24 February 2020:

In the next four to six weeks peregrine falcons will continue courting and claiming nest sites near Pittsburgh. This long article describes how active they’ve been in just 10 days. Right now is the best time of year to see peregrines in western Pennsylvania. We need observers. I hope you can help.

As I said, right now is the best time of year to see peregrines in western Pennsylvania. Visit any or all of these sights and report what you see on eBird or leave a comment below.

(photos by the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh, Ann Hohn, John English, Jeff Cieslak, Wikimedia Commons, John Flannigan, Dave Brooke, Dana Nesiti, Doug Dunkerley and Kate St. John)

Though Pennsylvania’s peregrine falcons don’t lay eggs until March, pairs court at their nests nearly every day in February. The ritual, called a “ledge display,” is hidden at most sites but is easy to see on the National Aviary’s falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh.

This month Terzo and Morela have increased their ledge displays at the Cathedral of Learning. Their ritual follows the same pattern that all peregrines perform.

• The male (Terzo) arrives first, swaggering in a high stepping tip-toe gait on his way to the scrape. The “scrape” is the bowl they dig in the gravel where she will lay eggs.
• He bows and calls to his mate to join him.
• When the female (Morela) arrives, they bow low over the scrape and say “ee-chup, ee-chup,” bowing repeatedly. The male usually bows lower than the female. Notice that she is much larger than he is.
• As the female gets closer to egg laying, the ceremony lasts longer and becomes more intimate. They call softly, twist their heads to opposite sides, sometimes touch beaks.
• The male always leaves the nest first, then the female.
• As egg laying time approaches the female will linger to prepare the nest and dig the scrape.

You’ll see all these behaviors, though abbreviated, in yesterday’s three-minute visit at 12:55pm (17 February 2020).

We’re looking forward to eggs in March. Stay tuned at the National Aviary falconcam at the Univ. of Pittsburgh.

Here’s a tip on when to see Terzo and Morela on camera: For the past few days, 14-17 Feb 2020, they have visited the nest around 4:30pm or as late as 4:55pm. Will they show up at 4:30pm today for a ledge display? (I hope they cooperate!)

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

Peregrine falcons Terzo and Morela courted yesterday at the Cathedral of Learning nest. Watch them at the National Aviary falconcam.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

p.s. In case you missed it, the Hays bald eagles have an egg!

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

In the run up to egg laying, peregrine falcons perch prominently and perform stunning aerial courtship displays. February and March are the best months for confirming peregrine nest sites and discovering new ones. In southwestern Pennsylvania we need observers to look for peregrines. I hope you can help.

In 2019 we found 10 peregrine pairs in the Pittsburgh region. Two on buildings (red dots at Cathedral of Learning and Downtown Pittsburgh) and eight on bridges (blue dots).

Two of the bridges, Ambridge and 62nd Street, were not(*) confirmed even though adult peregrines are regularly seen there. Nesting can’t be confirmed until someone sees a peregrine take food to a nest or a nestling/juvenile in or near a nest.

There are 10+ Peregrine Sites to watch in southwestern PA. Please leave a comment if you can help or if you’ve seen anything. (Confirmed nest sites in prior years are marked with #.)

Cathedral of Learning, University of Pittsburgh #: This nest is on camera so we’ll easily confirm it this year.

Downtown Pittsburgh #: We know there’s a peregrine pair Downtown but we don’t know who they are (Louie died last summer) and we don’t know where they’ll nest. Lori Maggio is Downtown’s lead observer but the area is a big place to monitor. Help wanted!

OHIO RIVER, Monaca-Beaver Railroad Bridge -or- Monaca-East Rochester Bridge # Peregrines choose one of these bridges to nest on each year — it’s all the same territory. A pair was seen on the railroad bridge in November. Observers needed!

OHIO RIVER, Ambridge Bridge: This site hasn’t been confirmed as a nesting site though peregrines are seen here often. Mark Vass saw one on 8 Feb 2020, Karen Lang saw two on 9 Feb and one on 10 Feb & 11. More observers needed!

OHIO RIVER, Neville Island I-79 Bridge #: In use as a nest site since 2012, Jeff Cieslak photographed a peregrine on the bridge on 4 February 2020.

OHIO RIVER, McKees Rocks Bridge #: Even though this bridge has been a nest site since 2008 it’s hard to monitor because it’s 1.38 miles long. Peregrines are best seen from the McKees Rocks side. I haven’t heard of any sightings yet.

ALLEGHENY RIVER, Graff Bridge, Rt 422, Kittanning #: In use by peregrines since 2016, this bridge is best monitored from the bike trail under on the Kittanning side. I haven’t heard of any recent sightings.

ALLEGHENY RIVER, Freeport Bridge: Peregrines haven’t been known to nest here but one was seen during the winter. Is this a new nest site? Observers needed.

ALLEGHENY RIVER, Tarentum Bridge #: The Tarentum Bridge, which has a nestbox, has been in use since 2010. Dave Brooke photographed a peregrine here on 30 Jan 2020.

ALLEGHENY RIVER, Highland Park and 40th Street Bridges: These bridges may be too close to existing territories … or are they? Are peregrines hanging out at these bridges? Observers needed!

