Here’s a quiz. And a plea for help.
There’s a peregrine falcon in the picture above. Can you see him?
When I took this photo from an office window last spring I already knew the nest was nearby.
This spring the Downtown Pittsburgh peregrines have moved again. We don’t know where, but we can find the nest if we find a perching peregrine. That’s because the male perches within sight or sound of the nest while the female is incubating.
Within sight(?): On April 6, Trinidad Regaspi saw a peregrine perched on the SPACE Gallery building at 812 Liberty Avenue.
Within sound(?): Yesterday morning at 7:45am, Matt Webb was on his BirdSafe route when he heard a peregrine calling from the direction of the old Horne’s Building at Penn and Stanwix. Doug Cunzolo checked it out an hour later but couldn’t find anything except lots of workmen erecting scaffolding on the building. The workmen were still there when I came by at 5:00pm.
I didn’t find a peregrine yesterday but there are plenty of places to look. That’s why I need your help.
Here’s what to do (as posted last week):
Look up! Or look out of your office window. Look for a perching peregrine. One of the pair will perch in the vicinity of the nest while the other one incubates.
Tips on where to look:
Look at old buildings, probably less than 20 stories. Look at ornate parts of the architecture, window ledges, etc. The peregrines are often camouflaged on ornate buildings.
I do not need to know if you see peregrines flying. (They fly everywhere.) I do need to know where they perch.
Mission impossible? Not if you help.
If you see a perching peregrine, leave a comment telling me where it is and I’ll come Downtown to check.
Keep looking up!
p.s. Even if you don’t live in Pittsburgh, these instructions are good for finding nesting peregrines in cities.
(photo by Kate St. John)
Hidden in plain sight. The peregrine is located smack- dab in the center of the photo,
just underneath the bottom left corner of the window.
Great eye, George!
I work downtown and come in off the Grant Street exit. I scan the sky and tops of buildings every morning searching for them. I never think to look at the actual buildings for perching but it makes sense that they would stay near by. Now I know what types of areas they might visit I will keep a closer eye out.
Thanks, Sheryl
It looks like a Gargoyle!
Since the local news seems to delight in all things peregrine, would it be useful to get them to ask the public for help, or would that be a hindrance (since they might report flying…). Perhaps some business has a bird’s eye view of the nest as in last year…
Claire, local news is an angle I will pursue later if need be. Right now while the peregrines are incubating they’re very sneaky so I’m looking for knowledgeable people(*) to keep an eye out.
(*Those who know the difference between a peregrine and a red-tailed hawk. Red-tailed hawks are also downtown and are easy to find perching.)
Mid to late March “one” peregrine sat from late afternoon until around 9 PM on the tall sructure to the left of the nest box. I found that rather odd. I have seen nothing since.
Finally saw him just below left edge of window trim.
I walk to and from town for work at the USX. On those walks and my lunch break I’ll try to walk where the others have seen and heard a peregrine. Maybe I’ll luck out and see one perching!!
Thanks, Lori
In my earlier comment I forgot to point out it was the “Gulf Tower” nest box.
I was just wondering if there have been any additional sightings to narrow the search area a bit. I’ve been looking all over town but no luck so far.
Lori, there have been no additional sightings yet … but I think the Penn/Liberty area is a good bet.
Thanks Kate. I’ll keep searching around that area. I’m getting to know Penn and Liberty well!!
Not in downtown and am far enough away I can’t make out any detail, but there is what I’m pretty sure is a falcon perching on the southwest corner of the roof of the Gates-Hillman Center on CMU campus. Is that close enough to the Cathedral that it’s likely one of those two?
Barbara, it’s close enough but it’s not a guarantee that it’s one of the two from Pitt … Might not be a peregrine … Might be a red-tailed hawk.
There are a pair of falcons that appear to be nesting in the façade of a building on 5th avenue across from Chatham Center. They’ve been around for a few weeks, but I saw one going into the decoration near the top of the building, and a second one flying near by and calling. Now that I’m trying to watch, they’ve been going in and out of this building.
Diane P, thanks! Please post the approx street address of the building & I’ll come down & check it out.
Diane, thanks for the instructions. I’ll check it out
There’s not a street address on the building. It’s next to 600 Fifth Ave. It’s an old building with 1904 near the top. There are concrete shapes that stick out from the top front of the building, the nest appears to be in the bottom part of the concrete shape. There’s often one sitting on top of the Chatham Towers condo building. You can get a good vantage point from Chatham’s courtyard.
When I left work at 4:00, there was a falcon on top of the Chatham Towers. I borrowed binoculars to make sure it was a falcon. It hangs out on the corner of the building (the corner facing Fifth Ave toward uptown. It’s up there most of the time in the later part of the day. In the mornings, I’ve seen them both out flying. Or at least heard them. It wasn’t until I saw one of them going into the façade on this building that I thought to look at how many pairs are in Pittsburgh. That’s when I came across your website. I work at Chatham II and I’m going to enjoy watching their antics. I hope these are the birds you’re looking for. I’ve been watching them for maybe 3 weeks. I just didn’t know that they were runways.
Dianne P,
I’ll be down tomorrow morning, maybe sooner!
UPDATE at 6:00pm, Wed 4/20/16: I went downtown at 5:15pm and looked at the nest site. I also saw a small bird of prey perched across the street on the building next to Chatham Center. The sunlight made it difficult to see that bird so I will check again tomorrow morning.
So far, my assessment is this: Yes, you found a falcon though not a peregrine falcon. Yours is the smallest falcon in North America — the American Kestrel — a really good find and a very pretty & colorful bird. Congratulations!
Kestrels nest in cavities/holes (instead of on gravel ledges the way peregrines do). The hole in the 1904 building looks just alike a kestrel’s favorite place. Read more about kestrels here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel/id
It was great to meet you, Diane, and to see the kestrels at Fifth Ave. Thanks for contacting me about them. I hope you find the peregrines too!
Saw one perching on the Fort Pitt bridge this morning!
Not sure if this will be helpful, but I found 2 detached pigeon wings in front of Macy’s on Smithfield this morning at 7am (April 26). They weren’t matted down by the earlier rain and one of the wings had dried blood on the joint.
Kate, I know you said that you didn’t need reports of peregrines flying but maybe this will help. About 30 minutes ago I saw a peregrine just take off from a building somewhere near Market Sq/4th ave/3rd ave area. I believe it just took off because it was low when I spotted it (~15 – 20 stories high) and it was flying to get in the air in a thermal. It finally got up in the air above the new PNC building then drifted out of sight. Also yesterday in town I saw a headless, bluejay on 4th ave between the PPG crosswalk and Stanwix.
Kate, I have found a perching Peregrine in town. I’m looking at him now. It may be very near the nest. LMK how to get you the specifics.
Lori M, send me the street number & building name. If you want, put your phone# in message & I will get the number but not publish the comment
It is a Point Park building on the corner of Wood St and 3rd Ave; I believe it is called Lawrence Hall. He was perched on the side of the building facing Smithfield. There is a high point which is where he was when I first saw him. There is also a level below the high column. He flew from the high point down to the level below (the one on the right side on 3rd; there are 2 on either side of the column). He landed on the railing, faced into the landing and looked down into what is behind the railing. I watched him for about 25 minutes on this railing. Unfortunately I had to get going. By some chance of luck I had my camera and have pictures. I’d be glad to meet you there.
Stopped at the building on my way home from work (3:30) and a peregrine is perched on the same side as I described in my other entry but is on the top left window ledge.