It happens every year. At 28-35 days old, one of the Pitt peregrine chicks stumbles off the nest surface into the gully below.  People watching the camera get worried. The chick will be fine.

Today (5/16/2018) at 2:52p there was confusion on the nest surface as Hope brought in a dead red-winged blackbird for the afternoon snack.  One of the chicks backed up to the edge of the box and lost his balance.  Oops!  He disappeared from view.

The video above shows what happened.  We can still hear him!  He is close by and he is very annoyed!

Soon he’ll start exploring below and eating the scraps that fell from above. His parents will bring him food. He might come back to the nest or he might not.  He doesn’t need to.  He’s fine.

CORRECTION on FRIDAY MAY 18:  I was wrong when I thought the chick’s parents would not feed him in the gully.  He is being fed where he is so he has no reason to come back up to the gravel where you can see him on camera.

Here’s why I was confused: Dorothy (the previous female peregrine who lived at the Cathedral of Learning for 15 years) did not feed a chick in the gully; she waited for the chick to return.  After 15 years of watching Dorothy I thought all peregrines were like her.  Hope doesn’t play by Dorothy’s rules. Hope feeds the chick no matter where he is.

For more information on the area below the nest and video footage of a chick returning to the nest, see this vintage blog from 2015:   Below The Nest.

A Note to Commenters:  Watch the video of the chick climbing back into the nest at this link — Below The Nest — before you comment.

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

p.s. Humans cannot go back to the nest now without risking the death of one/both chicks.  The chicks are beyond banding age, very active but they cannot fly.  Nonetheless, they will jump to their deaths to escape predators (i.e. humans).  Human intervention at this point would be deadly.

May 15, 2018

There’s a new pair of peregrines in the Pittsburgh region and they’ve already got a family.

Back on March 4 I saw one peregrine perched on the Elizabeth Bridge as I was driving home from Westmoreland County.  I was excited because March is peregrine nesting season, they’d never nested at this bridge before, and they hadn’t been seen here since 2015.  One bird doesn’t mean a pair … but it was worth a look.

Reports fell silent for seven weeks and then two peregrines were active at the bridge in late April.  Did their eggs hatch?  If so, where?

On May 2, Elizabeth Cain saw them checking out several cubbyholes.  On May 6 Dana Nesiti photographed an adult carrying food into this truss connector.  They certainly have chicks!

Dana circled the peregrines’ location on his photo below. The connector is labeled “U9” because the bridge is under renovation.  Notice the paint-shrouding at deck level!

Here are more of Dana’s action shots.

I stopped by the Elizabeth Bridge on Sunday May 13 and saw the peregrines team up to chase away a turkey vulture and wail at a passing raven.  They were invisible from the gazebo on South Water Street so I digi-scoped them from the Waterfront parking lot.  Notice that the female has closed her eyes!

If you’d like to see these birds for yourself, stop by Elizabeth Waterfront Park on the Monongahela River in Elizabeth, PA. Go all the way down to the river. They might be out hunting when you arrive, but be patient and they’ll come home. Here’s a map:

The Elizabeth Bridge peregrines bring our southwestern Pennsylvania total to 9 nest sites:

1. Downtown Pittsburgh
2. Cathedral of Learning
3. Westinghouse Bridge (Turtle Creek near Monongahela River)
4. Elizabeth Bridge (Monongahela River)
5. McKees Rocks Bridge (Ohio River)
6. Neville Island I-79 Bridge (Ohio River)
7. Monaca-Beaver area bridge (Ohio River)
8. Tarentum Bridge (Allegheny River)
9. Graff Bridge, Rt 422, Kittanning (Allegheny River)

Erie, PA’s peregrine pair makes it 10 nest sites in all of western Pennsylvania.

I’m doing a tour of the other peregrine nest sites this week.  Stay tuned for more news.

(photos by Dana Nesiti, Eagles of Hays PA and Kate St. John (see captions). Map embedded from Google maps)

On Tuesday May 8, 2018 four peregrine chicks were taken from Dori and Louie’s Third Avenue nest in Downtown Pittsburgh through a Special Taking Permit granted to developer BET Investments by U.S. Fish and Wildlife.  (Federal wildlife agents did not come to retrieve the chicks.  They told the PA Game Commission to do it for them.)

Chicks are settling in and gaining weight:

Update from Humane Animal Rescue on their Facebook page, May 11, 2018: We’re pleased to report that the four chicks admitted to our Wildlife Center on Tuesday are progressing well. They’ve each gained weight & have begun to recognize our Peregrine puppet as their caregiver. HAR Wildlife Center staff members continue to carefully monitor the chicks while donning ghillie suits & the puppet, feeding & cleaning them multiple times per day.