ALLEGHENY RIVER, 62nd Street Bridge: There’s been a nestbox on this bridge since 2007 but no peregrines on site until 2019 when a banded female was identified and a fledgling seen at Tree Pittsburgh near the bridge. I hear it’s easy to see the nest box from the Pittsburgh downriver side. Be the first to confirm nesting at this site!

MONONGAHELA RIVER WATERSHED, Westinghouse Bridge over Turtle Creek #: Peregrines have used this bridge since 2010. Dana Nesiti photographed one here on 9 Feb 2020.

Look for peregrines in February and March. We need your help to re-confirm every site.

Please leave a comment if you can help, if you need directions, or if you’ve seen anything. Thanks!

(photo credits are in the captions)

4 February 2020

Yesterday while the weather was unusually warm and sunny Morela made several visits to the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest.

Her morning visits were made alone, sometimes digging the scrape (nest bowl), sometimes loafing on the front perch. She lingered there for half an hour.

In the afternoon Morela returned to lure Terzo into courtship. The video above at 3:05pm shows her bowing and “ee-chuping” for an extended period while Terzo is perched out of camera view above her. Her voice gets excited when he drops down to bow with her.

Morela and Terzo will visit the nest more often as egg laying time approaches in mid March. Tune in to the National Aviary’s Cathedral of Learning falconcam at: http://www.aviary.org/PF-NestCam1.

Show your support for the falconcam by making a donation to the National Aviary here.

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

30 January 2020

Happy news! The National Aviary’s falconcam is up and running at the Cathedral of Learning with streaming provided by Ozolio.

In case you’ve just tuned in 2020 promises to be a happy nesting year with a new female peregrine, nicknamed Morela, paired with the resident male Terzo.

During the last four seasons (2016 through 2019) hatching was painful to watch because every year Hope, the previous female, killed and ate some of her chicks as they hatched. We know of no other peregrine that consistently exhibited this very abnormal behavior.

This year should be much better because a new un-banded female with a distinctively peach-colored face and chest, nicknamed Morela, arrived at the Cathedral of Learning last fall. She and Terzo have been actively courting ever since. Morela is doing everything right so far. We expect eggs in mid-March.

As a bonus, when the camera started up yesterday it captured Morela’s visit at 9:12am (video below). Notice that she was “building” the nest by digging the gravel where she’ll lay her eggs. She exits the nestbox by jumping up to the rooftop perch (which you can’t see on camera). And she has a feather stuck to her toe. 😉

Watch Morela and Terzo on the National Aviary’s Cathedral of Learning falconcam at this link: http://www.aviary.org/PF-NestCam1.

Do you love the falconcam? Show your appreciation here with a donation at the National Aviary’s MAKE A DONATION page.

It’s peregrine time!

Additional information:

1. There is no falconcam at the Gulf Tower this year. The nestbox was removed last year due to construction on the roof; the construction continues.
2. Click here for tips on viewing the falconcam.

(screenshot of the National Aviary falconcam at the Cathedral of Learning)

It’s been a quiet week at the Pitt peregrine nest. As far as I can tell, Morela visited just once and for only three minutes. Here’s a quick slideshow from Wednesday 22 January 2020.

This month the peregrines are busy in the airspace above Fifth and Forbes in Oakland. To see them in action, stop by the Cathedral of Learning.

Keep looking up. 🙂

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

Morela has made brief visits to the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest every day this week. Snapshots from the National Aviary’s falconcam show her bowing and calling to her mate Terzo. He hasn’t joined her yet but don’t worry, he’s around. I saw him kiting in the wind yesterday.

On Sunday 12 January 2020 Morela spent five minutes bowing and calling.

When Terzo didn’t join her she stepped forward to look around, “Where is he?”

On Monday 13 January she had just finished eating when she stopped by for a visit. Notice the bulge in her crop as she bows and calls.

And yesterday, 14 January, she stopped by for only a minute.

The snapshots are tantalizing … and silent. I can hardly wait until the National Aviary starts streaming the falconcam in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for that happy day!

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

p.s. Here’s how I capture these photos. Warning it’s technical!

Instant photos are at this link on my blog’s Resources panel: FALCONCAM – CL Snapshots.

The top photo is a once-a-minute snapshot from the (soon to be) streaming camera. It shows what’s happening there right now. You have to refresh your browser to see if it changes.

When there’s a peregrine on camera I save the photo to my hard drive or cellphone. Then I refresh the browser.

In January the nest is usually empty but I know when a peregrine is there because I follow @pittpefaALERT on Twitter. Every tweet from @pittpefaALERT is a 15-second “change” image showing what’s different at the nest. Changed pixels are shown in red. Here’s what they look like and what they mean.

Tweets that don’t matter: At dawn and dusk and on partly cloudy days the change is just sun and shadow. Here are two sun and shadow changes — red images with straight edges.

When a peregrine shows up: The change image may look like a bird (left image below) and it certainly has curved lines (right). Here are two peregrine tweets.

When I see a tweet that looks like a peregrine I go to the FALCONCAM – CL Snapshots link. The snapshots refresh every 60 seconds. If I’m nimble I can capture the first one.

Good luck!