8 thoughts on “Five Baby Birds at Pitt

  1. What a beautiful photo! Thanks, Kate. You have said that 5 is a large clutch; how unusual is it for all 5 to hatch? We’re holding them all in our hearts.

  2. Good Job, Dorothy!!! — and now, the hard work begins. Should be fun to watch the action in the next few weeks!

  3. Five babies is unusual for Dorothy but in her younger days Tasha used to have large clutches. The typical number of eggs is 3 to 6. Lots of variation among peregrines.

  4. This is fantastic that all 5 eggs hatched! Now there are more chances for survival. Beautiful picture Kate!

  5. Wonderful images of the mother falcon and her 5 chicks. I would like to suggest that one of the chicks be named ‘Alec’ in honor of G. Alec Stewart, the Pitt Honors College Dean who passed away recently. Alec’s office was near the top of the Cathedral of Learning not far from the falcons’ nest. Alec was a wonderful person and a great friend of all living things.

  6. John. As Kate will tell you, peregrine chicks are not named in Pennsylvania. However, perhaps the male at the Tarentum bridge could be named Alec as he was born at the Cathedral in 2008.

  7. John, thank you for your suggestion and, yes, J is right. The birds are not named when banded in Pennsylvania.

    I met Alec after the peregrines started nesting on the Cathedral of Learning. In the early years of the nest he used to come to the bandings. He loved the peregrines too and told me this story:

    When many of the rooms in Cathedral of Learning did not have air conditioning (before the remodeling at the Honors College) he was conducting a seminar with a few students around a table on an upper floor of the CL. It was hot and the window was open. They heard something at the window and turned to see a peregrine on the sill. Everyone froze in awe. The peregrine slowly looked at the entire scene, then turned and flew away. You can imagine the impression this made on everyone in the room.

    Wish I’d been there!

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