You can see the puppet in the photo at top. Here’s what a ghillie suit looks like:

Sex of the chicks:

The sex of peregrine chicks is determined by their weight at banding — females are much heavier than males — but sometimes their weights are borderline.  Among these four, two were clearly males at banding and two were deemed too close to call. “Unknowns” are given female bands because the larger ring will not bind either sex.

Update on the parents, Dori and Louie:

The adult peregrines, Dori and Louie, are generally absent now from Third Avenue.  Construction has moved to the roof of Keystone Flats, the building that sparked the controversy and led to their chicks’ removal.  Workers will add another floor and a rooftop deck.  Doug Cunzolo stopped by Third Avenue on Friday morning May 11, 2018, took the photo above and reported:

This morning I stopped up at the 3rd. ave. nest site & talked with 2 of the workers there. They said the adults come by from time to time but not to the nest site itself. They were not there at around 8-8:30 am while I was there. There are cranes from the next door parking lot up over the roof & near the nest site moving steel & concrete block up onto the roof. So too much activity for them I would think.

When I stopped by late Sunday the area was quiet and there were no peregrines around.  Dori and Louie have lots of other places to hang out Downtown.  They have not been seen at the Gulf Tower.

Follow the four chicks’ progress at Humane Animal Rescue’s Facebook page.

Though the developer is paying for the chicks’ upkeep you can show your support by donating at the Humane Animal Rescue’s Donation page. Be sure to select Designation “Injured Wildlife” from the pull-down menu! (The chicks are not injured. That’s just the name that insures the gift goes to the Wildlife Center where they are housed.)

(photo credits: chicks’ photos from Humane Animal Rescue Facebook page; Third Avenue construction photo by Doug Cunzolo)

This morning two peregrine chicks, ages 23 and 24 days old, were banded at the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning.  Lead Bander Dan Brauning, PA Game Commission Wildlife Diversity Chief, was assisted by PGC Biologist Tammy Colt.

This is the third year that Hope and Terzo have nested at the Cathedral of Learning so they knew something was up this morning and were especially vigilant.

When Dan and Tammy came out on the ledge, Terzo zoomed just above them and Hope jumped into the nest and started to shout.  She was so loud that she distorted the audio on the falconcam and could be heard 20 floors below!  See the video below.

After Dan removed one chick, Hope guarded the second one so closely that he had to nudge her gently aside with a broom.  She bit the broom!

Indoors, the chicks were given health checkups (both healthy!) and — based on their weight — were given female bands.  They were returned to the nest in less than half an hour.

Hope yelled again as the chicks were returned to the nest.  See video below.

The reunited family was soon back to normal.

And the youngsters made the news:

• Post-Gazette: Two peregrine falcon chicks nesting at the Cathedral of Learning get a checkup
• KDKA video: Getting Their Birdie Bling: Cathedral Of Learning Peregrine Falcon Chicks Get Banded
• Trib-Live: Peregrine falcons defend chicks when biologists visit at the Cathedral of Learning

I will add more news reports as I hear of them.  If you know of a report I’ve missed, please leave a comment with a link.

(photos by Peter Bell and John English (see captions). Video from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ. of Pittsburgh)

Today, 11 May 2018, is banding day for the peregrine falcon chicks at the Cathedral of Learning. The event is closed to the public (the room has a strict occupancy limit!) but you’ll see some of the action on camera.

The first hint will be the sound of “kakking” as Hope and Terzo react when Pennsylvania Game Commission‘s Dan Brauning  goes out on the ledge to retrieve the chicks.

The chicks will receive health checks and leg bands and be returned to the nest in less than half an hour.

Stay tuned for an update on who’s who.

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

I was birding on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh, Ohio yesterday when I received news that the Downtown peregrine chicks had been removed from their nest on Tuesday May 8 around 9am.

Many reporters were on hand to record the event. Here are four news articles (media in alphabetical order).

• KDKA (video): Game Commission Removes 4 Peregrine Falcon Chicks From Downtown Nest
• Post-Gazette, John Hayes: Peregrine chicks removed from nest near Pittsburgh construction site
• Trib-Live, Mary Ann Thomas: Peregrine falcon chicks removed from Downtown Pittsburgh building
• WPXI (photos): PHOTOS: Baby Peregrine falcons relocated from downtown Pittsburgh nest

Hours later, Lori Maggio visited Third Avenue at lunchtime and found Dori and Louie perched on Lawrence Hall across the street from their former nest.

