While we’re frozen in place to stop the spread of COVID-19 it’s hard to gather information about the region’s peregrines. Here are three bits of news.

Dave Brooke visited the Tarentum Bridge on Thursday 19 March and posted the photo above at Pittsburgh Falconuts saying:

[Photo at] the Tarentum bridge nest box, 3/19 at 1:30pm. I haven’t see both falcons together yet but also haven’t spent a lot of time there this spring.

— Dave Brooke on Pittsburgh Falconuts

Dave saw only one peregrine and it was outside the nestbox. This means incubation hasn’t started yet, and perhaps there are no eggs either. Last year the Tarentum female laid her first egg around 29 March (a rough estimate).

Each female peregrine has her own laying schedule. Tarentum’s is late March. There are no eggs yet in Rochester, NY either, which is normal. Be patient. Morela is not an early bird like the ones in Harrisburg and Baltimore.

Meanwhile, on Thursday 19 March Karen Lang saw both peregrines at the Ambridge Bridge.

And early last week Lori Maggio walked to the Mt. Washington Overlook for a view of the Downtown nest site from a great distance. On Sunday 15 March there were no peregrines in the nest area but on Tuesday 17 March she saw one waiting at the Third Avenue site. It was probably Dori. The peregrine is at the bottom of the left hand two-cubby slot.

Thankfully getting outdoors is not cancelled!

(photos by Dave Brooke and Lori Maggio)