How The Nest Gets Messy

Have you noticed that the Pitt peregrines’ nest is messy now? Here’s how it happened.

This Day in a Minute video from Tuesday 30 April 2019 shows 12 hours of the Pitt peregrines’ activities in 60 seconds. If you watch carefully you’ll see:

  • The chicks were fed four times on Tuesday. You can count a feeding every time Hope has her back to the camera.
  • Hope and Terzo switched off at the nest. Both tried to brood the chicks who are almost too big to cover. Hope had the morning shift, Terzo the afternoon, except…
  • Heavy rain approached at 3pm, so Hope sheltered the chicks during and after the rain.
  • Right after the rain, Terzo delivered (off camera) a fully feathered black bird. Hope plucked it at the nest. Instant mess!

Yesterday the chicks were 8+ days old — too old to brood — so Hope and Terzo often leave them on their own and guard them nearby. You can’t see the Hope and Terzo guarding the chicks because they perch above or on top of the camera.

Watch the Pitt peregrines on the National Aviary falconcam at the University of Pittsburgh.

(video of snapshots from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ. of Pittsburgh)

4 thoughts on “How The Nest Gets Messy

  1. Love yr day in a minute. Could you slow it down?
    What will happen to the unhatched egg. Eagles apparently bury them in the nest.

    1. Nan, there’s no way to slow down the video. It just comes like that from the streaming cam.
      The unhatched egg is moved aside. Peregrines don’t “build” nests so they don’t add material that buries unhatched eggs and other stuff.

    2. Nan,

      If you click on the gear icon on the bottom right side of the video, there is a playback speed option. Take the speed down to the lowest speed, and it will be easier to see.

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