Peregrine on Wood Street or 4th Ave (photo by Amanda McGuire)
Peregrine Fledge Watch was exciting this morning in Downtown Pittsburgh. This bird was rescued after walking down Wood Street and turning the corner to 4th Avenue.
Right now he’s in custody at Animal Control. PGC’s Officer Bergman is on his way. If this peregrine is in good condition he’ll be up on the rescue porch soon.
Reminder: Schenley Plaza Fledge Watch is cancelled today. I will be Downtown noon to 1:00pm
(photo by Amanda McGuire)
p.s. At first I misheard Officer Bergman’s name & thought it was “Byrd.” Oops! Typo corrected.
News of Downtown’s peregrines, June 6:
Two of the four nestlings fledged yesterday. We found them at noon perched like bookends on the Boulevard of the Allies, 8-stories high on the corners of Lawrence Hall and Point Park Student Center.
In the evening Lori Maggio found both on Lawrence Hall and one of them was only 2.5 stories up on the Boulevard side. I hope he flies high today.
The remaining two nestlings are still at the nest. My guess is they’re both female.
Remaining two peregrine nestlings at the Third Ave nest, 6 June 2016 (photo by Lori Maggio)
News from the Cathedral of Learning, June 6:
C1 is browner and has lost more down but she’s still days behind the Downtown nestlings. Yesterday she graduated to the perching phase. There’s not much to see from Schenley Plaza. All the action is still on camera.
C1 exercises her wings at the front perch, 6 June 2016 (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)
Status of Fledge Watch, Tuesday June 7 & 8:
I can’t be in two places at once and the Downtown peregrines are in need of watchers so I won’t be at Schenley.
Schenley Plaza Fledge Watch is cancelled today, June 7 (and probably tomorrow June 8, too).
View of Downtown Pittsburgh from Mt.Washington, June 2016 (photo by Kate St.John)
UPDATED ON 5 MARCH 2018:
Did you know there are 10 places to watch peregrine falcons in western Pennsylvania? Here’s where to find them from March to early June.
1. Downtown Pittsburgh (map of viewing location): Only one pair of peregrines owns all of downtown Pittsburgh where they’ve nested since 1991, originally at the Gulf Tower, sometimes on Third Avenue. As of February 2018 we’ve confirmed that the Downtown parents are still Dori (Akron, OH, 2007) and Louie (Pitt, 2002). When they nest at the Gulf Tower we can watch them on the National Aviary’s falconcam. Click here for Third Avenue site information.
The Cathedral of Learning has been home to a pair of peregrines since their first nesting attempt in 2001. This year the continuing adults are Hope (Hopewell, VA, 2008) and Terzo (Cincinnati, OH, 2013). Visit the National Aviary Cathedral of Learning falconcam or Schenley Plaza to watch.
The Westinghouse Bridge carries Route 30 over Turtle Creek and has been home to peregrine falcons since at least 2010. In 2016 the male was confirmed as George (Cobb Island, VA, 2006), paired with an unbanded female. In 2017 the couple was so secretive that we didn’t know they’d nested until a begging juvenile was seen in July. The best place to watch is on Elder Street underneath the E.Pittsburgh-McKeesport Bridge.
McKees Rocks Bridge (photo by Robert Strovers on Wikimedia Commons)
Peregrine falcons have nested at the McKees Rocks Bridge since at least 2008 but their nest is hard to find because the bridge is so big. During the nesting season watch for peregrines perched on the bridge or on power towers on either side of the river. Viewing locations are a challenge. Let us know if you find a good one.
Neville Island I-79 Bridge (photo by Robert Stovers on Wikimedia Commons)
This bridge has been home to peregrines since at least 2012 when a fledgling was found swimming in the Ohio River below. In 2015 the pair was confirmed to be Beau (Pitt, 2010) and Magnum (Canton, OH, 2010). Their nest is always over the center of the river. Watch from these viewing locations.
