14 March 2022

Until they begin incubating eggs two to four weeks from now, our local peregrine falcons are quite visible. If you want to see peregrines, now is the time.

Most sites have recent observations but some have no reports in March — probably not because there are no peregrines but because no one has looked. Take some time this month to look for peregrines at the sites without March reports. Click here for a regional map. More info at end.

Cathedral of Learning, Univ of Pittsburgh:

Morela has been spending every night at the nest since the beginning of March. She and Ecco court here and mate off camera. In the video below Ecco chirps at her for 8+ minutes on 11 March before she joins him. (I shortened the time with a “fade to black.”)

Watch the nest “live” on the National Aviary falconcam. Last year Morela’s first egg was on 17 March. Soon!

Downtown Pittsburgh:

Montgomery Brown is still seeing a single peregrine from a vantage point at Oxford Center, most recently on 11 March. Has anyone been to 3rd Avenue lately? We need more observers.

• Note: The Gulf Tower nestbox was removed in 2019 during masonry repairs and reinstalled in Feb 2021. No peregrines. Not since 2017. The camera is not streaming. Observers in the building will let us know if the peregrines show up.

Monaca RR Bridge, Ohio River:

Dante Zuccaro reports one or two peregrines almost every day, seen from the mouth of the Beaver River, most recently on 12 March.

Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge, Ohio River:

If you’re in the vicinity of the Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge, check the top of it. Mark Vass saw a pair of peregrines there on 6 March. I saw a solo bird on 8 March.

Sewickley Bridge, Ohio River:

The peregrines at the Sewickley Bridge have been very active lately. Jeff Cieslak saw them on 3 March, I saw them on 8 March from Sewickley Riverfront Park, Mark Vass saw them on 10 March.

In the photo below Jeff Cieslak shows where they were perching on 3 March.

It looks like one is banded per Jeff’s photo! Can’t read the bands yet. I wonder who this is.

Westinghouse Bridge, Turtle Creek:

When Dana Nesiti visited the Westinghouse Bridge on 12 March one of the peregrines was nearly invisible. He found it by looking through the walkway grating, circled in bold yellow in his photo. (I circled the visible bird in thin yellow.)

This is a great example of how peregrines can fool you until they fly.

Tarentum Bridge, Allegheny River:

Dave Brooke sees the Tarentum Bridge peregrines every time he visits, sometimes one sometimes both.

On 6 March Dave noticed that the female’s left wing appears to be scraped. Perhaps she was in a fight. Obviously she won.

Female peregrines molt their primary wing feathers while incubating. She will eventually replace these feathers too and be back to normal. She is due to lay her first egg soon.

Graff Bridge, Rt 422, Kittanning, Allegheny River:

UPDATE at 2pm on 14 March: Dave Brooke went up to the Graff Bridge on the Manordale side this morning and found a peregrine. The bird was totally unconcerned about local crows, a bald eagle, and noisy traffic on the bridge. Just preening.

If you go: The best place to see peregrines is from the Armstrong Trail near or under the Graff Bridge. Park here on Water Street in Manordale (click link) and walk north (upstream) on the Armstrong Trail. Tell me what you see.

No recent news: No news since February at three sites. Can you help?

McKees Rocks Bridge, Ohio River:

The easiest place to observe the McKees Rocks Bridge and nearby power tower perches is at this eBird hotspot on Doerr Street.

62nd Street Bridge / Aspinwall Riverfront Park, Allegheny River:

Over the weekend the 62nd Street Pittsburgh side was inaccessible due to a water main break. Visit this site from either side of the river — on the Pittsburgh side or Etna Riverfront Trail — and tell me what you see. (Click the links to see maps.)

Speers Railroad Bridge, Washington County, Monongahela River: Any news at all — seen or “didn’t see” — would be welcome! Click here for a map of the best vantage point.

In April nesting peregrines will be on eggs and very, very secretive. It will seem that they have abandoned their sites — but they haven’t. Go look for them now. Tell me what you see.

(photos by Kate St. John, National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh, Jeff Cieslak, Lori Maggio, Dana Nesiti, Dave Brooke and Wikimedia Commons)