14 March 2024, 4:15pm

Happy Egg Day at the Cathedral of Learning! Carla laid her first egg this afternoon, 14 March 2024 at 4:00pm.

This 2-minute video shows the moment she laid the egg.

Have a question about the egg or Carla and Ecco’s behavior? Check out the Peregrine FAQs.

Meanwhile, watch Carla, Ecco and their growing family on the National Aviary Falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh.

UPDATE: New video added on Friday morning.

Egg Day’s Day-in-a-Minute: 14 March 2024 from 7am to 7pm, compressed into 60 seconds.

• Carla lays the egg at 4pm (16:00).
• Her mate Ecco visits the egg for 3 minutes at 5pm (17:00) then Carla returns to guard it.
• Ecco swaps with Carla and takes care of the egg at 6pm (18:00). He probably brought her food which she’s eating off camera.

Note: Near the end of the video you will see white lines (not cracks) on the egg. DO NOT WORRY. THE EGG IS FINE.

Carla is a first-time mom so she moved the egg around a lot before it was dry. The reddish color is the last thing applied to the white eggshell before it is laid. While the egg is still wet the color can be smudged by the bird’s feathers or scratched by being moved on the gravel.

11 March 2024

Two weeks ago I issued the Southwestern PA Peregrine Challenge — Look for Peregrines in the Next 6 Weeks. The challenge won’t end in early/mid April but it will be a lot harder to find peregrines when they become secretive at their nests. We have 4 weeks before that happens. Meanwhile we have preliminary results. (See news after the map.)

The map below shows peregrine site observations in the past two weeks. The map has a …

• Yellow checkmark = a pair was seen,
• Yellow line = solo bird (We need to check again)
• Yellow circle = NO ONE LOOKED HERE.

Notice the yellow circles. Ohio Valley birders, the challenge is on!

Don’t stop looking where you see a checkmark. There’s a spreadsheet at the end with site names and details.

Meanwhile, GOOD JOB!

Downtown Pittsburgh: (photo at top) Yesterday, 10 March 2024, I stopped by the Third Avenue nest site in Downtown Pittsburgh and found a peregrine at home.

Cathedral of Learning, Univ of Pittsburgh: Carla’s new behavior is a good sign. Last weekend she initiated courtship at the nest and Ecco brought her breakfast on camera. Watch the Pitt peregrines online at the National Aviary Falconcam at the University of Pittsburgh.

East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh: Many birders have confirmed the peregrine pair in East Liberty including videos from Adam Knoerzer at Pittsburgh Falconuts Facebook group and this ebird photo by Malcolm Kurtz. I visited on 4 March and found both birds on the steeple. Where and when will they nest?

62nd Street / Highland Park / Aspinwall Bridges (Allegheny County): No photos but on 8 March Justin Kolakowski reported at Six Mile Island, “Watched as a male and female pair chased off a Bald Eagle that was flying upriver, and then perched on the water tower.” (Six Mile Island is between the 62nd and Highland Park Bridges.)

Tarentum Bridge (Allegheny-Westmoreland County line): Dave Brooke, Meredith Cellitti, Dick Nugent and I have all visited the site in the past two weeks. On 7 March I confirmed incubation with the photo below. Hatch is expected in mid-April.

Rt 422 Graff Bridge over the Allegheny River, Kittanning: Hooray for Dave Brooke! He found a peregrine here on 25 February.

Westinghouse Bridge: Hooray for Dana Nesiti who found both peregrines at home on 3 March.

Speers/Belle Vernon Bridge: Kudos again to Dana Nesiti for finding a peregrine at the Speers/Belle Vernon bridge on 25 February. This site had not been viewed since May 2023.

4 Weeks To Go!

There’s still time to look for peregrines before they get sneaky in early/mid April. Visit one or more of these sites and let me know what you see. Leave a comment with sightings or questions.

(photo credits are in the captions)

4 March 2024

Egg laying season is coming up soon at the Cathedral of Learning peregrine nest where Ecco and Carla are courting frequently.

