Another installment in “All Peregrines All The Time”    

Early this month we had high hopes that Pittsburgh’s Downtown peregrines would nest at the Gulf Tower this spring because they were seen on camera so frequently.

Dori and Louie visited the nest every day and dug two deep scrapes at the back of the box.  We thought this showed their commitment to the site.

Alas, it did not.  No peregrines have been seen at the nest since Dori left on Friday morning March 11.

Dori will have to lay eggs soon, but where will that be?  She hasn’t been seen at the other nest sites she chose in the past. (Nope, she’s not at last year’s nest.)

Where did the Downtown peregrines go?

Have you seen them?  Please leave a comment if you have!

(photo of the Gulf Tower peregrine nest from the National Aviary falconcam at Gulf Tower)

p.s. For those of you unfamiliar with the Downtown peregrines’ fickle nest selections, click here to read their history.

Since learning the tragic news of E2’s death while his mate Hope is laying eggs, we have all wondered what will happen at the Cathedral of Learning nest.  The situation is more poignant this morning; Hope laid a third egg last night.

Many of you have asked questions about E2’s death, Hope’s present circumstances, and Hope’s future.  Here are your questions and a few answers.  As you will see sometimes the answer is, “We don’t know.”

• What happened to E2?
  • First, if you missed the news of E2’s death, click here.  As I mentioned yesterday, his injuries indicate he was hit broadside on his right.  No one witnessed the accident, but based on his injuries and other clues my guess is that he swooped low over the street and was hit by a car.
• I know death is a fact of life, but is it a norm that an entire peregrine family is wiped out in 8 months?
  • The death of Dorothy, E2 and last year’s chick is an unusual combination of age and accident.  Dorothy was elderly and likely to die within the year. Peregrine fledgling mortality is 60% (that is normal).  The last nestling died because he was handicapped at birth due to Dorothy’s advanced age at conception. E2’s death is a surprise at this moment but at age 11 he was heading for late middle age.  The family is bigger than those three birds.  Dorothy fledged 43 young, 21 of them were E2’s.  The family lives on in their many descendants.
• Will Hope lay more eggs?
  • She will until her system is clear of them.  Egg laying is stimulated by courtship and the presence of her mate.  We do not know how many eggs she had in the pipeline up until E2’s disappearance.
• When will Hope begin to hunt on her own?
  • E2 cached food on the “cliff” for the two of them to eat when hunting was precluded by bad weather. Hope will first eat the cached food. Then she will hunt.
• Does this mean these eggs won’t be incubated?
  • They probably won’t but it depends on what happens next.  The answer is yes if Hope finds a mate very soon, re-clutches, and incubates all of the eggs.  Otherwise, the answer is likely to be No.  Peregrines “know” (ingrained species knowledge) that their young cannot be incubated and brooded successfully by a single parent.
• Is it really possible for a ‘single mom’ falcon to raise her chicks alone?
  • Not at this stage in the nesting cycle.  During incubation, one of the adults must always keep the eggs warm.  Because a single parent must hunt for her own food and hunting takes a long time, the eggs will get cold.  If the eggs are not incubated but merely kept from freezing and overheating, incubation can start weeks later and the eggs will hatch.
• Is/was there an intruder?
  • When a rival for a nest wins the site, the winner and the remaining adult begin courting immediately. No one has reported a second peregrine at the Cathedral of Learning and no one has seen two peregrines courting at the nest. Now that I am back in Pittsburgh (I was traveling this week), I plan to spend time watching the Cathedral of Learning for a second peregrine. I will let you know what I find out.
• When Hope advertises for a mate, how does that action differ from other peregrine activities?
  • Advertising for a mate includes prominent perching and aerial displays described in the Courtship list at Peregrine FAQs.  Making the moves alone means “I’m available.” However, I’m sure there are additional actions and subtle nuances I don’t know about.
• What are the odds of an unattached male peregrine being in the vicinity of the Cathedral of Learning in the near future?
  • The odds are good.  There are many males who want a territory and few territories available.

(Hope at the Cathedral of Learning nest with 3 eggs, pre-dawn March 18,2016.  The image is black-and-white and the eggs are white because of infrared night light. photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera at Univ. of Pittsburgh)

Sad news of the Cathedral of Learning peregrines at the University of Pittsburgh:

Yesterday afternoon, March 16, a woman in the Friendship neighborhood of Pittsburgh found a dead peregrine falcon face down in her backyard.  Because he was banded we learned he was E2.

E2 hatched at the Gulf Tower in 2005, the son of Louie and Tasha. He arrived at Pitt in November 2007 after his predecessor Erie had disappeared.  He was 11 years old.

Last seen on the Cathedral of Learning falconcam at 12:37pm on Tuesday, March 15, E2 died less than a mile and a half from home.  He had a broken right wing and leg and blood in his mouth.  We don’t know what happened but it appears he was hit broadside. (*)

When E2 last visited the nest there was only one egg (photo below shows his bands).  Hope laid her second egg 4.5 hours later.  Though she sometimes sits on the eggs, she may have not begun true incubation.

At this point in the nesting cycle — egg laying — E2 brought food to her every day, mated with her, and cached food on the cliff.  His custom was to visit each egg after it was laid.  He did not visit the second egg.

By now Hope has figured out that he won’t be coming home.

Hope will begin to hunt for herself again.  For a while, she’ll protect the eggs but not incubate them.  Eventually she’ll advertise for a mate by circling above the Cathedral of Learning.  If a new mate arrives in the next few weeks, the pair will bond and she will lay a new clutch two weeks later.(**)

There is no time to be sad. Peregrines don’t grieve, especially in March when their hormones are driving them to reproduce.  Between now and September they must defend a territory, mate, lay eggs, and raise young to self sufficiency. There is still time for Hope to raise a family if she finds a mate soon.

Goodbye, E2. I’m sad and unhappy about your untimely death but I know there’s no time to grieve.

My greatest wish right now is that Hope will find a new mate really soon.

We will watch and wait.

(photo of E2 at top by Peter Bell. Last photo of E2 from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ. of Pittsburgh)

(*) When a peregrine swoops low over the street he can be hit by a vehicle.  There are many reasons for swooping low including pursuit of prey and chasing an intruder.

(**) There is precedent in Pittsburgh for re-clutching with a new mate. Read about the Gulf Tower in 2010.

Many thanks to Art McMorris and Bob Mulvihill for keeping me informed while I’m traveling. And special thanks to Caitlin for reporting E2’s bands.