29, 2020Nesting & Courtship, PeregrinesKate St. John

Two chicks peer from the nest area at Westinghouse Bridge, 27 May 2020 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

Dana Nesiti has been keeping up with the peregrine family at the Westinghouse Bridge by photographing them every few days. On Wednesday 27 May 2020 he saw the chicks for the first time, pictured above near the edge of the nest area.

Their success is due to the care and feeding supplied by their parents, Hammond (male) and Ms. Indiana (banded female from South Bend, Indiana, 2016). This slideshow of Dana’s 17-24 May photos shows how the pair cooperates to bring in food.

Thanks to Dana Nesiti for the photos!

This Is The Week!

May 28, 2020Nesting & Courtship, PeregrinesKate St. John

2 of the 4 young peregrines at Tarentum Bridge, 27 May 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

28 May 2020

If you want an easy look at young peregrine falcons the next week is the time to do it. Four youngsters at the Tarentum Bridge are ledge walking and will make their first flight some time between May 31 and June 7.

Yesterday I visited the Tarentum Boat Ramp and digi-scoped these photos with my cellphone. All four youngsters were preening fluff from their feathers and walking along the middle bridge pier. The top photo has three birds in it; the third is hidden behind his siblings.

Peregrines at Tarentum Bridge, 27 May 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

The fourth youngster walked over from the nestbox and jumped up to the step.

Ledge-walking peregrines at Tarentum Bridge, 27 May 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Meanwhile their mother watched from the far pier. She turned her head away just as I snapped this photo.

Adult peregrine on the far pier, babysitting from a distance, 27 May 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

The youngsters are changing fast. Just two days earlier they were much whiter as seen in John English’s photos from Memorial Day, 25 May 2020. Next week they’ll be completely brown.

Three young peregrines visible near the Tarentum nestbox, 25 May 2020 (photo by John English)

The Tarentum Bridge nestbox and two young peregrines from slightly upriver, 25 May 2020 (photo by John English)

The youngsters will fly soon so visit the Tarentum Bridge now through June 7. Click here for a map. This is the week to see them!

Learn more about the process of first flight at Peregrine Progress: First Flight.

(photos by Kate St. John and John English)

That Was Quick

May 23, 2020Nesting & Courtship, PeregrinesKate St. John

23 May 2020

Yesterday morning when I wrote about Morela incubating alone I said she would eventually stop. Little did I know that she already had.

In yesterday’s Day-in-a-Minute video she’s away from the nest most of the day, then perches nearby when present. She’s certainly not incubating.

Morela will eventually stop visiting the nest. So ends the nesting season.

The eggs will remain until it’s time for us humans to perform nest and camera maintenance next December or January.

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

Why Isn’t He Helping?

May 22, 2020Nesting & Courtship, PeregrinesKate St. John

Morela incubating eggs, 21 May 2020, 6:24a (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

22 May 2020

Many who watch the Cathedral of Learning falconcam feel bad that Morela is incubating her eggs alone. Why isn’t one of her suitors, Terzo or Ecco, helping her incubate?

A clue comes from the answer to this question: What makes an an active raptor like a peregrine falcon want to stay immobile on eggs for more than a month?

Similar to us humans, the breeding season in birds is governed by hormones. Luteinizing hormones prompt testosterone production in males and progesterone (egg formation) in females. Then, as described in the Raptor Resource Project Blog …

Shortly before incubation, female birds (and male birds that share incubation duties) experience another big hormonal change. Prolactin, a hormone which promotes incubation in birds, rises sharply while other hormones decrease. Opioid peptides stimulate prolactin secretion, which may explain why even active birds become lethargic while incubating their eggs.
— What Makes Birds Incubate, Raptor Resource Project Blog

Morela is an active peregrine but after she laid her second egg her incubation hormones kicked in and she slowed way down. In this Day in a Minute video from 18 May 2020 you see her lying flat and often asleep on the eggs. Ecco arrived at 6:38pm, photo below.

Ecco sometimes approaches the eggs as if he’ll incubate but mostly he’s in courtship mode (see this 13 minute video). On Tuesday morning before dawn (19 May 2020) he came to the nest and greeted Morela. When she left he approached the eggs, but didn’t incubate.

It appears that Ecco knows what to do but is unable to begin. I suspect his incubation hormones have not kicked in.

Morela will stop incubating when her prolactin shuts off. Meanwhile she’ll spend time away from the eggs on a daily basis, “stretching her legs.” Without steady incubation the eggs won’t survive.