Category Archives: Nesting & Courtship

The Intriguing Mystery of Downtown’s Dark Bird

Dark brown female at Third Avenue Downtown, perched on Lawrence Hall, 5 June 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)

11 June 2023

This spring Downtown Pittsburgh’s peregrines were so confusing that for two months we weren’t even sure of their age and sex. By now we know that the male at Third Avenue is Terzo and the dark brown bird is female. Why is this bird so dark? The mystery is intriguing.

Wrong ID for the dark bird:
In early April Jeff Cieslak and I were both convinced the dark brown bird was a one-year-old male because we saw it enter the Third Avenue nest carrying prey even though the eggs had not hatched yet. After all, male peregrines bring prey to incubating females and immature birds have brown plumage … don’t they?

Solve the easy ID first: Who is the banded white-chested bird?
Jeff Cieslak’s April and May photos show that the gray-and-white adult has black/red bands. Also, several viewers remarked that the bird’s face is like Terzo in other photos. This bird is the male, Terzo.

Terzo at Third Avenue Downtown perched on Lawrence Hall, 5 June 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)

Is the dark bird immature?
No. Adult plumage has horizontal stripes on the flanks and belly, immature plumage has vertical stripes. Compare these side-by-side adult and juvenile peregrines photographed at Third Avenue.

Comparing peregrine adult vs juvenile plumage: Adult plumage has horizontal stripes, juvie plumage has vertical stripes (photos digiscoped by Kate St. John)

Is the female completely dark brown? No. This photo of her back shows it is grayer in color than her belly.

Dark brown female is grayer on her back, 3 June 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Why is this bird so dark?
I sent photos to Art McMorris, retired PA Game Commission Peregrine Coordinator, and asked: “This adult at the Third Ave nest site Downtown is very brown and not banded as far as we can see. It doesn’t have juvenile vertical stripes on flanks and chest. I don’t know what to make of this coloration.”

Art’s reply includes a Peregrine Reintroduction discussion in the third paragraph:

This is indeed a very puzzling-looking bird. I’m looking at these 3 photos and the photo Jeff Cieslak took on 4/14. All show the horizontal banding typical of adult peregrines, not juveniles. But it is very brown, atypical of adults. It is much grayer in the third photo you sent; nowhere near as brown but still very dark.

Structurally, it looks like a typical peregrine to me.

Taking all of this together, I’d say it is reminiscent of pealei [Pacific Northwest subspecies]. Pealei is non-migratory, so I wouldn’t suggest that it might be a bird from the Pacific Northwest, but pealei is also one of the 7 subspecies used for captive breeding and release. And occasionally genetic recombination in the wild population results in birds with unusual coloration. I know of 2 cases of peregrines that looked exactly like pure tundrius, but their parents had the typical appearance of the re-introduced population, which strongly resembles eastern anatum (but is not anatum; it’s an intergrade of the 7 subspecies). One of those tundrius look-alikes was from the Gulf Tower, quite a few years ago when the population was still small.

So, my best guess is that this bird is an adult peregrine in which recombination has resulted in homozygosity of some alleles from its pealei ancestors. And the downtown bird is fertile, inconsistent with it being any kind of hybrid.

It will be interesting to see what this year’s young look like when they molt into adult plumage. But unfortunately, we’ll never know.

— Paraphrased email from Art McMorris, 4 June 2023

What other clues do we have about this bird?
Art has so much experience with peregrines that he also said: “Earlier the brown bird was called the male, but the feet look female to me.”

Yo! Big feet?!

Dark adult peregrine at Third Avenue, 28 May 2023 (photo digiscoped by Kate St. John)

Just when I think I’ve got it all figured out, peregrines surprise me again.

