Outside My Window

After three disappointing banding attempts at Pittsburgh area bridges, Dan Brauning struck peregrine gold yesterday at the I-79 Neville Island Bridge, pictured above.

Last week he and Art McMorris brought back disappointing news from Tarentum, Westinghouse and McKees Rocks:  solo abandoned eggs at Tarentum and McKees Rocks, and a single handicapped nestling with a poor prognosis at Westinghouse.

But yesterday was good.  Dan found three peregrine nestlings at the Glenfield span of the I-79 Neville Island Bridge.  The two males and one female chick are 22 days old.

Anne Marie Bosnyak and Laura Marshall monitor this site and were on the scene.  When they arrived at 9:00am they saw both adult peregrines on the bridge and hunting in the vicinity.  Around 10:00am Dan and PennDOT went under the bridge and walked the catwalk from Neville Island to Glenfield but found no peregrines.  If there were baby peregrines on the bridge why weren’t their parents defending them?

On the way back to the Neville Island side Dan checked some additional nooks.  One of the parents arrived with prey and was so stunned that humans were approaching her nest that she perched silently for a moment.   Then all hell broke loose.  Kak and attack!   The noise signaled her mate to come quickly and he joined the fray.

Both adults are banded and now their chicks are, too.  Dan was able to read the bands on the mother peregrine:  black/red 62/H born in 2010 in Canton, Ohio.  Ohio peregrine fans, this is Magnum, photographed by Jeff McDonald on New Year’s Day at Cork-Bocktown Rd.

The chicks are due to fledge on June 5 and they will need watchers!  The only reason we know of this site is because a fledgling fell in the river last year and was rescued by boaters.  Imagine if no one saw him!   Stay tuned next week for information on where to watch and when.  Earmark June 5-10!

Meanwhile in Beaver County…

After the I-79 Bridge banding, Dan met up with WCO Matt Kramer and confirmed that peregrines are not nesting at the Monaca-East Rochester Bridge as they have since 2007.  Instead they’ve moved 1.25 miles downstream to the huge railroad bridge across the Ohio at Monaca-Beaver.

I’m surprised they moved but not surprised they chose this bridge.  It’s the tallest in the area, has a long westward view down the river, and is perfect for nesting if you can stand the roar and thump of trains.  Back in March 2008 several of us witnessed a territorial battle at this bridge.

Why didn’t peregrines move here earlier?  Perhaps there wasn’t the proper substrate for making a scrape until now.

In any case, they’ve chosen an inaccessible spot near the top so their babies won’t be banded.  Sneaky!

(photo of Neville Island I-79 Bridge from Wikimedia Commons. Photo of Monaca-Beaver railroad bridge by Kate St. John)

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Beginning this weekend — yes, Memorial Day weekend — the four young peregrines at the Downtown nest will prepare for their very first flight.  They’re older than the Pitt nestling so they may fly as soon as May 29.

The Downtown nest area doesn’t have space for a Fledge Watch party but you can still watch from the sidewalk.  It’s only a third as high up as the Cathedral of Learning so you’ll get great views.  This photo — taken without a zoom lens — shows the nest opening last year with a chick standing at the edge.  The red arrow points to him.  He’s brown with white fluff on his head.

Where to watch:  Third Avenue between Wood and Smithfield on the sidewalk near the Carlyle parking lot.  Look up and see this view.  After they fledge they’ll be on buildings in the vicinity of Point Park University. For more information, contact me by leaving a Comment below.

Normal behavior:  A fledgling perched on a building is safe — and loud.  He begs for food, his parents feed him, and he waits to digest his food before he leaves.  He may wait overnight if he feels safe.  This is normal.

If you find a fledgling standing on the ground, it’s in danger.  Protect it from being hit by a car(!) and call the PA Game Commission at 724-238-9523.  A Wildlife Conservation Officer will be dispatched to rescue it because…

In their first day of flight young peregrines don’t have the wing strength to take off from the ground.  If they become grounded they must be delivered to a high place so they can start over.

IMPORTANT:  Before you do anything else, read this description –> Falcon or Hawk <– so you know what a young peregrine looks like. They are tricky! and resemble red-tailed hawks who often stand on the ground to eat (and don’t need to be rescued by the Game Commission).

Please monitor the Downtown peregrine chicks beginning May 25 until (probably) June 5.  See them on camera at the nest here at aviary.org.

Call this phone number if you find a peregrine in trouble:  724-238-9523

(photo by Kate St. John)

p.s. Parking is free Downtown on Sundays.  If you plan to spend some time watching bring a lawn chair, water, and binoculars to make your stay more enjoyable. Don’t forget your camera!

