>–> This morning’s status at the Cathedral of Learning nest is in the text below.
Wondering about names for Pittsburgh’s peregrine nestlings? They already have them.
At Pittsburgh’s on-camera sites we use a naming scheme similar to that used at bald eagle nests: a letter for the location plus the hatch number. The Cathedral of Learning is “C,” the Gulf Tower/Downtown is “G.”
Nestling names at the Cathedral of Learning were C1 through C4 last year. Only C1 survived. This year the numbers are C5 through C8. Their status this morning is:
- C5 is gone. Hope killed and ate it on 24 April.
- C6 hatched in the early hours of 25 April.
- C7 hatched late on 25 April.
- The last egg, C8, is still unhatched as of now (26 April 2017, 7am).
The two chicks at the Cathedral of Learning, C6 and C7, were fed this morning at 6:25am shortly after this snapshot.
At the Gulf Tower we’ve just begun naming this year so the three chicks are G1 through G3.
Good luck figuring out who is who!
Peregrine chicks look alike for several weeks because the entire clutch hatched within 24-48 hours. Only as the chicks approach fledging do the females become noticeably larger that the males. (Adult males are 1/3 smaller than females. That’s why males are called tiercels.)
For more information on naming, see this Peregrine FAQ: How do peregrines get their names?
Reminder! A Caution to Viewers of the Cathedral of Learning falconcam:
Do not watch the Cathedral of Learning falconcam if it upsets you to see a mother kill her young. The Gulf Tower in downtown Pittsburgh has a beautiful peregrine family on camera. Please watch the Gulf Tower falconcam to learn about normal peregrine behavior!
(photos from the National Aviary falconcams at Gulf Tower and Cathedral of Learning)
Kate, How will the chicks be named if Dori and Louie choose a different nest site next year? Would the names start with a different letter, even though the parents are the same? Thanks!
Patricia, We’ll leave it at “G” to avoid confusion.
Kate, did C1 successfully fledge and move on? I don’t know why I can’t remember that. I think I get him confused with Dorothy’s last one that didn’t successfully fledge and later died in captivity.
Cindy, yes C1 was healthy, flew as scheduled and left Pittsburgh last summer.
I am no expert on any bird, but I think Hope knows there is some thing wrong with the chicks, thats when she kills them, natural selection, survival of the fittest. Nature
I hope all her remaining chicks thrive and fledge.
Margot, that’s an interesting theory. Consider this: Dori & Louie at the Gulf Tower knew there was something wrong with their 4th egg as the chick tried to hatch but could not. However, Dori did not kill & eat that chick. In 2015 at the Cathedral of Learning Dorothy & E2 knew there was something wrong with their chick but Dorothy did not kill & eat the chick. Instead she nurtured it.
Another happy family to watch is the Washington DC eagle family. Beautiful setting with lots of trees and birdsong! http://www.dceaglecam.org. the mother and father eagles even “snuggle” in the nest sometimes. I know it’s not peregrines, but not tragic, either.
Hope strikes me as a high strung, hyper bird. Perhaps two chicks at a time is the maximum she can handle! In which case, we should be thankful that she doesn’t eat all of them.
Dori sure gives new meaning to the phrase “feather your nest!” The contrast between the nest sites is startling.
This is kind of off the track, but has anyone noticed that Dori is keeping her left eye closed?
Bethany, I haven’t noticed that.
She was doing it earlier but, thankfully, I don’t see it now. I so worry about these birds!
I missed the action prior, but Hope is eating the final eggshell. 21:10.
In eating the final eggshell, does that mean there is a third chick? Kind of afraid to look so appreciate any info that can be provided.
Too dark to see. We’ll find out tomorrow.
Thanks, Kate. Praying for good news…..
Good Morning! 3 beautiful little chicks all is well
3 chicks at Pitt. Amazingly enough! We’ll see how that goes compared to the 3 at Gulf.
0800 feeding 4/27/2017…appears to be 3 chicks
There are three chicks! Yes?! I am experiencing a cautiously happy morning!
Feeding time at Pitt. Hope is definitely not the greatest at getting them all fed. haven’t seen the littlest get a bite, yet.
I’m pretty sure I saw all three get a bite to eat, though one did seem to get the lion’s share of that woodpecker. Given that C6 was hatched a few days earlier than C8, is that to be expected? I know they all hatch at roughly the same time and generally that helps avoid food competition, but I would think that even a few days would make a big difference in how much they can eat, given how quickly those little guys grow – ?
Stacyj, as you say, we’ll have to wait a few days and see. Fortunately the dread of kill-during-hatch is over. Whew!