A small, enthusiastic crowd was on hand yesterday morning for the peregrine banding at the Tarentum Bridge, rewarded by close looks — and photos — of the two peregrine chicks: one male and one female.

The event began at the boat launch parking lot where viewers watched as the PA Game Commission’s Dan Brauning and Tom Keller and the PennDOT crew swung the bucket under the bridge to the nest hole on the main-channel arch.  We knew the nest location because Rob Protz, myself, and others had seen juvenile peregrines peeking from the hole.

The adult peregrines(*) attacked but could not deter the banders.  However, when the bucket got to the nest hole the two chicks were huddled far inside out of reach.  Tom Keller crawled into the hole!  Look at him stand on the bucket edge before he disappeared inside!  Yow!

Tom retrieved the chicks and the bucket swung up to the sidewalk to weigh and band them.  The crowd joined to watch.

Each chick received two bands: US Fish & Wildlife on the right leg, color band on the left leg.  Here, Dan Brauning crimps the silver USFW band.

Dan estimated the chicks were 35 days old yesterday — only four to nine days away from first flight.  Rather then put them back in the nest hole, exposed over open water, Dan wet them down (to keep them from trying to fly right away) and placed them on the mid-river bridge pier where there’s a good “runway” for take off.

Stop by the Tarentum Bridge soon to watch these young peregrines.  They’ll be making their first flight some time between Memorial Day and the end of the month.

Let the fun begin!

(Thanks to photographers Sean Dicer, Mike Fialkovich and John English for generously lending their photos)

(*) The adult peregrines are Hope (black/green 69/Z) and an unidentified male.

p.s. Click here for Mary Ann Thomas’ report at Alle-Kiski TRIBlive

I don’t know about you but without a successful nest at Pitt this spring I’m starved for a Fledge Watch at Schenley Plaza.  It’s always been a great time to get together and indulge our passion for peregrines.

With that in mind, Pittsburgh Falconut John English and I are going to hold a Gulf Tower Fledge Watch at Flag Plaza on Saturday May 31 and Sunday June 1.

My “guess-timate” is that the Gulf Tower chicks will fledge between May 29 and June 3 with the most exciting activity on Sunday June 1.

Where: Flag Plaza (Boy Scouts building), 1275 Bedford Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
When:  Saturday May 31 & Sunday June 1, noon to 4:00pm, weather permitting.

John or I (or both of us) will be on site during those times — though not if it’s raining or stormy.

Come for as little or as long as you’d like.  Bring binoculars if you have them.

Hope to see you there!

Please leave a comment below if you plan to come.

(map from John English via Pittsburgh Falconuts Facebook page)

Monaca East Rochester Bridge:

With thunderstorms predicted yesterday (they never happened) the peregrine bandings at Tarentum and McKees Rocks Bridges were postponed.   Instead, the PA Game Commission’s Dan Brauning and Tom Keller went to the Ohio River in Beaver County to the Monaca East Rochester Bridge pictured above.

Last year this peregrine pair nested on the huge inaccessible Monaca-to-Beaver railroad bridge.  No one could tell if the nest was successful. This year they appeared to have come home so Dan and Tom investigated.  Dan wrote on May 21:

Tom Keller, I, and a team from PennDOT accessed the bridge this morning, and found 4 healthy chicks, 1 male and 3 females. The birds are about 18 days old today.

The adult female is an extraordinarily aggressive bird, hitting every one of us during our visit under the bridge.  She is the same female as was previously observed there — 75/Y, from Harrisburg.  If you know Tom, ask him about his new scar.  The male never came close.

Local observers that could be on the lookout for fledging in about 25 days would be appreciated.  The nest is far out over water, about 3 bays out from the pier on the Monaca side of the river.  The young should be able to get onto the catwalk, and therefore have good prospects for developing strongly before fledging.

Here’s a photo of this amazingly aggressive mother peregrine, 75/Y, taken on banding day in 2012 by Game Commission WCO Steve Leiendecker before she attacked him.  She never gives up.

If you’re in the Monaca area, start monitoring this bridge on June 11 for fledging activity (that’s four days ahead of “25 days”).

Westinghouse Bridge:

Tuesday afternoon, after the Gulf Tower banding, Dan and Tom went to the Westinghouse Bridge where a peregrine pair has been active for several years.

Using the bucket truck they looked for signs of a nest under the bridge while John English took photos from below.

The male was present but no female came out to “kak” and attack.

Surprisingly, she was still incubating three eggs.  This is a late nest, perhaps a renesting after a territorial fight between males.  The female is still Hecla (68/H) from Ohio’s Ironton-Russleton Bridge 2009, resident since 2012.

If you’re in the vicinity of East Pittsburgh/North Versailles, please check under this bridge for peregrine activity.  There’s no way we’ll know if the nest is successful without some watchful eyes below.

(Monaca photos from May 2012 by WCO Steve Leiendecker, PA Game Commission. Westinghouse photos by John English)

Today the three oldest Gulf Tower peregrine chicks are 31 days old.  This slideshow of yesterday’s banding event shows how fast they’re growing. A few of them are brown while though one is quite downy.  They grow up fast!

