Four Peregrine Falcon Chicks Banded at Gulf Tower

May 3, 2002

For the last twelve years a pair of peregrine falcons have successfully nested at Pittsburgh's Gulf Tower. Last May 3rd, four squawking chicks, numbers 36 through 39 to be born on that 37th floor ledge, were weighed and given a medical examination by National Aviary personnel, then banded for identification purposes by state Game Commission biologists. The birds, one female and three males, hatched in mid-April.

This was a year of firsts. For the first time five eggs were laid in the nest, although one did not hatch. And, later this month, two of the four falcons will be outfitted with solar-powered satellite tracking transmitters so state biologists can follow their movements throughout the world.

Pittsburgh's original pair of peregrines arrived in the winter of 1989. It marked the first time the species had nested in western Pennsylvania in more than forty years. Both birds were less than one-year-old. They claimed the downtown area as their territory and regularly chased away hawks and vultures.The original pair in Pittsburgh wore coded leg bands identifying them as part of the peregrine recovery program. The original female was identified as being released in the Shenandoah Mountains on the Virginia-West Virginia border in June 1989. The male was released in northeastern Tennessee in June 1989. In 1998 the original female peregrine disappeared and an “unbanded” female took up residency and continues to nest at the Gulf Tower. The new female peregrine was banded in 1998 along with her chicks.  Her origin will never be known.  The male of the present pair is believed to be the original bird. The Gulf Tower is the first known building nest site in Pennsylvania.

The slide show at right offers a glimpse of the day's activities. Special thanks to WPC Volunteer Mary Shaw for some of the photos in our slideshow.