7 February 2024

Courtship season is underway on the Pitt peregrine nest the place Ecco and his mate Carla are cementing their pair bond. Apparently they don’t seem to be the one peregrines within the space.

On 26 January I obtained information from Charles Bier who was instrumental in establishing the peregrine nestboxes at Gulf Tower and Pitt. Charles noticed a pair in East Liberty.

I occurred to be in East Liberty on this previous January 12^th, and I occurred to note 2 peregrines flying into the highest of the East Liberty Presbyterian Church.  One of many birds landed excessive on the church tower and the opposite one did, or flew behind the tower on the identical altitude.  I have no idea that this was a “pair”, however they have been behaving inside that context, and presently of the yr they might be specializing in excessive ledges. 

So, I’m questioning if a pair is thought to be utilizing this church, or if presumably it may have even been the Cathedral of Studying pair having a lunchtime outing to East Liberty.  I rapidly measured out  the direct distance between the CoL and this church in East Liberty and it got here out to about 1.9-miles.  Again within the day, this distance would have been thought to be too shut for consolation; re: 2 pairs in shut proximity (that was an preliminary concern for the Gulf Tower and CoL pairs, which have been about 2.3-miles aside).  In any case, there are a lot of elements concerned and I doubt this distance can be an issue for them.

— electronic mail from Charles Bier, 26 January 2024

I replied that the Pitt peregrines typically keep near house to defend their territory presently of yr, so perhaps it’s a brand new pair.

Then, exterior my window on Sunday 4 February, I noticed a peregrine flying onerous towards Shadyside from the route of the Cathedral of Studying. This falcon was utilizing territorial flappy flight to make itself apparent because it approached one other peregrine of the identical measurement — possible each females — circling up within the neighborhood of Negley Avenue and Baum Boulevard. This intersection is about midway between the Cathedral of Studying and East Liberty Presbyterian Church. It is likely to be a boundary line.

The peregrines didn’t combat. As a substitute they each circled up other than one another and went their separate methods.

That is the time of yr when peregrines with a lower than passable nest website attempt to declare higher one. The Cathedral of Studying is the most effective website on the town and Carla is new there(*) so in fact the challengers are testing to see if she’s as much as snuff.

Maybe that explains why she was so distracted whereas Ecco was courting her on Saturday 3 February. Although the courtship session lasted 6 minutes, Carla spent 3 minutes trying on the sky. To avoid wasting you time, I chopped out these (boring) three minutes with a fade.

Has the territorial boundary been settled? Are there challengers on the horizon?

Sustain with all of the motion on the Nationwide Aviary Falconcam on the College Pittsburgh.

(*) Carla arrived on the Cathedral of Studying in late Might final yr. She was banded Black/Blue S/07 at her birthplace in Fort Wayne, Indiana in Might 2020.