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Save the date!  Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch will be Saturday June 1 through Wednesday June 5.

We’ll gather at the Schenley Plaza tent, above, to watch for the young peregrine’s first flight from the Cathedral of Learning.

See him walk the ledges and flap his wings to prepare for his big adventure.  Watch Dorothy and E2 show him how to fly with some really cool flight demonstrations.  See Dorothy keep the area safe for fledglings.  Last year she attacked a bald eagle!

I’ll be there with peregrine fans from Pittsburgh Falconuts and volunteer peregrine monitors from the bridges.  We’ll all swap stories about peregrines.  I can hardly wait!

My challenge, as always, is to predict the best watching days.  With one male chick this year I expect the time span to be brief.  Male chicks normally fly early and improve their skills quickly.

So here’s the schedule but check the blog for updates because this event is very weather dependent.  Peregrines don’t like to fledge in the rain.

• Sat. June 1, 4:00pm to 6:00pm.  My prediction:  Baby will start ledge walking today.  If he’s off camera, come on down!  The best view is from the tent.
• Sun. June 2, noon to 2:00pm, possibly extended hours.  Definite ledge walking.  Easy to see from the tent.
• Mon. June 3, 12:30pm to 2:00pm + after work 5:30pm to 7:00pm.  If the weather’s right I bet he’ll fly today but he won’t go far.
• Tues. June 4, noon to 2:00pm + after work 5:30pm to 7:00pm.  I predict this will be the best day so I’m staying longer at lunch.
• Wed. June 5, 12:30pm to 2:00pm.  Activity may be on the wane.  If Baby’s left the nest zone, this day will be a bust. Stay tuned.
• June 6 and remainder of the week: Not scheduled.  Stay tuned.

Come on down to Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch!  Meet me at the tent!

(photo of the Schenley Plaza tent by Kate St. John)

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It’s hard enough to find a woodcock let alone an entire family.

Early this month at Magee Marsh, Ohio I heard that a woodcock was nesting in a grassy sward of the parking lot.  I found the spot easily — it was surrounded by police tape — but I could not find the mother bird incubating her eggs.  I looked for quite a while but she was too cryptic for me to see.

Her eggs hatched the following week and Charlie Hickey was there to capture a family portrait.  I love how her chicks have cryptic down and tiny versions of her very long beak.

I wish I’d seen them, but then… I couldn’t even find their mother.

(photo by Charlie Hickey. Click on the photo to see more pictures of this woodcock family)

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Last weekend at Slippery Rock Gorge I found spikes of white flowers surrounded by compound leaves.

At first I thought it was Black Snakeroot (Actaea racemosa) but my Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide reminded me that snakeroot doesn’t bloom until the summer.

On closer inspection I realized it was White Baneberry (Actaea pachypoda), also called Dolls’ Eyes because of its unusual berries.

Here’s what they look like in the fall.

Don’t be fooled into eating the berries.  The entire plant is poisonous to humans but amazingly has no effect on birds.  Birds eat the fruit, perhaps attracted by the beautiful red stems and white berries with purple dots.

I’ll have to take the same hike this fall and look for berries.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons.  Click on the images to see the originals)

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This morning at the Cathedral of Learning Dorothy and E2′s chick was weighed, measured, given a health check, and banded.  He’s in great health and, yes, he’s a boy.

Above, he shows off his enormous feet, normal size for a 22-day-old peregrine.  Notice the fleshy nobs on the insides of his toes.  In a couple of months he’ll be using them to capture and hold his prey.

Peregrine experts Dan Brauning and Art McMorris of the Pennsylvania Game Commission braved Dorothy’s wrath and collected the chick and the unhatched eggs.  None of the eggs had pips; they may have been infertile.  As is typically done at banding sites, the eggs will be analyzed for contaminants.

Back indoors Art showed us the chick and explained interesting facts about peregrine biology.  I was amazed to learn that their tail feathers grow 2 mm per day beginning at 13 days after hatching.  This chick’s pin feathers confirmed he’s 22 days old  — but we knew that from the camera.

Art has so much experience with peregrines that he knew this one was male even before he weighed him!  Here Art lifts the nestling to show his emerging feathers.

The chick was silent most of the time though he complained about the health check.  Soon he had his new “bling” and was ready to go back to Mom and Dad after one more photo opportunity.

I was honored that Art asked me to stand between him and Dan for this photo with Dorothy and E2′s newly banded chick.  Dan (on the left) is the one who told me to look for Dorthy and Erie’s nest in 2001.  That simple request started me on my odyssey with this charismatic bird.

