Monthly Archives: December 2011

Outside Her Window

Peregrines


In late fall our resident peregrines are in the area but not necessarily “at home.”  At Pitt we don’t see them every day so I was glad to receive this photo from Amy Lewis, taken on November 22.

Amy was in class on the 23rd floor of the Cathedral of Learning when she was distracted by a peregrine outside the classroom window.  She wrote, “I actually cried out in class, but most of the rest of the class seemed completely unmoved – their loss.  It was kind of torture to try to participate when I wanted to absorb every second of what the peregrine was doing.  …   It was there for half an hour, flew away, and returned for another 45 minutes or so. What a treat!”

A treat indeed!  It looks like Dorothy.  I wish I’d been there.

(photo by Amy Lewis)

Why Did The Turkeys Cross the Road?

Doves & Chickens
Wild turkeys visit the garden outside WQED’s lunchroom, 30 Nov 2011 (photo by Stephen Baum)

Ted Sohier called my office yesterday, “There’s a flock of wild turkeys outside the lunchroom window.”   Alas, I missed the call and an “Outside My Window” moment with wild turkeys, but I heard all about it.

The excitement began around 12:15pm when a flock of six wild turkeys stopped traffic on Fifth Avenue as they crossed at Neville, heading south.  Unafraid of cars and people they disappeared into the wooded area between the CMU Residence and Central Catholic.

Fortunately it was lunchtime.  A paving crew had been tearing up WQED’s parking lot all morning but they’d left for lunch and the coast was clear.  From Central Catholic the turkeys spied our small garden and pond and headed straight for it across the parking lot.  Water and food!

The garden is barely large enough to contain six turkeys but they browsed for insects and drank from the pond while several staff members lined up inside the lunchroom to watch them at very close range.  Stephen Baum photographed them from two angles.

Here’s a slideshow of their activities.

Eventually the turkeys tired of the garden and headed back to Fifth Avenue where they paused at WQED’s front door near the Mister Rogers dinosaur (an ancient relative) before continuing east.

Where did they come from?  Where did they go?  Why did the turkeys cross the road?

I don’t know but I’d sure like to find out.

(photos by Stephen Baum)