What a good dad!

Dorothy touches E2's beak as she arrives to take over incubation.

E2, the new male peregrine at University of Pittsburgh, is a very attentive father. He’s participating a lot in the boring but vital job of incubation, and he proves again and again that he’s a good provider by bringing Dorothy food.

Last week I saw him do both on the National Aviary’s webcam.

In this snapshot, E2 is sitting on the eggs when Dorothy arrives. She bows and touches his beak to let him know she’s ready to resume incubation.

Here’s a slideshow of this activity.

3 thoughts on “What a good dad!

  1. Kate — thank you so much for this blog. I grew up in Ohio and visited Pittsburgh for a wedding a few years ago. A visit to Fallingwater (and the beautiful flowers around town) got me interested in WPC and I discovered the peregrine falcon program on their website. I’ve watched the webcams during nesting seasons ever since but your postings have made watching so much more interesting and informative. I’ll be checking back often…Kathy McCharen

    P.S. I graduated from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Their mascot is “Freddie Falcon” but they also have (or had back in the early 70s) live peregrine falcons…

  2. I got to see E2 being a “good dad” at lunchtime today! A friend and I were walking up Bellefield Avenue at about 12:20 pm, and saw a buzzard of some kind riding thermals over Forbes and the park beside the Cathedral.

    Then we got a glimpse of the raptor getting buzzed by something about half its size and moving very fast: E2 gave that buzzard a good warn-off, and it headed off across Fifth. (Maybe it decided the Central Catholic redtails were better company?)

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