For more photos, click here for the Banding Day album on the University of Pittsburgh’s Facebook page.  Thanks to Rose Huber for sharing the photos!

(photos by B. Rose Huber/University of Pittsburgh)

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This peregrine family at the Cathedral of Learning is in for some excitement.  Dorothy and E2′s chick will be banded this morning.

Yesterday the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Dan Brauning and Art McMorris visited peregrine nests at two bridges.  Today they’ll venture out on the Cathedral of Learning ledge.

So don’t be shocked when you hear Dorothy and E2 “kakking” and their chick disappears just after 9:00am.  The chick will receive a health check and some new jewelry.

And we’ll learn for certain whether Baby is a “she” or a “he.”

(photo from the National Aviary falconcam at the University of Pittsburgh)

p.s.  I don’t announce the banding in advance because the event is not open to the public.  The room is too small to allow for uninvited guests.

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Yesterday Dan Brauning and Art McMorris of the Pennsylvania Game Commission ventured out in PennDOT bucket trucks to band peregrine nestlings at two Pittsburgh area bridges:  Tarentum and Westinghouse.

Observers Rob Protz at Tarentum and John English at Westinghouse had pinpointed the locations on the bridges where the peregrines were nesting so Art arranged the site visits with PennDOT.

PennDOT was very helpful and the bucket trucks were impressive.  Unfortunately the news was not good.

At Tarentum, pictured above, Art McMorris leaned back to look into the nest hole but there were no nestlings, just one abandoned egg.

At Westinghouse there was one nestling too young to band and handicapped by convulsions and a deformed beak.  Not good.

This was not what anyone expected. Such a disappointment!

The adult peregrines will continue at their respective bridges, as shown below at Tarentum, but there won’t be a fledge watch at either site.

Alas.

(photos by Sean Dicer)

p.s. Click here for this news from the Tribune Review.

UPDATE, Friday afternoon, May 17:  Dan and Art visited the McKees Rocks Bridge peregrine nest where they found one unhatched, abandoned egg.  Make that “Disappointment at Three Bridges.”

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I heard my first wood thrush this year in Schenley Park on April 24 but the real influx didn’t occur until May 8.  On that morning the wood thrush population in the park doubled overnight.

Each bird made the trip from eastern Honduras or Nicaragua in 13-15 days.  We know where they spend the winter, how long it takes to get here, and the routes individual birds take thanks to ongoing migration studies by Bridget Stutchbury’s University of York team, begun in 2007.

Stutchbury pioneered the use of tiny geolocators, smaller than a penny, that record only two things: the universal date-time (UTC) and the amount of light.  Crunch a year of data and you get sunrise, sunset and day length which reveal the bird’s location each day.  To collect this data, the tagged bird had to return from migration (a 60% chance) and be re-trapped to remove the geolocator (90% success rate, skill required!).

Now that the team has tracked some individual wood thrushes for several years they’ve found that:

• Wood thrushes fly more than 300 miles a day on migration.
• In the fall, they may stopover in the southern U.S. or the Yucatan for one to four weeks before proceeding to their final destination.
• They dawdle in the fall but return two to six times faster in the spring because they barely stop at all.
• Wood thrushes who live near each other in Pennsylvania don’t scatter when they get to Central America.  A single breeding population from Pennsylvania spends the winter in a narrow band of forest in eastern Honduras and Nicaragua.  If that forest disappears, so will all those wood thrushes.
• Wood thrushes don’t use local weather cues to determine when to head north.  Instead they have built in endogenous triggers similar to long-distance shorebirds.  Some of their triggers are so accurate that individuals begin northward migration on the same day every year.
• Though wood thrushes tend to have a favorite departure date they don’t take the same route every year.  The route depends on weather and fitness.
• First year birds tend to leave the wintering grounds later than those who’ve made the trip before.

So I’ll bet those early wood thrushes are the older, experienced birds who left Central America around April 10.  Two weeks and more than 2,000 miles later they arrived in my neighborhood on the day the rest of the flock left the wintering grounds.

Awesome!

For more on these studies, click here for background on the 2010 report and here for their 2012 findings.

(photo by Steve Gosser)

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Yesterday morning three peregrine chicks hopped all over the place at the Downtown Pittsburgh nest.

Thanks to Donna Memon for capturing this image at just the right moment!

UPDATE ON THURSDAY MAY 16:

Aha!  I love to be proved wrong when the news is happy!  There are FOUR chicks in the Downtown nest.  Thanks to Nathalie Picard for alerting me.  Here’s a screenshot:

(photos from the National Aviary falconcam at Point Park University)

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