Mar 27 2010
Question: Where should I look to see the peregrines at Gulf Tower?
Question: Where should I look on the Gulf Tower to see the peregrines.
Answer: The peregrine falcons who live in Downtown Pittsburgh have a wide selection of buildings to choose from, so it’s not always easy to find them.
When it’s not nesting season they often perch on the Oliver Building or the U.S.Steel Tower, sometimes outside an office window, surprising those who work inside.
During the nesting season, late March to early June, the following instructions apply:
The best vantage point is from the ground outside The Pennsylvanian, formerly Union Station, near the rotunda. This isn’t a great place to linger, so if you find a better place please leave a comment and let me know.
Bring binoculars and look at the top left side of the building just below the pyramid (area circled in red). The peregrines – if they are there - will be the same color as the building but their shape will be a “bump” that doesn’t match the pattern of the building.
The easiest time to see them will be when the chicks are becoming quite active before they fly. They’ll walk the parapets and flap their wings. You’ll be able to see this from the ground with binoculars.
Do not attempt to see the birds from inside the building. They are wild birds. It is illegal to disturb them.
(photo from Shutterstock, altered to indicate where the peregrines hang out)
Hi Kate,
Which direction does that side of the building face? I thought I read somewhere that it faced north, but I’m not sure.
I am going to try to get there for the fledge watch, but I am in Greensburg and commit to exact times or days.
Jean, The side you want to watch is the one that faces the Strip District and is visible from Liberty at 16th Street (if you happened to be standing back that far… but you won’t be).
I hung around the Pennsylvanian for awhile last year. Never saw anything, but nobody bothered me or asked me to leave! It would be nice to bring a chair, but maybe too conspicuous!