Outside My Window

Thursday afternoon I got a call from Dan Yagusic as he watched and photographed this pair of peregrine falcons at the Allegheny River.  He discovered them nesting on the bridge last spring and was able to read the female’s bands but the identity of the male remained a mystery - until that moment.

The light was just right and the male peregrine stood so that Dan could read the band:  Black/Green *4/*5. 

He called me right away.

I am so addicted to peregrines that I keep track of all the pairs nesting in Pittsburgh and the whereabouts of their offspring.  This bird had been on my list for a year and I could hardly wait to find out where he was born.

At first I assumed he’d come from the midwest but none of those states has a Black *4. 

The asterisk (*) means the number is lying on its side so you have to put your head on your left shoulder to read it.  Not only was the Black *4 on its side but the Green *5 was too.

I was about to contact the experts when I thought to check my own list.  Oh my!  This bird was born in Pittsburgh.

Among peregrine falcons, the females disperse widely while the males may nest relatively close to home.  By doing this, peregrines are less likely to mate with a brother or sister they’ve never met who was born in a different year. 

Dan’s male peregrine was born at the Gulf Tower in 2005.  Not only that, but the bird’s father was born at University of Pittsburgh in 2002.  So this peregrine is the grandson of Dorothy and Erie.

It looks to me like Dorothy and Erie have started a dynasty.

Update, July 3, 2008:  Ooops!  Careful record checking has revealed that my own list was wrong - I had flipped the numbers.  The male peregrine came from a much more interesting place than the Gulf Tower.  He was born under a shrub on the 32nd floor garden of the President’s office, Federal Reserve Bank, Boston, Massachusetts.  So he isn’t Dorothy & Erie’s grandson.  Amazing that he came all the way from Boston!

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