News from the two on-camera peregrine nests in Pittsburgh:

Cathedral of Learning:

The Pitt peregrine youngsters began flapping this morning before dawn.  Soon they’ll walk off camera and up to the take-off zone where they’ll spend a couple of days building their wing muscles.  They won’t be visible on camera but you can see them from Fledge Watch– June 2 to 6.

• Visit the Events page for the Fledge Watch schedule, cancellation updates (when needed) and information on parking, food & maps at Schenley Plaza.
• Here’s a photo and description of where the young birds go off camera before they fly.

Gulf Tower:

This morning at dawn I saw one peregrine youngster perched at the nest.  She flew shortly after this snapshot.

Last night I was in a long meeting and didn’t see a comment posted to my blog until nearly 11p (4 hours after it happened).  In the comment John wrote, “Right now there is a Peregrine on Grant street by the Federal building. Animal control is there. It is banded. This is as of 6:30pm 6/1.”

The young peregrine was probably standing on the sidewalk and needed human assistance to get up to a high perch and start over.  The bird was already in good hands when John posted the comment so I’m not worried.  I will hear more eventually and post the update here.

UPDATE, 8:15am: This morning Lori Maggio looked for the fledglings and says she may have seen all three, though she’s not sure.

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

At this stage of development, the Gulf Tower peregrines are learning to fly and the Pitt peregrines are walking off the nest.  Are they in trouble when you can’t see them?  No, they’re fine.  Here’s where they go.

Gulf Tower:

Yesterday, May 31, Lori Maggio stopped by the Fledge Watch site and found all five peregrines at home on the Gulf Tower.

In the photo at top, the two parents are circled on the left, three youngsters circled at various levels on the right.

The closeup points out the three juveniles.  The one at the top fledged to the observation deck level on Tuesday and is flapping in preparation for her next flight.  She flew toward the USX Tower where Lori lost sight of her.

Last evening two chicks came back to the nest to spend the night but left today at dawn and might never return.  This morning Lori reports that all three had fledged by 7:30am.  Woo hoo!

Why don’t peregrines come back to the nest forever?  The nest is the babies’ crib.  When youngsters graduate to a bigger life, they don’t want to come back to the crib.   Human children are like that, too.

Cathedral of Learning:

One week younger than the Gulf Tower chicks, the youngsters at the Cathedral of Learning are just starting to ledge walk and disappear from camera view.  Are they safe?  Yes.

Yesterday afternoon one of them explored below the nest while the others watched (shown above).  There’s a lot of floor space below the nest with walls all around so there’s no way a young bird can fall.  As happens every year, the youngster gets bored and walks/jumps back up to the nest surface.  Of course she does. That’s where the food is!

In the days ahead the youngsters will also walk up to the nest rail and jump over to the keyhole.  Here’s a description of where they go, complete with ledge walking photos.

Chicks: What is Ledge Walking?

To fulfill their destiny these birds have to fly.  And to fly they have to leave the camera’s view.

It’s a big world out there.  It’s time for them to go.

(photos of the Gulf Tower peregrines by Lori Maggio.  nest photo from the National Aviary falconcam at the Cathedral of Learning)

Yesterday at Gulf Tower Fledge Watch it appeared that one, maybe two, of the peregrine chicks had fledged.  I found one chick off camera on the same level as the nest.  Where were the other two?

I used this clue: Find the parents and look where they are looking.  Yesterday Dori and Louie often perched just above the observation deck and stared at the deck floor.  I wondered if one or both were there.

Last evening Anne Marie Bosynak stopped by Flag Plaza and saw all three youngsters.  One had fledged to the observation deck area.  (Aha!)  The other two were on the nest level.

By 7:30pm two birds were back on camera.  This morning all three are off camera again. They will probably fly today.

I won’t be holding a Gulf Tower Fledge Watch but if you’re downtown keep your eyes on the sky and on nearby buildings.  The Gulf Tower peregrine chicks are learning to fly.

(photo from the National Aviary falconcam at the Gulf Tower)

30 May 2017

Why do I cancel Fledge Watch if it’s raining?  Am I just a wimp about getting wet?

No.  It’s because there’s nothing to see.  Young peregrines avoid flying in the rain.

On a peregrine’s first flight he needs some wind — not too much! — and an updraft to hold him up.  He also needs to be in good flight condition with strong muscles and dry feathers.

Wet feathers are heavy and make it hard to fly.  Birds know this instinctively so they wait until they’ve dried off.

Bird rehabbers know this, too.  When a young peregrine is rescued from the street, the rescuer wets him down before putting him out on a high ledge to start over.  Wet feathers prevent the rescued peregrine from leaping out of the rescuers hands.

There is one exception to this first flight rule.  When there’s danger at the nest, peregrine chicks of this age will fly, even in poor conditions, even if they’ve never flown before — but it can end badly in a crash.

What danger could there be at a city nest?  Humans!  We are the peregrines’ #1 enemy.  That’s why it’s important for all of us to stay away from peregrine nests and the windows that look out on them during these last days before first flight.

(photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Gulf Tower)

At 29 days old, the peregrine falcon chicks at the Cathedral of Learning look different than they did a week ago on Banding Day.  Their juvenile feathers now give them a speckled brown-and-white appearance.

For comparison, here’s what they looked like on May 16.

Even though they’re older they still act like baby birds.  They sleep on their bellies and whine at their parents.  In the photo at top, two chicks shout at one of their parents while a third sleeps on her belly.  When they shout like this, one of the parents is perched above them out of reach.  😉

Meanwhile at the Gulf Tower …

… the peregrine chicks are a week older (35 days old) and already look quite brown.  When they’re not sleeping or eating they spend time pulling white down from their bodies.

The transformation is amazing.  Here’s what they looked like a week ago.

The Gulf Tower youngsters will fly by the end of the month so come on down to Fledge Watch at midday, May 26-30, to see them getting ready to go.  Click here for date, time and location.

Keep an eye on the sky and check the Events page before you come Downtown!  Fledge Watch is a fair weather event so I will cancel if it’s raining. (Ugh! Rain is predicted all weekend.)

p.s. Yes, there will be a Fledge Watch for the Cathedral of Learning peregrines — probably June 2-6 — but I haven’t scheduled it yet.

(photos from the National Aviary falconcams at University of Pittsburgh and Gulf Tower)