Yesterday afternoon Morela, the female peregrine at the Cathedral of Learning, spent more than two hours at the nest. Just before she left at 6:30pm the snapshots showed her with her beak open. She must have been saying something so I pulled the archived video to find out.

The video clip below is seven minutes long but is only a fraction of Morela’s time at the nest. It begins when she notices something in the air above her. She turns and ee-chups for several minutes, making the sound a female uses to call to a male.

The male did not come to the nest so Morela leapt to the perch above the nestbox to make her exit.

The male’s coy behavior makes me wonder if Terzo has left the Cathedral of Learning. Terzo is quite familiar with the nest and would have called Morela to come into it. Instead, Morela calls to a reluctant male.

Since the male has not been photographed this fall we haven’t confirmed his identity. He’ll have appear on camera before we know who he is.

Stay tuned at the National Aviary’s snapshot camera at Univ. of Pittsburgh. Streaming video will not be operational until the nesting season begins in 2020.

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

Now that the new female peregrine at the Cathedral of Learning has been on site for more than six weeks and has actively claimed the nest, it’s clear that she is no longer “new.” Meanwhile, it’s too vague and unwieldy to call her “the female peregrine at the Cathedral of Learning.” So today she gets a name.

In Pittsburgh, the tradition for naming adult peregrines is this:

The primary nest monitor names the bird for his/her own convenience using these two rules. If the peregrine was named at banding that name is preferred. Otherwise the primary monitor names the bird.

— How do peregrines get their names?

As an unbanded peregrine she didn’t come with a name so it was my job to decide what to call her. After many hours of deliberation with my fellow peregrine monitor Karen Lang, the new female peregrine at the Cathedral of Learning has a name: Morela.

It’s a tribute to the pale orange color of her breast, belly and cheeks. Morela means “apricot” in Polish.

p.s. I pronounce it Mor-ELL-ah.

(photos from the National Aviary falconcams at Univ. of Pittsburgh)

Though she isn’t going to lay eggs until next year, the new female peregrine at the Cathedral of Learning spent a long time at the nestbox on Thursday morning, 17 October 2019.

It’s good to see her laying claim the nest. She arrived on campus on (or before) 4 September 2019, but didn’t explore the nestbox until this week — four minutes on Monday evening, 14 minutes on Thursday morning.

This video of Thursday’s activity is long — 8.5 minutes — but it shows the most interesting part of her visit, captured at 10:10am on 17 Oct 2019. The video will seem to run forever. Pretend you’re watching it “live.”

Two more videos round out the 14 minutes, not including the time she sits on the front perch. Click the links for:

• Video#2: Digging in nearby gravel (1:43 minutes)
• Video#3: Jumping up to leave the scene (59 seconds).

Stay tuned for more news tomorrow.

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

Morela

Here she is again!

The new female peregrine visited the nestbox at the Cathedral of Learning — again! — on Thursday 17 October in the 10 o’clock hour.

I’m heading out now to go birding. Watch for more news when I have time today/tomorrow.

(photo from the National Aviary falconcam at University of Pittsburgh)

Morela

16 October 2019:

Good news for Pitt Peregrine Fans!

The new female peregrine, first seen in September by Dr. Alan Juffs, has made an important step at the Cathedral of Learning. On Monday evening 14 October 2019 she visited the nestbox for the first time.

Pete Bell of Pitt Peregrines Facebook page sent me the photo at top from the snapshot archive. I pulled the archived video and cropped it to the time span of her visit.

Isn’t she beautiful!

By visiting the nest she’s laying an even stronger claim to the Cathedral of Learning. I don’t know if a second female is still annoying her … but so far so good!

Thank you, Pete Bell! (See his Pitt Peregrines Facebook page here.)

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

Morela

Since last week’s announcement of the new peregrine at the Cathedral of Learning, several of you have asked if there’s any news from Downtown or the other sites in southwestern Pennsylvania. No, there isn’t any news except for this:

Yesterday, 13 October 2019, Dana Nesiti stopped by the Westinghouse Bridge and confirmed that both male and female peregrines are present. Two of his photos are shown here.

Other than that it is very quiet. I stop by the Cathedral of Learning when I can and see the same things over and over: quiet airspace, no peregrines, or peregrines snoozing on the building.

If you see peregrine activity at Pitt or anywhere in southwestern Pennsylvania, please tell me by leaving a comment on my blog (it sends me an email).

If you can’t be here to look for peregrines, rest assured that I will tell you whatever news I have.

No news really is no news.

(photos by Dana Nesiti)

Late yesterday, 9 October 2019, I watched the Cathedral of Learning for more than two hours to catch sight of the new peregrine and its mate. Though they were present less than half the time it was well worth the visit.

First, I learned that the new peregrine is female. I could recognize her from the ground by her perching preferences, her size, her dark head and her peach-toned chest. She hung out with the male, flying with him and roosting side-by-side in nooks on 32 north (Fifth Ave). I assume the male is Terzo though we won’t know for sure until we read his bands.

The size difference between the new female and Terzo is striking; she is a much larger bird. Hope is such a small female that it was hard to tell them apart unless the two perched side by side, a very rare occurrence. The roosting proximity of the new female to Terzo is a good sign.

It appears the new female “owns” the Cathedral of Learning. She is usually on site and she perches in plain sight. When flying near the building, both she and Terzo use flappy territorial flight, clearly saying, “This cliff is mine!”

Who is this message for? I found out while waiting for my bus on Fifth Ave.

At 5:25pm three peregrines flew toward the Cathedral of Learning. The male went past the building. The female landed on a stone peak at 27NW (a favorite perch of the new peregrine). A second female flew toward the perched one and took a pot shot at her. She didn’t hit her. The new peregrine didn’t move. The second female kept flying fast, away to the southwest.

Alan Juffs says he sometimes sees another bird fly at the one perched near his window. I wonder if the wailing on this video is the second female. The new peregrine isn’t phased by this, but she is certainly vigilant.

So I was wrong. There are three peregrines at the Cathedral of Learning, one male and two females. The females are vying for ownership of the Cathedral of Learning.

I like the new bird. I hope she wins.

(photo by Dr. Alan Juffs, University of Pittsburgh)

Morela