Yesterday they held three long courting sessions that included bowing, ee-chupping, and nest preparation. The ee-chup call sounds different for male and female peregrines. Ecco’s voice is squeaky while Carla’s voice is rough and slightly lower in pitch. She’s the one that makes the “huh” sound. You can hear the difference in this 6-minute video. More information on what they are up to is described below.

After bowing, Ecco left the nest so Carla could make preparations on her own. To limber up she stretched her right wing and leg.

To “build” the nest, Carla put her chest against one edge of it and kicked the gravel out with her feet. The nest itself is a bowl in the gravel, called a scrape, for holding eggs so they don’t roll off the cliff. Peregrines don’t use sticks to build their nests.

After digging Carla puttered around on the gravel surface, swallowing small pieces of gravel to aid digestion. Birds add gravel to their gizzards to grind the food. Learn more about How Birds Chew at the link.

And when she was done Carla flew away.

A few weeks from now, after Carla lays her next-to-last egg, she’ll stay at the nest to incubate.

In the meantime stay tuned for eggs coming in March or early April at the National Aviary Falconcam at the University of Pittsburgh.

25 February 2024

From now until the middle of April peregrine falcons in southwestern Pennsylvania are courting and claiming territory, perching prominently, and performing conspicuous aerial displays. As soon as they start incubating eggs they’ll become very secretive so if you want to see a peregrine or record breeding activity for the new Breeding Bird Atlas 2024-2029, this is a great time to do it.

Look for peregrines in the next 6 weeks.

The red and blue pin drops, 1 Dec 2023 — 24 Feb 2024, on the eBird map below confirm that the best places to look are near tall buildings or bridges. There are also a few surprising locations such as Mammoth Lake Park in Westmoreland County.

11 peregrine territories have pairs present since January. Here’s the simpler map.

Of those 11 sites, five raised young last year and two more have a long history of nesting (7 boldface names below). The new and promising sites are boldface in the Notes column.

Peregrine Sites to Watch!

Looking for some excitement? Want to add Peregrine Falcon to the PA Breeding Bird Atlas? Check out these “hopefuls” for 2024.

Rt. 40 Bridge in West Brownsville, PA (Washington County). New nest (to us) last year, will they use it this year? Click here to read about this nest.

East Liberty Presbyterian Church in the City of Pittsburgh. Very hopeful signs at this site! Click here to read all about it.

West End Bridge over the Ohio River, Pittsburgh. This site often has pairs but no indication of nesting … yet. Click here to read all about it.

Sewickley Bridge over the Ohio River. This site also has pairs but no confirmation of nesting yet.

Monaca bridges over the Ohio River: RR Bridge or Rt51 Bridge. We know there are peregrines here but it’s hard to confirm breeding. Let this be a challenge to you!

Rt 422 Graff Bridge over the Allegheny River, Kittanning. We know there are peregrines here too, but with few observers we often don’t confirm breeding. Allegheny Valley People, let this be a challenge to you!

And … if you miss finding a peregrine in person you can usually count on a peregrine on camera at the Cathedral of Learning. Today they courted at dawn.

Keep your eyes peeled. Yes, there are peregrines out there!

Please leave a comment if you’ve seen anything. I always want to know!

(photo credits are in the captions)

19 February 2024

When last I wrote about the Pitt peregrines the resident female, Carla, was distracted –> While Ecco courts, Carla checks the sky. I was beginning to worry because she was absent from the nest six out of nine days. Fortunately she came back on the 16th and has been present every day.

Since then Ecco has stepped up his courtship moves. He likes to touch beaks and Carla obliges.

Fingers crossed that everything has settled down.

Find out what happens next on the National Aviary Falconcam at the University of Pittsburgh.

14 February 2024

Last week when I wrote that Charles Bier had seen two peregrines at Pittsburgh’s East Liberty Presbyterian Church in January, Adam Knoerzer responded that he has too.

Last week, out of my office window (which looks at the church from Friendship), I could definitely see a raptor high up and stooping to dive bomb some small birds and wondered if it might be a peregrine. I’ll keep an eye out and see if anything else is brewing.

— message from Adam KnoerZER, 7 Feb 2024

Later that day Adam checked onsite and immediately found both peregrines.

