When the female peregrine Hope moved from Tarentum to the Cathedral of Learning, I thought 2016 would be calm and joyful.  Instead it was filled with drama.

Here’s a recap of last year’s Pitt peregrine activity, complete with a slideshow of 2016 highlights.

• Nesting season started with Hope (2008) and E2 (2005) as the resident pair.
• Hope laid her first egg on March 13.
• But on March 15 E2 died in a car accident.  Hope was alone.
• Hope laid two more eggs and then …
• A new male peregrine arrived on March 23.  His name is Terzo.
• Hope laid a 4th egg on April 2.
• The 1st egg hatched April 29 (nicknamed C1).
• But Hope killed and ate chicks 2 & 4 as they hatched.  Chick 3 died, too, and she ate it.
• C1 grew up, was banded, and fledged on June 13.
• Female peregrines intruded many times at the Cathedral of Learning: April 8, April 23, June 22, August 2, August 12, November 14.
• Meanwhile Hope commuted to her old home in Tarentum:  Feb 8, several times in August, November 22.
• At the end of the year, Terzo and Hope bowed at the nest. Perhaps 2017 will be better.

Watch a slideshow of 2016, the year of drama. Click on any photo to see it full-screen.

(snapshot from the National Aviary falconcam at the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning)