Birds of a Feather

As I was walking from work towards where I parked my bike, I heard a screech that said "I'm a bird of prey." It took me a few moments of scanning but I saw the bird perched on top of one of the flag poles at the corner of Grant and the Blvd. of the Allies.

It was one of the downtown Peregrine Falcons sitting on top of the eagle flagpole cap. Both birds were about the same size.

Pittsburgh has several nesting pairs of Peregrines. One pair lives atop the Cathedral of Learning in Oakland. The other nests downtown high up on the Grant Building. These Falcons are not migratory but they do seem to roam away from town during the fall and early winter. Now is about the time they return to raise a new clutch.

I can see the Gulf Tower from where I work but the angle is such that I can't see the nest. Even so, I occasionally see the blur of a falcon, folded up in a dive to pick a pigeon out of the sky. (Die! Die! Die, you disgusting rats with wings!)

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy maintains webcams to watch the falcon nests. (http://www.paconserve.org/pittfalcons/index.html) Unfortunately, it looks like the Gulf Tower cam isn't functioning. As you watch, look for eggs near the end of March and for them to hatch at the end of April.