11 May 2016
Congratulations to Lori Maggio whose search for perching peregrines has paid off. She found the nest site of the Downtown peregrines!
Lori walks to and from her workplace at the USX Tower and often walks at lunchtime so when I asked folks to look for peregrines Downtown, she decided to help.
It was a fruitless effort until Monday May 9 when she found a peregrine perched on a high railing at Point Park’s Lawrence Hall. Later that day she stopped by and a peregrine was perched there again.
Then yesterday, May 10, she saw a peregrine take food to the nest! Both adults went into the nest and came out after about 30 seconds. Are the young old enough to feed themselves? If so we should be seeing them at the nest opening soon.
If you’d like to help watch for activity, visit Third Avenue between Smithfield and Wood Streets. Heading down Third Avenue (it’s one way), pause at the parking lot that runs between Third and Fourth Avenues. Facing Wood Street, look up to the right and you’ll see a building that looks like this.
Look for activity at the opening, as shown in the top photo, and let me know if you see a chick. We won’t know when to have Fledge Watch until we know how old the chicks are.
Thank you, Lori! So glad you found the nest!
(photos by Kate St. John)
Wonderful news! Kudos to Lori and thanks again to you, Kate, for your dedication and patience.
Kate I pass by here every day on my way to the bus stop. I had not looked here previously but I will keep an eye out for any activity. Thank you Lori for your keen eye and willingness to help out.
Yay!
Of course that’s where they went! When last year’s site was not available, just scroll further back in the Peregrine brain. I wonder if this became unusable if she’d finally go back to Gulf. We’ll never know. Silly bird.
WTG, Lori! Now we can keep track of those Crazy Kids! Ü
I’m not surprised that they didn’t return to their nest in Allegheny Building. All the jackhammering and construction noise from the Union Trust Building must have put them off from last year’s nest site. It was loud and distracting from inside my office (next door in the Frick Building.) I can’t imagine how loud it was for them!
What a relief to learn that Dori and Louie are safe. Thank you, Lori for finding them and Kate, for keeping us informed.
Thank you, thank you, Lori!!
Neat! I visited them when they were at this site the other year, and it’s relatively close to my workplace, so I can visit them on lunchbreaks. Looking forward to it. Thanks to Lori for finding them and Kate for posting about the search!
I wonder if they made those nest scrapes in the Gulf nest box and stuck around there for a while just to let other peregrines know to stay away! Will the eyases be able to be banded or have Louie and Dori “won” again!
Robin, the site is inaccessible for banding
Seeing Terzo had a few female’s come and visit his nest, why would the Gulf tower go empty?
Did those female’s already have a nesting site and they just wanted to be nosey?
Karen Harrass, the females who visited the Cathedral of Learning did not have a nest site of their own. The Downtown Pittsburgh territory is only big enough for one peregrine pair. That pair owns the Gulf Tower as well as all the other nest sites. If/when another peregrine shows up anywhere Downtown she/he is chased away from it.
Stopped by this afternoon; more feeding going on. They are pretty active. It’s exciting to watch it all as it’s happening since they are so close. Kate, you are right…so much more happens off camera!
So glad they have been found. They sure have kept themselves hidden. Watchful eyes finally saw them so we can be relieved that they are ok. Hopefully they have a strong healthy batch of babies we can enjoy fledging later.
If this spot is visible from high windows of nearby buildings, is there any value to setting up a camera with a long lens? Or would just an occasional look with binoculars be helpful enough?
Stu, maybe a camera some day but not right now. From past experience at this site, there are many issues in placing a camera on the nearest (and only) high building. In 2013 we placed a temporary cam at the exact sweet spot for viewing … and it was incredibly terrible video quality because of wind and we could not see into the nest at all. It’s much easier to see the peregrines from the ground. Sorry. No webcam.
I can see why this site is attractive to them. If you’ve ever been in this area of town you will see an abundance of pigeons perched on buildings and flying around so food would be plentiful for them. I stopped by around 2:00 yesterday but did not see any adults perching or flying around the vicinity. So glad all is well with Louie and Dori.
woohoo! Thanks Lori for your efforts in locating them and Kate for keeping us all informed. This is wonderful news. This pair is special to all of us.
There’s not enough pigeons for 2 downtown sites? What are the distance ranges for peregrines in the wild?
I was fortunate enough 2 days ago to see a peregrine flyover Fourth Ave, but have not spotted the peregrines at the ledge opening, yet. Time to get the binoculars in the backpack, again!
Robin, peregrines are highly territorial and do not allow others to nest near them. The typical radius of the territories here in Pittsburgh is 3 miles.