This afternoon I found this photo in the webcam archives from the University of Pittsburgh peregrine nest. I love the action in this shot!
Though I know E2 (the adult male peregrine) is the first to leave the nest after he and his mate Dorothy bow together, I never see him actually doing it. Finally a webcam shot captured the action.
Here you see Dorothy still bowing in the back and E2 just leaving. He’s so fast he’s a blur. Immediately airborne!
.
(photo from the National Aviary webcam)
p.s. Sorry the Aviary falconcam website isn’t up yet. I’ll let you know when they’re live.
Kate–This probably doesn’t belong as a response here but I was torn between this and Birds of Prey or Migration!. There was a lovely story on Page A2 of the PG from 3-10-09 (Local Dispatches) about the writer’s trek to Cambria County in search of a snowy owl. It was successful on all counts–they saw the owl, had great experiences with the “locals”, and it was darn good writing!
Anne, I’m glad you pointed out the article. Patrick McShea is the author and he describes his visit to Cambria County see the snowy owl with his wife Amy Henrici.
It’s a great account and has a beautiful picture of the bird (photo by Amy). The article can be found here:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09069/954421-294.stm