6. Monaca-E.Rochester -or- Monaca-to-Beaver RR Bridge (map of viewing area):
Monaca East Rochester Bridge, 2012(photo by PGC WCO Steve Leiendecker)
Tarentum Bridge, Allegheny River, 2 June 2012 (photo by Kate St. John)
Peregrine falcons have nested at the Tarentum Bridge over the Allegheny River since at least 2010. Because the nests were in cubbyholes over open water a nest box was provided in early 2015. In 2018 the male was confirmed as 48/BR (Westinghouse Bridge, 2014). His unbanded mate is distinctive because of the many dots on her chest. Watch them from the Tarentum public boat launch.
8. The Graff Bridge, Kittanning Route 422 (map of bridge):
Western approach to Route 422 at Kittanning, PA (photo by S.Lukens via Wikimedia Commons)
In Armstrong County a pair of peregrines nests on the Judge Graff Bridge that carries Route 422 over the Allegheny River near Kittanning. If you know of a good viewing location, please leave a comment with the answer.
Elizabeth Bridge, Route 51, Allegheny County, PA, over the Monongahela River (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Peregrines have been seen off and on at this bridge that spans the Monongahela River since 2015, most recently on 4 March 2018. The photo above shows the best viewing location at Elizabeth Riverfront Park in Elizabeth, PA.
DonJon Shipbuilding, Erie, PA (photo linked from donjonshipbuilding.com)
Peregrines have been in Erie, PA for at least five years but no one knew where they nested until a fledgling was found inside the Donjon Shipyard building in 2014. Nomad (Cleveland, 2008) and an unbanded female are nesting inside the big white building pictured above. You can see them perched nearby or flying in the vicinity from this viewing location.
Early June is a great time to watch peregrine falcons in western Pennsylvania. It’s time to get outdoors.
(photo credits:
Downtown Pittsburgh, Cathedral of Learning, Westinghouse Bridge, Tarentum Bridge by Kate St. John
McKees Rocks Bridge, Neville Island I-79 Bridge by Robert Stovers via Wikimedia Commons
Monaca-E.Rochester Bridge by PGC WCO Steve Leiendecker
Judge Graff Bridge by S.Lukens via Wikimedia Commons
Donjon Shipbuilding linked from donjonshipbuilding.com)
Downtown fledgling, 6 June 2016, 7am (screen capture by Lori Maggio)
Lori Maggio reports that this morning (June 6, 2016) one of the Downtown peregrine nestlings has fledged. At 7:00am he was perched seven stories up on Lawrence Hall, across the street from the nest.
Three peregrine youngsters at the Third Ave nest opening, 4 June 2016 (photo by Lori Maggio)
If you’re in the area, stop by and check for peregrines. The clue to finding one is this: Watch their parents. The parents look at the fledgling a lot!
If you see a young peregrine standing on the ground he’ll have to be rescued by the PA Game Commission (PGC) and placed up high to start again. Keep this PGC “rescue” number handy: 724-238-9523
I’m not sure I can make it but … I’ll try to be at Third Avenue at lunchtime today, noon to 1:00pm. (Here’s the map.)
(photo by Lori Maggio)
UPDATE AT 11:18am: Second peregrine fledged, landed on building on Blvd of Allies directly across the street from the first fledgling. They are both about 8 stories up, perched on the corner of flat-topped roofs.
UPDATE AT 2:20pm: No change. 2 fledglings perched high on buildings on the Blvd of the Allies between Smithfield and Wood St. 2 nestlings remain at the nest. Adults perched or flying nearby.
Prothonotary warbler “stuck in a mirror” (screenshot from video by waterwarbler on Flickr)
I’ve seen robins, cardinals and mockingbirds attack car mirrors but never this!
Last Thursday waterwarbler captured video and photos of a prothonotary warbler fighting with his own reflection in DuPage County, Illinois. Click on the screenshot above to see the video. (Note: When another vehicle drives by the warbler is fine. He moves to the hood of the car.)
