21 May 2022

Of the eleven peregrine sites we’re monitoring in Southwestern PA, we know the adults are bringing food to four nests and we’ve already seen chicks at three of them.

Look for the chicks at all four nests to begin to fly in the next three weeks.

Cathedral of Learning, Univ of Pittsburgh:

As of today the chicks are 26 days old and very active. On Thursday they started to grab food from Morela and take it away to eat, so yesterday Ecco brought prey for them to prepare and eat on their own. They couldn’t figure out what to do with it.

In this Day-in-a-Minute video you can see the prey item in the middle of the nestbox for a while. It’s a yellow-billed cuckoo. Morela fed it to them eventually.

I expect the Pitt nestlings to be on camera through the end of May, then walk off the nest in early June (off camera) and make their first flight a few days later. Watch the Cathedral of Learning nest on the National Aviary falconcam to see if I’m right.

Stay tuned for Fledge Watch fun in early June. Schedule to follow soon.

Eckert Street / McKees Rocks Bridge area, Ohio River:

When Jeff Cieslak last checked on the Eckert Street peregrines on 10 May, the male was bringing food to nest. Jeff’s been out of town since then so … though we know there are chicks in the nest no one has seen them yet. Stop by Eckert Street and see what’s up.

Westinghouse Bridge, Turtle Creek:

On 20 May Dana Nesiti saw a chick at the edge of the nest ledge. This one may be the same age as the Pitt peregrine chicks. Watch for them to fly in early June.

Tarentum Bridge, Allegheny River:

The 3 young peregrines at the Tarentum Bridge are a week older than the Pitt nestlings and will fly before the end of May. Stop by soon if you want to see them! More information here.

(photos by National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh, Jeff Cieslak, Dana Nesiti)

20 May 2022

Thanks to Dave Brooke’s observations and photos we know there are three peregrine falcon chicks at the Tarentum Bridge nestbox and they probably hatched on 18 April 2022. Go see them soon! They will fly before the end of May.

In yesterday’s photo, above, they are 30 days old. In the 11 May photo below they are 23 days.

Based on their age, we expect them to walk out of the box onto the pier this weekend. If any are male they’ll make their first flight as early as a week from today, Friday 27 May. Females tend to fledge four days later, maybe as early as Tuesday 31 May.

If you’ve been putting off a visit don’t wait any longer. The next 10 days will be the best time to see the peregrines. Visit the Tarentum boat launch or the sidewalk on 1st Avenue for the best view. Click here for a map.

See into the nestbox, circled below, by standing on 1st Avenue.

See them on the pier from the Tarentum Boat Launch.

Don’t delay! Here’s the map.

(photos by Dave Brooke and John English)

15 May 2022

This year Dori, the resident female peregrine in Downtown Pittsburgh, is 16 years old — quite elderly for a wild peregrine falcon. Nonetheless, on 17 April I confirmed incubation at her nest when I spotted a peregrine inside the Third Avenue nest site.

A week later I confirmed that this bird is Dori when I found her perched on Third Avenue on 24 April and read her bands through my scope (Black/green M/93). Unfortunately she obscured half the numbers just before I snapped this photo.

Why was Dori off the nest? Was Terzo incubating while I was there (unseen in the nest)? Or was Terzo not helping at all, similar to his behavior with Morela in 2020?

I got a hint when Steve Mortimer emailed me on 26 April.

Yesterday [25 April 2022], at about noon, I had the windows open. I live in the former Alcoa building in the corner closest to the William Penn Hotel. I kept hearing a bird chirping. It seemed right outside my window. After scanning for a bit I noticed the peregrine on the box gutter of the William Penn Hotel. That wasn’t the caliber of bird I expected from that noise. … This happened over and over again until around 5:30 PM when I spotted a new falcon. Perched higher up on the building. Smaller, sleeker, much more elegant looking. … My noisy neighbor continued in her spot. … She was still there when it was very dark and there was just enough light to barely make her out. I could hear her in the morning through the windows … she took off around 9:30 AM. Moments later I noticed a bird soaring around in the distance. Then two. Then one again. Then none. She hasn’t returned since.

— email from Steve Mortimer, 26 April 2022

The unbanded female Steve photographed is bowing to another peregrine. Who?

Steve did not see a second peregrine (male) until much later and only from a distance, labeled “Newcomer” in his diagram.

Two weeks passed with no news.

Then on 11 May, Amanda Linn tweeted (@amandolin_) about two peregrines outside her window at BNY Mellon. An unbanded female …

… and a banded male. He’s Terzo, the resident male in Downtown Pittsburgh.

Here’s a closeup of his bands.

Just like humans, peregrines can see when another of their species is not in tiptop shape. Both Terzo and the unbanded female know that Dori is elderly and, as we know from Dorothy at Pitt in 2015, elderly female peregrines can lay eggs but few are viable and any chicks that hatch have disabilities.

Terzo seems to have changed loyalties. The new female is waiting in the wings. The Downtown peregrines are embroiled in Peyton Place.

(photos by Kate St. John, Steve Mortimer and Amanda Linn @amandolin_)