I’ve tracked Pittsburgh peregrine fledge dates for many years and if my records are any indication the Gulf Tower chicks will fledge at 39 to 44 days.  That’s next Thursday, May 29 through Tuesday, June 3.   I could be wrong. They might be earlier or later…

Pittsburgh Falconut John English and I will organize a Gulf Tower Fledge Watch for next week — dates and times to be announced.  Here’s the view John had from Flag Plaza during yesterday’s banding.  (Notice Dori flying in to attack the banders!)  As at the Cathedral of Learning we’ll have a good long view to see all the action.

Check back here or on Pittsburgh Falconuts Facebook page for Gulf Tower Fledge Watch dates and times.  Coming soon!

(photos by Kate St. John)

p.s. Click here for KDKA’s news of the Banding Event.

Today’s peregrine banding at the Gulf Tower was a happy return to Pittsburgh’s first nest site. Peregrines nested there continuously from 1991 to 2011 but left it in 2012 and 2013 while workmen were installing the new lighting scheme on the roof.

After two years on a short building Dori and Louie came back to the 37th floor and so did Dan Brauning, PA Game Commission Wildlife Diversity Chief, and Tom Keller, PGC biologist.  Dori remembered the routine and was on guard as soon as Gulf Tower Maintenance popped open the access window.  She’s seen this before!

Dan and Tom carefully went out on the ledge.  Not only is it a sheer drop to the street but Dori and Louie attacked while the men very gently collected the chicks.

Indoors all five chicks passed their physical exam with flying colors but it was hard to sex them by weight. At 28-30 days old there was one obvious female, two males, and two others on the weight borderline between male and female designation. Dan gave them female bands and listed them as “unknown.” We’ll certainly find out what sex they are when they nest.

The “kids” were back in the nest in no time, had a quick snack and fell asleep.  The excitement was so much for them that they slept for several hours … like babies.  🙂

I’ll be putting my best photos into a slideshow soon.  Watch this space for more!

(photos by Kate St. John)

Pittsburgh’s peregrine falcon chicks are in for a surprise this week (and next).  Dan Brauning and Tom Keller are coming to town.

Dan Brauning, the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Wildlife Diversity Chief, and PGC wildlife biologist Tom Keller will visit six of Pittsburgh’s eight peregrine nest sites to band the chicks.  At each site they’ll walk and reach into dangerous high places, collect the chicks, weigh and band them and return them to the nest.

You’re welcome to observe from nearby. Bring binoculars and a camera and you might get a good snapshot of the adults’ bands.  At the bridge sites it’s the only way we find out who’s nesting there.

Tuesday, May 20:

• Gulf Tower, 9:00am:  Watch the webcam just after 9:00am and you’ll see the “kids” cluster at the back of the nestbox while their parents scream, swoop and attack.  The banding won’t last long so tune in early or meet Pittsburgh Falconut John English before 9:00am at Flag Plaza, 1275 Bedford Avenue, where there’s an eye-level view of the Gulf Tower nest area.
• Westinghouse Bridge, 12:30pm:  For the banders this will be a two step process: walk the catwalk to find the nest then use the snooper crane to access it.  Meet John English at noon at Wendy’s on Route 30 in North Versailles and he’ll guide you to a viewing spot below the bridge.  He’ll be wearing his peregrine ballcap and binoculars so you can’t miss him.

UPDATE!! Predicted thunderstorms have rescheduled the Wednesday and Thursday bandings. They will be on …

SCHEDULE CHANGE: Wednesday, May 21:

• Monaca/East Rochester Bridge, 9:00am. We’re not sure if the peregrines chose this bridge or the large railroad bridge this spring. If they chose Monaca/East Rochester, it will become clear right after 9:00am when they raise a fuss. If so, viewing may be good from the community ballpark on the Monaca side.

SCHEDULE CHANGE: Thursday, May 22:

• Tarentum Bridge, 8:30am.  Meet Rob Protz at the Tarentum public boat launch under the bridge.  If you’re coming from Route 28, take the First Avenue exit from the bridge ramp and it’ll put you right there.  Expect a small crowd with cameras and binoculars.  You can’t miss it.
• McKees Rocks Bridge, after the Tarentum banding.  This one is hard to view because the bridge is huge and the banders aren’t sure where the nest is.  There are no viewing plans (that I know of) because we won’t know where to stand until the nest is found.

Wednesday, May 28:

• Glenfield-Neville Island I-79 Bridge over the Ohio River, 9:00am.  Meet at the west end of the Fairfield Inn and Suites parking lot on Grand Avenue on Neville Island. This is the end of the bridge where the nest is located. See the comments below for more information from Anne Marie Bosnyak.

What about the nests at Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning and the Green Tree water tower?

• Cathedral of Learning:  As we know from watching the webcam, Dorothy and E2 have only one egg and they’ve never incubated.  Some time this week the Game Commission will collect the egg and test it for fertility, etc.  Don’t be surprised when it’s gone.
• At the Green Tree water tower the pair is present but has never incubated so there’s no reason to visit the site this year.

If you take photos at one of the bandings, let me know and I’ll post them with news.  Leave a comment to alert me.

(photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Gulf Tower)