(photos by Jeff Cieslak and Kate St. John)

Take Me To The Rescue Porch

Fledgling peregrine on the dog park windowsill (only 2 feet up), 5 June 2023 (photo by Leslie Mcilroy via Mark Catalano)

7 June 2023

At 6:30pm on Monday 6 June, Mark Catalano of Wildlife In Need Emergency Response was working dispatch in Central PA, making phone calls and sending texts and emails on behalf of a juvenile peregrine in a tiny dog park in Downtown Pittsburgh. The juvie needed assistance to be placed up high to start over on his first flight. Meanwhile Leslie McIlroy was in the dog park, protecting the bird from the visiting dogs.

Fledgling peregrine at the dog park on Third Avenue, 5 June 2023 (photo by Leslie Mcilroy via Mark Catalano)

Mark called the PA Game Commission but he knew it would be a long wait for a Game Warden. Since Mark is from Northumberland, PA he didn’t know any local peregrine contacts so he asked his wife to search the Internet for “Pittsburgh peregrine.” She found me, Mark sent me photos, and I told him about the Rescue Porch.

The Rescue Porch is a high balcony across the street at Point Park University’s Lawrence Hall. Another juvie had already tried it out this week, as seen by Diane Walkowski and Lori Maggio at 1:30pm on Sunday 4 June. (White arrow points to the bird.)

Juvenile peregrine calls from the Rescue Porch at Third Avenue, 4 June 2023, 1:50pm (photo by Lori Maggio)

Every year one or more fledglings ends up on the Rescue Porch. The Third Avenue ledge is so low and tucked away that fledglings land on the ground on their first flight when they don’t yet have the upper body strength to fly up and away.

Monday’s bird was stuck in a place I’d never heard of. It turns out that this narrow space under construction in 2021 became a tiny dog park with a tiny patch of grass. The yellow arrow points to a 2021 juvie who eventually landed in here. This year’s juvie hopped up to the low windowsill on the righthand wall, only two feet off the ground (photo at top).

Future dog park under construction on Third Ave, June 2021 (photo by Kate St. John)

Many thanks to Mark Catalano for starting the rescue and to Leslie McIlroy for guarding the bird until the Game Warden arrived three hours later.

Meanwhile, no news is good news. Sunday’s bird is out and about. Monday’s bird probably flew on Tuesday. Will the third youngster need a rescue too? Time will tell.

Click here for photos of the nest site and all three youngsters about to fly on 3 June.

(photos by Leslie Mcilroy via Mark Catalano of Wildlife In Need Emergency Response, Lori Maggio and Kate St John)

About To Fly At Third Avenue

4 June 2023

Peregrine falcons have nested in Downtown Pittsburgh since 1991 and though the players have changed they are very loyal to the territory. From 1991-2011 they nested at the Gulf Tower but since 2012, with three exceptions, they have nested at the back of a building facing Third Avenue. 2023 is their ninth nesting season at this site.

Yesterday morning I stopped by Third Avenue to see if any peregrines were visible and was lucky to see the entire family. Three youngsters perched at the ledge opening (photos at top) while their parents watched from above on the crossbars. The brown youngsters are exercising their wings and will fledge this week.

Downtown peregrine nest area as seen from Third Ave. Locations of birds noted in white. 3 June 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

The adults have been a mystery. On 3 March Jeff Cieslak photographed an adult-plumaged pair: an unbanded female (not 16-year-old Dori who was banded) and a male who did not show his legs. When Jeff returned on 14 April he saw a nest exchange that appeared to be a male (unbanded in dark brown immature plumage) bringing prey to a female (banded & in adult plumage). The behavior told us who was who. Or did it?

Here are photos of the adults.

Adult-plumage bird on 18 May and 3 June 2023. Jeff re-checked his photos and saw that this bird has black/red bands and several viewers have remarked that the bird’s face is like Terzo’s. This is the male, Terzo.

Adult plumage peregrine at Third Avenue, 18 May 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)
Adult plumage peregrine at Third Ave, 3 June 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Photos of the dark brown bird on 28 May and 3 June 2023 are more of a mystery. The flank stripes are horizontal so this is adult plumage. This dark brown unbanded bird is the female. More on her color in a future article.

