While “Who’s the father?” soap opera unfolds at the Pitt peregrine nest, other sites are raising chicks. Here’s the news from other peregrine families in the Pittsburgh area.

Westinghouse Bridge:

When Dana Nesiti brings his camera to the Westinghouse Bridge, he hopes to capture the kind of peregrine action he saw on Sunday 10 May. The male brought food to the nest from a nearby cache area. Then the female harassed a Cooper’s hawk in aerial combat. Here’s a slideshow of Dana’s photos.

Tarentum Bridge:

The peregrines nesting at the Tarentum Bridge have been bringing food to the nest for a couple of weeks though we can’t see the chicks. Yesterday, 11 May 2020, Susan Krause reported that a fluffy white chick appeared at the front of the nest. The chicks are walking! This means they’re at least two weeks old. They probably hatched around 27 April.

Visit the Tarentum Boat Ramp for a good view of the nest area. To see the front of the nest, stop near the river access at the corner of Wood Street and East 1st Avenue or watch from Tarentum Riverview Memorial Park.

Downtown Pittsburgh:

Because of the COVID-19 shutdown Lori Maggio has not been Downtown so she’s watching from Mt. Washington, though infrequently. On Sunday 10 May she may have seen some white blobs (chicks) in the nest without adults. This would mean the chicks are pretty big and old enough to thermo-regulate. Dori has historically hatched eggs between 19 April and 2 May so these chicks may be the same age or older than the ones at Tarentum. Lori will check later this week to see if they are more visible.

(photos by Dana Nesiti, John English and Kate St. John)