This morning I’m being lazy. Every May I remind Pittsburgh’s peregrine fans to Save the Date for the Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch. What I wrote last year is worth saying again this year, so here’s the same text with new dates.
As amazing as it seems, Dorothy and E2′s youngsters will be ready to fly in early June. They’ll lose their fluffy, white, Buddha-look and become sleek with brown and cream-colored feathers. And then they’ll learn to fly.
While they’re learning, the young peregrines walk and flap on the ledges above their nest. It’s easy to see them with binoculars so I sit at the Schenley Plaza tent (shown above) to watch the fun.
Come join me to see the youngsters exercise their wings. Watch Dorothy and E2 show their kids how to fly. Swap stories about peregrines and the nesting year.
Save these dates, weather permitting. (I guarantee the weather will change this schedule, so watch the blog for the latest updates.)
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, June 4 – 6, 1:00pm to 2:00pm. The chicks will be walking on the ledges near the nest and easy to see from the ground. I’ll spend my lunch hour at the tent hoping my first-flight hunch is correct. Will the first baby fly on June 5? Come join me and see.
Thursday and Friday, June 7 & 8, noon to 2:00pm. I’m staying longer on Thursday and Friday because I think these will be the best days (but I may be wrong).
probably Thursday and Friday evenings, 5:30pm to 7:00pm. If midday is good, I’ll be at the tent after work, too. These times may change — stay tuned.
Saturday June 9, 10:00am to 2:00pm. Almost all the chicks will have flown by Saturday but the family’s focus may still be at the nest area. Watch for news on the blog during the week of June 4.
Sunday June 10, no time set yet. This is a rain date whose schedule depends on what the peregrines are doing.
Don’t miss the fun. Plan on joining me at the tent for Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch.
See these links (May 31, June 3, June 4) for news of last year’s fun and this Peregrine FAQ that describes what you’ll see on camera as the young peregrines leave the nest.
(photo of the Schenley Plaza tent by Kate St. John)
For those of you who aren’t on Twitter you may have missed this cool video from @PittPeregrines.
As the Twitter persona of Dorothy and E2, @PittPeregrines has gathered a large following by keeping close tabs on Pitt’s favorite peregrine family.
He/she is also something of a technical whiz who compiled all the falconcam’s snapshots from Monday May 14 into one rapid YouTube video. The result, embedded above, is a day in the life of the Pitt peregrine chicks in only four minutes.
What’s the trio’s favorite activity this week? Sleeping!
What’s our favorite activity to watch on camera? Feedings! The chicks were fed six times that day and it went by very fast.
Very ingenious video, @PittPeregrines. Thanks for sharing!
If you think peregrine falcons are the only birds who fight, think again.
On May 6 at Magee Marsh I witnessed a vicious fight between two common grackles on the deck below the bird feeders at the Sportsmen’s Migratory Bird Center. They were the only birds on the deck. Everyone else had fled. And no wonder!
Grackles are powerful, muscular songbirds armed with long, strong beaks. In this battle, beaks were their weapon of choice. At the time, I was too stunned to use my cellphone camera so I’ll have to describe the fight in words. To make it easier to understand I’ll label the combatants Jack and Joe.
When I first noticed them the birds were locked in combat. Joe had grabbed Jack by the leg. Then Jack got a hold of Joe’s beak and held on tight. They shifted and fluttered and Jack somehow used his leverage to flip Joe on his back. Both had their wings open as Jack pinned Joe to the deck for at least 30 seconds. Ow! Another shift and flutter and Jack grabbed Joe by his neck. Joe tried to take the offensive but Jack was clearly winning.
I felt bad for Joe except… this fight was keeping them from harming other birds. Nesting songbirds, from warblers to robins, are well aware of the grackles’ danger because grackles raid their nests and eat their eggs and chicks. All the songbirds can do is scream, ineffectually try to hit the grackles, and watch in horror. Perhaps this fight was weakening one of their enemies.
In the end Jack won and Joe escaped, much the worse for wear. He was knocked down and nearly dragged out.
When the peregrine chicks were tiny, Dorothy used to “chup” at them to get them to open their mouths. There’s no need to encourage them now! They crowd her at feeding time and whine and chup on their own. And they actively grab the food she’s offering.
In this action shot, notice that Dorothy’s right eye looks almost closed. During feeding time she covers her eyes with her nictitating membranes so a random peck from their sharp beaks won’t ruin her eyesight. It’s an important safety mechanism.
This month PixController set up a videocam in a Murrysville wetland to see what sort of wildlife used the area. In just a week the camera recorded a great blue heron, a family of Canada geese, an American bittern, a mallard, and a raccoon.
An American bittern is a great find because these birds are rarely seen. Notice in the video above that the bittern looks like a short, striped-brown version of the great blue heron and has a similar hunting style.
For an even better look at the bittern, Bill Powers put all the footage into one video, shown below. Near the end of the video the bittern successfully catches a frog.
Though I’ve seen American bitterns in the wild I have never seen them move. I always find them hiding in the reeds, standing motionless with their beaks straight up. These videos provide a window on their world.
Gray catbirds are mimics who sing whistles and squeaks and fragments of other birds’ songs. Their phrases are short syllables and single notes punctuated by uneven pauses and mewing cat sounds.
Catbirds are not good singers. However…
This month in Schenley Park there’s a catbird who must have taken singing lessons. His delivery is loud and confident. His phrases are longer and identifiable as bird song. I’ve heard him give good imitations of cardinals, robins, blue jays, eastern towhees, Carolina wrens and song sparrows. Song sparrows are hard for catbirds to mimic. I am amazed.
Ornithologists would be amazed too. Cornell’s Birds of North America says, “Laboratory evidence indicates that male [gray catbird] song results mostly from improvisation and invention, not via imitation.”
In other words, catbirds are jazz singers. But this particular bird is trying out for an opera career. He is so good I thought he was a brown thrasher until he sang from an exposed perch.
Many of us are know that peregrines are great hunters but we don’t often get to see the amazing fishing skills of ospreys.
This video from Arkive.org is certain to impress you. Just look at the size of that last fish!
And, did you know…?
At the coast osprey nests are often within sight of each other. Like a loosely organized colony, they watch each other to see who returns with a fish and follow the successful hunters out to hunt the same area.
Osprey can even identify the fishes held by others and are more likely to follow a neighbor who returns with a fish that lives in schools. Schooling fish are never alone. There’s more where that came from!