Dark plumaged peregrine at Third Avenue Downtown, 28 May 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
Dark plumaged peregrine at Third Avenue Downtown, 3 June 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)

Stop by Third Avenue in the next few days to see the youngsters fledge.

(photos by Kate St. John and Jeff Cieslak)

About To Fly

3 chicks in red-tailed hawks’ nest, Schenley Park, 28 May 2023 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

31 May 2023

Spring nesting season is continuing apace. The first batch of baby robins is learning to fly and some are old enough to forage on their own. Raptor fledglings are not far behind.

On Sunday 28 May we watched three red-tailed hawk chicks in a nest under the Panther Hollow Bridge in Schenley Park. This species hatches in the order the eggs are laid, each one two days younger than the last. The chicks clearly show their age difference in Charity Kheshgi’s video. One chick is getting ready to fly, one is still fluffy, and the middle one is halfway between.

Red-tailed hawks’ nest, Schenley Park, 28 May 2023 (video by Charity Kheshgi)

At the Tarentum Bridge on Sunday afternoon, John English and I watched three peregrine chicks lounging on top of the nestbox while an adult “babysat” nearby.

Adult female peregrine watches her ledge-walking chicks at the Tarentum Bridge, 28 May 2023 (photo by John English)

At first we saw only three chicks but after we moved to a better viewing location the fourth was on the top of the box as well, exercising his wings.

Four peregrine chicks at Tarentum Bridge, 28 May 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
Four peregrine chicks at Tarentum Bridge, 28 May 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
One chick concentrates on exercising his wings (photo by Kate St. John)

And suddenly I saw him fly the length of the pier to the other end and back again to the top of the box! I have no photos of this feat but you get the idea. By today he may have fledged from the bridge.

All these birds are about to fly.

(photos by Charity Kheshgi, John English and Kate St. John)

Newly Found Peregrines’ Nest Near Brownsville, PA

Female peregrine clutching prey and shouting, West Brownsville Lane Bane Bridge, 26 May 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)

30 May 2023

Last Wednesday, 24 May, Mark Vass drove down the Monongahela River valley looking for birds and checking bridges. In West Brownsville he found a peregrine perched under the US Route 40 Lane Bane Bridge. Mark’s checklist and photo set off a quest to find the nest (https://ebird.org/checklist/S139102470)

Jeff Cieslak made the trip on Friday 26 May and found the nest hole and a pair of peregrines carrying food to it. The female is peachy with heavy dots, the male is whiter. Neither bird is banded. (My male-female assessment is based on the tendency of mid-latitude males to be paler than females. Notice that both have the adult plumage trait of horizontal stripes on their flanks.)

Male peregrine, West Brownsville Lane Bane Bridge, 26 May 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)
Male peregrine, West Brownsville Lane Bane Bridge, 26 May 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)

Alyssa Nees and Fred Kachmarik visited on Memorial Day, 29 May, and counted a family of five — two adults, three chicks. Alyssa’s photos show an adult in the nest hole …

Peregrine inside the nest area on the Lane Bane Bridge, West Brownsville, PA, 29 May 2023 (photo by Alyssa Nees)

… and a chick clearly visible (red circle) with fluffy white top of head, feathered face and brown back. The arrow points to the tail of an adult watching from above.

Adult peregrine (arrow) and fluffy white head, face & brown back of nestling (circle) at Lane Bane Bridge, 29 May 2023 (photo by Alyssa Nees)

Fred’s photos of the chicks include an older chick and a fluffy young one:

Where are these peregrines located?

The Lane Bane Bridge, carries US Route 40 over the Monongahela River from West Brownsville, Washington County, to Brownsville, Fayette County PA. Its construction is very similar to the Graff Bridge at Kittanning, PA, which has its own nesting peregrines.