Bear scat, Sugar Run Trail, Ohiopyle State Park, 19 May 2016 (photo by Kate St. John)
4 June 2016
Last month I hiked the well traveled Sugar Run Trail at Ohiopyle State Park. At the top of the trail I saw footprints of people and dogs … and I encountered this. I put my boot next to it for scale.
I didn’t see paw prints near it but the size of this scat pile indicates it was deposited by a large mammal. There’s not a lot of fur in it and it’s blue (fruit!) so this animal eats more than just meat.
The scat had been deposited so recently that I could smell it as I took the photograph. I found another, older pile further down the trail. This large omnivorous mammal left his mark over and over again. A black bear.
The bear lives here. I was just visiting. Though he wasn’t in sight he was probably in earshot so I made human noise (speaking, whistling) so he’d know I was traveling through.
I’m sure he didn’t want to be surprised any more than I did!
Periodical 17-year cicada, Washington Cemetery, Washington, PA, 30 May 2016 (photo by Kate St. John)
3 June 2016
I had to see them for myself.
Thousands and thousands of very loud bugs the size of my thumb with bright red eyes. They’ve spent 17 years of their youth underground to emerge as adults, en masse, for only 4-8 weeks. I didn’t want to miss the spectacle so I drove down to Washington, PA last Monday to see …
17-year cicadas (Magicicada sp.), unique to eastern North America, are so tasty to birds and mammals that they survive by emerging in overwhelming numbers on a prime-number cycle. There are 13 regional Broods with different cycles. This one, Brood V (i.e. Brood 5), lives in parts of West Virginia, Ohio and the bottom left corner of Pennsylvania. Click here for the list of all Broods and regions. Here’s the US map.
In the spring of their 17th year the nymphs dig tunnels that stop just below the surface … and then they wait. The moment of their emergence depends on soil temperature and perhaps on their ability to hear each other making sounds that mean “I’m ready.” (read more here)
They emerge at night and crawl up on trees, plants and walls to shed their exoskeletons and dry their wings. At this point they are very soft and tasty to predators.
Adults and cast-off shells of Periodical 17-year cicadas, Brood V, Washington, PA, 30 May 2016 (photo by Kate St. John)
Periodical 17-year cicada – wings did not unfurl properly. Washington, PA, 30 May 2016. Its . (photo by Kate St. John)
There are so many of them that later arrivals knock the old shells off to the ground.
Periodical 17-year cicada shells, Washington Cemetery, Washington, PA, 30 May 2016 (photo by Kate St. John)
It takes about a week for their bodies to stiffen enough to make their distinctive call. When they’re ready the males congregate in trees and vibrate their tymbals to attract the females. Each bug is individually loud. Thousands of them are overwhelming. Here’s the sound from a cicada-filled tree. The audio sounds like a hiss but it’s actually bugs.
After they mate the females rip a long slit in the bark of a twig and lay up to 600 eggs. Weeks later, the eggs hatch and the nymphs fall to the dirt where they burrow underground to live for 17 years.
Later this summer you’ll know cicadas were here when you see brown leaves on branch tips.
Brown tips on tree branches because of cicada egg-laying (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Two peregrine chicks at Third Avenue nest, 1 June 2016 (photo by Lori Maggio)
All Peregrines All The Time … 😉
Yesterday was a good day for peregrine watching in Downtown Pittsburgh as you can see from Lori Maggio’s photos.
Two of the four peregrine chicks were often perched at the Third Avenue ledge. When I stopped by for half an hour at 10:30am I saw 5 out of the 6 family members — three chicks and both parents.
Two peregrine chicks at Third Avenue nest, 1 June 2016 (photo by Lori Maggio)
In the photo above, the bird on the right is whining (or “screeching”) for attention. If you listen carefully you can hear these youngsters above the roar of nearby construction.
On Friday and Saturday I’ll be Downtown at the Third Avenue watch site (see map here) at the times listed below. Stop by to chat or for information on what to do in case of a rescue.
Friday June 3, 12:15pm to 1:00pm
Saturday June 4, 11:00am to 11:45am
Keep the PA Game Commission “rescue” number handy: 724-238-9523