They watched calmly because there were no people on the roof.  Eventually the peregrines will be less vigilant, especially if people stay away from the nest-roof area for a while.

At top, Dori watches from across the street.  Below, Louie watches from the top parapet of Lawrence Hall.

Their chicks were taken to Humane Animal Rescue where Pittsburgh’s injured peregrines go for rehab and recovery — especially Dori’s chicks who land on the street, hit buildings, break bones and sustain concussions from Downtown’s many hazards. Humane Animal Rescue will make sure the chicks don’t become habituated to humans and will work with the Game Commission to release them at a wild cliff. Human Animal Rescue does an excellent job.  (See KDKA video)

The silver lining for the chicks is this:  These four won’t face death at fledging time. I have seen too many die gruesome deaths because the Third Avenue nest is too low.  Half die within two weeks, sometimes slowly and painfully before they are discovered.

These four chicks will do well.

(photos of Downtown peregrines by Lori Maggio, 8 May 2018)

p.s. A Caution to Commenters: During this emotional time … if you post a comment that could inflame others, I may edit or delete it.

Today the Pitt peregrine chicks are three weeks old with feathered faces and feather tips showing on their wings and tails. When they aren’t sleeping they are very active, motoring all over the nest.

Yesterday afternoon the chicks disappeared when they laid down flat at the front left corner of the nestbox.  They were in this camera’s blind spot, but you can see them on the snapshot camera when that happens. Click here to see the current snapshot.

The video above compresses their day into a minute — May 7, 2018 from 8a to 8p.  You won’t see them for a bit in the afternoon but they looked like this (above) from a different angle.

Watch them “live” on the National Aviary falconcam at the Cathedral of Learning.

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

Though their scheduled removal date was supposed to be Thursday May 3, the Downtown peregrine chicks remained with their parents yesterday.

John Shumway explains why in his afternoon update, above. The full story was on KDKA’s evening news, 3 May 2018 (below).  Click on the screenshots to watch the videos.

(screenshots from KDKA, CBS local, 3 May 2018)

Monday, April 30, 2018, 6:45pm

Alas.

The developer has issued a press release with his final decision. He will act on the “taking” permit and the chicks will be removed from the nest to be raised by a rehabber.

While there was still a chance to change the outcome I felt it was worth asking the developer to reconsider.  He has now made his final decision.  The time has passed for asking.  Do not call.  Do not nag.  And above all Be Polite and Considerate.

I have attached the BET Investments press release here so you can read his full statement.  I have purposely removed contact information (other than what you already know) because the time has passed for contacting BET Investments.

Mary Ann Thomas at Trib-Live broke the news late this afternoon. Read the full story here: Peregrine falcons to be removed from Downtown Pittsburgh building.

Also click the links below:

• KDKA TV, 6pm news, April 30.
• KDKA TV, 11pm news, April 30.
• WTAE TV news, April 30.
• WESA radio news, April 30.
• Post-Gazette, John Hayes, April 30.

Thank you for your support for Pittsburgh’s peregrine falcons.

A Caution to Commenters: Normally I do not edit readers’ comments but this situation is not normal. If you post a comment that could inflame others, I may edit or delete it.

(photo of Dori & Louie’s peregrine chicks at the Gulf Tower in early May 2014; we do not have photos of this year’s chicks)

In case you haven’t heard …

Yesterday’s blog spread the news that Pittsburgh’s Downtown peregrines are under threat.  Dori and Louie’s family will be split up and their four chicks — less than two weeks old — will be permanently taken away from them if the development at Keystone Flats acts on the “taking” permit they have received from U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

We don’t know yet if the developer will act on the permit but we do know that word is spreading on Facebook and in the news.  News coverage yesterday, April 29, included:

• • Developer asks to remove peregrine falcons from downtown Pittsburgh building by Mary Ann Thomas at Trib-Live
  • WTAE evening news, April 29
  • In the Los Angeles Times: Developer seeks to relocate young falcons from downtown nest.
  • WPXI morning news on April 30
  • WJPA news, Washington, PA
  • KDKA noon news

The developer could change his mind and leave the chicks in place. Click here for information on what you can do to keep this peregrine family together.

(This photo of the Downtown peregrine family is a stand-in from 2014 when the chicks were the same age as this year’s are now. We don’t have photos of the family this year.)