A truss structure spans the river and ends at a pillar on each side. As far as I can tell from the photos, the nest appears to be close to the pillar. So these birds are nesting in Washington County, PA.

Interestingly, when Google Street View cameras drove by on the West Brownsville side this month, the cameras “saw” a bird perched on the superstructure near the pillar. I’ll bet this dot is a peregrine.

Bird (probably peregrine) perched near on the Lane Bane Bridge over West Brownsville (screenshot from Google Street View)

Thanks and congratulations to Mark Vass, Jeff Cieslak, Alyssa Nees and Fred Kachmarik for finding and documenting this peregrine family.

If you’d like to see the birds yourself, Jeff provides a map.

Location of West Brownsville “scrape” at Lane Bane Bridge (screenshot from Google maps annotated by Jeff Cieslak)

p.s. Could there be another peregrine nest at the next bridge three miles away? Nope. The Mon-Fayette Expressway bridge is solid concrete. Click here to see a screenshot of the Mon-Fay bridge in Google Street View.

(photos by Jeff Cieslak, Mark Vass via eBird, Alyssa Nees, Fred Kachmarik via eBird, Wikimedia Commons and screenshots from Google Street View)

Watch Peregrines This Weekend

Female peregrine feeding 4 young at Tarentum Bridge, 21 May 2023 (photo by Lynn Mamros)

26 May 2023, Pittsburgh

Are you in town for the Memorial Day weekend and wondering how to spend the time? Visit these peregrine sites to watch young birds getting ready to fly.

The Best Views Ever are at the Tarentum Bridge right now (photo above). Click here for a Tarentum Bridge peregrine-watch map.


Other sites include …

Cathedral of Learning, Univ of Pittsburgh: This is the only site without eggs or young but there’s a new female, Carla, since 14 May. Carla and Ecco are courting intensively. Will this prompt her to lay eggs? Watch the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh to find out.

Ecco and Carla bow in courtship, 25 May 2023 (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

Downtown Pittsburgh: There are 2-4 young here, about 30 days old. Watch for them to appear on the ledge on 3rd Avenue between Wood and Smithfield in Downtown Pittsburgh (click for map).

Female peregrine at Third Ave nest area, 18 May 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)

Eckert Street near McKees Rocks Bridge, Ohio River: Watch for the chicks to appear where the parents are standing in this photo by Jeff Cieslak. Click here for the map.

Peregrine pair at the nest, Eckert Street, 24 May 2023 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)

Westinghouse Bridge, Turtle Creek: The parents are bringing food to the nest. Click here for a map of the easiest viewing location on Elder Street.

Female peregrine carrying food at Westinghouse Bridge, 13 May 2023 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

Are Beaver or Washington Counties more convenient to you? Check out the latest news at all the sites below.

(photos from Lynn Mamros, the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh, Jeff Cieslak, , Dana Nesiti)

Tarentum Peregrines Will Fly Soon

3 of the 4 young peregrines at Tarentum Bridge, 21 May 2023 (photo by Lynn Mamros)

24 May 2023

If you want to see young peregrine falcons just before they fly, now is the time to do it. Four youngsters at the Tarentum Bridge are ledge walking and will make their first flight soon.

Last Sunday, 21 May, Lynn Mamros photographed the family.

Peregrines at Tarentum Bridge, 21 May 2023 (photo by Lynn Mamros)

The father peregrine brought in food …

Parents bring food to Tarentum Bridge, 21 May 2023 (photo by Lynn Mamros)

… the mother peregrine plucked it …

Female peregrine preparing a meal for the chicks, 21 May 2023 (photo by Lynn Mamros)

… and then the feeding began. All four chicks are visible in most of these slides. Can you see them? (Hint: One’s on the perch.)

The youngsters are losing their fluff and will soon be completely brown.

Peregrines at Tarentum Bridge, 21 May 2023 (photo by Lynn Mamros)

And then they will fly. Don’t miss it! Visit the Tarentum Boat Ramp to see them. Click here for a map.