Confirmed peregrines at the church just now walking past. One darted off the ledge and flew over me and rejoined the other that was presumably eating (small feathers started to fall down).

— message from Adam KnoerZER, 7 Feb 2024

He sent photos of the church steeple with circles indicating the peregrines’ locations. Their favorite spot is behind the “railing” on the west-northwest side, a likely choice for a nest location.

On Monday 12 February Adam saw peregrines circling the steeple and perching on nearby buildings.

Today I was able to spot what appeared to be the female (larger of the two, so…) perched atop the Walnut on Highland apartment across from the church. The bird has a very distinct and prominent peach-y color at the top of the breast, and the other bird (presumably the male) flew off the tower, circled around, and found another perch high atop the cross.

— Pittsburgh Falconuts Facebook post by Adam KnoerZER, 12 Feb 2024

Thanks to Adam’s efforts we know there’s a new peregrine pair in East Liberty.

In case you would like to check on them, take a look at the steeple on the west-northwest side that faces S. Whitfield Street.

And in case you’re wondering if the Pitt peregrines can see them, the answer is “Yes but not directly.”

The Cathedral of Learning nest faces south-southeast. The East Liberty peregrines face north-northwest. They are 1.82 miles apart but their view from nest to nest is oblique.

Thank you, Adam, for keeping us up to date!

Check out the latest news in the private Pittsburgh Falconuts Facebook group.

(photos by Adam Knoerzer; maps from Google Maps)

7 February 2024

Courtship season is underway at the Pitt peregrine nest where Ecco and his mate Carla are cementing their pair bond. Apparently they are not the only peregrines in the area.

On 26 January I received news from Charles Bier who was instrumental in establishing the peregrine nestboxes at Gulf Tower and Pitt. Charles saw a pair in East Liberty.

I happened to be in East Liberty on this past January 12^th, and I happened to notice 2 peregrines flying into the top of the East Liberty Presbyterian Church.  One of the birds landed high on the church tower and the other one did, or flew behind the tower at the same altitude.  I do not know that this was a “pair”, but they were behaving within that context, and at this time of the year they would be focusing on high ledges. 

So, I am wondering if a pair is known to be using this church, or if possibly it could have even been the Cathedral of Learning pair having a lunchtime outing to East Liberty.  I quickly measured out  the direct distance between the CoL and this church in East Liberty and it came out to about 1.9-miles.  Back in the day, this distance would have been regarded as too close for comfort; re: 2 pairs in close proximity (that was an initial concern for the Gulf Tower and CoL pairs, which were about 2.3-miles apart).  In any case, there are many factors involved and I doubt this distance would be a problem for them.

— email from Charles Bier, 26 January 2024

I replied that the Pitt peregrines generally stay close to home to defend their territory at this time of year, so maybe it’s a new pair.

Then, outside my window on Sunday 4 February, I saw a peregrine flying hard toward Shadyside from the direction of the Cathedral of Learning. This falcon was using territorial flappy flight to make itself obvious as it approached another peregrine of the same size — likely both females — circling up in the vicinity of Negley Avenue and Baum Boulevard. This intersection is about halfway between the Cathedral of Learning and East Liberty Presbyterian Church. It might be a boundary line.

The peregrines did not fight. Instead they both circled up apart from each other and went their separate ways.

This is the time of year when peregrines with a less than satisfactory nest site try to claim a better one. The Cathedral of Learning is the best site in town and Carla is new there(*) so of course the challengers are testing to see if she’s up to snuff.

Perhaps that explains why she was so distracted while Ecco was courting her on Saturday 3 February. Though the courtship session lasted 6 minutes, Carla spent 3 minutes looking at the sky. To save you time, I chopped out those (boring) three minutes with a fade.

Has the territorial boundary been settled? Are there challengers on the horizon?

Keep up with all the action on the National Aviary Falconcam at the University of Pittsburgh.

(*) Carla arrived at the Cathedral of Learning in late May last year. She was banded Black/Blue S/07 at her birthplace in Fort Wayne, Indiana in May 2020.

1 February 2024

Today the National Aviary’s new peregrine falconcam at the Cathedral of Learning has begun live streaming for the 2024 nesting season.  If you’ve followed the stream in prior years you’ll find that this new camera is great for watching Ecco and Carla as they court and raise a family. Click here and scroll down to watch.

Last September the 10 year old camera died after limping for years with a broken microphone and infrared light. It took us a while to notice (no one was watching) so the timing was fortunate. We had three months to get advice on cameras, choose a model, install it and learn how to use it before streaming began.

Long time peregrine fan Kim Getz coordinated the project for Pitt I.T. and it all came together on installation day. Lighthouse Electric removed the old equipment, ran wires, and installed the new microphone and camera. Kim volunteered to clean the nestbox and re-secure the green perches with zip ties. She gives a thumbs up to the snapshot camera when she’s done. Thankfully the peregrines did not harass the crew.

The new camera is quite an improvement over the old one with sharper focus, better reach, and of course audio and infrared night light. The nest view is narrower because it’s a tight space and this camera is about 2 inches closer due to the length of the wall mount arm. (All the new cameras have longer arms nowadays.)

Though we cannot change the camera view when the adult peregrines are present — it spooks them! — the presets in the slideshow below will come in handy when the young explore the gully, the nestrail, and the nestbox roof. The slides begin with Ecco preening on the green perch. Kim ran the camera through its paces when no peregrines were around.

What can we expect on camera this season? Last year was a disappointment with no peregrine eggs and chicks because the female, Morela, became egg bound and died in mid May. Two days after Morela disappeared a banded female peregrine, Carla (Black/Blue S/07, Fort Wayne, IN, 2020), arrived on site and has been there ever since. Late May was too late to nest in 2023 so this year will be Carla’s first nesting season.

Carla and Ecco have been courting and bowing since they met last year and are intensifying their attachment this winter. They bowed and touched beaks last month in these snapshots taken before streaming began. When you watch them in full screen you’ll see tiny bones on the gravel and be able to read Carla’s bands.

Thank You to everyone who helped make this project a success, especially …

• The National Aviary and their Ornithologist Bob Mulvihill, whose commitment to broadcasting the Pitt peregrines’ nest has provided us with a new camera.
• Pitt I.T. who assigned Kim Getz to manage the project and provided additional tech assistance. Kim’s knowledge, dedication, and connections within the University made everything flow smoothly.
• Pitt’s Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences and Rory Carroll, sponsors of the falconcam within the University.
• Charles Eldermire at Cornell Bird Cams for advice on camera models and Cornell’s experience with their features.

Click here and scroll down to watch the National Aviary Falconcam at the Cathedral of Learning.

It’s Peregrine Season!

p.s. For those of you following my southern Africa trip, today is the day I leave Africa on a 33.5 hour journey home (flights + layovers). I am spending most of my time in the upper troposphere.

14 January 2024

As we anticipate peregrine nesting season at University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning, let’s take a look back at last year’s highlights. Well actually “low lights.” The nest was not successful last year but the reason why gives us hope for great things for 2024.

Pitt Peregrine Highlights in 2023 (click the links for more detail)

The year began at the Cathedral of Learning with Ecco and Morela, the resident male and female. We hoped for a first egg around St. Patrick’s Day, 17 March.

In early February Morela seemed distracted, obviously checking the sky during a courtship session on the 6th. The distraction continued.

By 21 March Morela had not laid an egg, yet she disappeared for four days so I wondered if there was a female challenger for the nest. When Morela returned on 25 March the intruder did not stay away. For 4-5 weeks Morela tried without success to lay an egg.

By May Morela was egg bound and increasingly ill. She disappeared forever on 12 May.

On 14 May a banded female peregrine, new to the Cathedral of Learning, showed up on camera. Carla hatched at the Indiana Michigan Power Center (IMPC) Building in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 2020 and flew here on her own. Carla was named when she was banded (Black/Blue S/07).

Though it was too late to start a family in late May, Carla and Ecco have strengthened their pair bond ever since. This 4 minute video from 30 July, sped up to double-time, shows the pair bowing for an extended period. Notice that there was no sound on the video last year. I promise there will be sound this year!