Learn more about the process of first flight at Peregrine Progress: First Flight.

(photos by Lynn Mamros)

Who is Who? Carla or Ecco?

Ecco and Carla at the Cathedral of Learning nest, 18 May 2023 (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

21 May 2023

Just one week ago the new female peregrine, Carla, appeared on camera at the Cathedral of Learning. Since then she and the resident male, Ecco, have been courting every day, sometimes as often as 10 times a day, and Carla has shown an interest in the scrape.

Carla digging the scrape, 19 May 2023 (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

Now that these two are a permanent couple how do we tell them apart? Here are some tips for comparing and identifying each bird.

Banded: The easiest clue is that Carla is banded (black/blue S/07) and Ecco is not.

Compare Carla and Ecco: bands and no bands (photos from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

Coloration: Carla’s chest has tiny dark flecks. Ecco’s chest is pure white.

Carla and Ecco: flecks on breast vs clear white breast (photos from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

Carla’s back is nearly uniform charcoal brown while Ecco’s back shows light-dark contrast between his paler gray back and black wingtips and tail.

Carla and Ecco: Carla’s back is uniform charcoal brown, Ecco’s shows contrast (photos from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

Size: Male peregrines are 1/3 smaller than females. Carla is always the bigger bird as shown in photo at top. Compared to Ecco, Carla’s body is longer and she is bulkier. If only one bird is on camera, compare it to the size of the nestbox or camera view.

And now we’re ready for a quiz. See if you can identify who is who.

The more we watch Carla and Ecco the better we’ll get at identifying them.

(photos from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

Courtship and Exploration

18 May 2023

The new female peregrine, Carla(*), has been at the Cathedral of Learning for only a few days but is quickly becoming acquainted with the territory and her new mate Ecco. Yesterday they made courtship flights around the building and bowed at the nest several times.

Though it seems late in the season to start nesting, the snapshot camera shows Carla exploring the nest and the pair’s interest in each other. (The slides repeat automatically.)

#1. Ecco calls to Carla, “Come down from the nestbox roof.” When she doesn’t, he leaves and she asks him to come bow.

Carla poses while sunbathing in front of the snapshot camera, 17 May at noon.

Ecco and Carla bow at the nest, 17 May at 5:10pm.

This morning the pair already visited the nest before dawn. Watch them on the live stream at the National Aviary Falconcam at the Cathedral of Learning.

(*) For more information on Carla’s arrival, see “Her Name is Carla.

(photos from the National Aviary snapshot camera at Univ of Pittsburgh)

New Female Peregrine at Cathedral of Learning!

New banded female peregrine at Cathedral of Learning, 14 May 2023, 14:04 (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

15 May 2023

In Sunday’s update I explained that Morela was very ill when she disappeared last Friday and said: “If Morela is gone a new female will come to the Cathedral of Learning to be Ecco’s mate.” Well, that didn’t take long! A new female peregrine showed up at 2:00pm and displayed her bands. I already know where she came from.

Yesterday was so warm and sunny that Ecco sunbathed for 90 minutes at midday. Then at 2:00pm a new female peregrine showed up and sunbathed for half an hour. (See slideshow at end.)

New banded female peregrine at Cathedral of Learning, 14 May 2023, 14:04 (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

She periodically looked at the sky as she stretched her legs and wings. Amazingly she aimed her color band at the camera!

Band on new female peregrine at Pitt = Black/Blue S/07

Female peregrine Black/Blue S/07 was banded on 5/18/2020 at nest on a building at One Summit Square, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

From her photos she looks paler than Morela to me and her face is different.

New banded female sunning at Pitt peregrine nest, 14 May 2023 (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)
New female at Pitt peregrine nest, 14 May 2023, 2:27pm (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

Will she stick around? We’ll have to wait and see. Meanwhile here’s a slideshow of her from a different angle.

(all photos from the National Aviary falconcam and snapshot camera at Univ of Pittsburgh)