Title: The Westinghouse Bridge falcons
Post by: Donna on 24-May-10, 08:57:13 AM
You can be sure if it’s Westinghouse
I couldn’t resist using the slogan of the Westinghouse Electric corporation from the old days when they made home appliances.
The company is long gone, dissolved by a series of buy-outs and takeovers, but the Westinghouse Bridge that carries Route 30 over their old plant site in East Pittsburgh is still there. And it hosts a new family.
Last month PennDOT workers were stunned when they were vigorously attacked by one - sometimes two – peregrines when they attempted to work on a particular area of the Westinghouse Bridge. They called the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Beth Fife came over to check.
On her first visit Beth found no eggs, but on her second she found a female peregrine and five eggs carefully laid in deep gravel in a dark, protected area of the bridge. Beth could see the bird was banded but could not read her bands. She hoped the pictures would reveal the peregrine’s identity.
And here is one of those pictures, taken April 29 by PennDOT’s Val Roskosh.
This image was too far away to read the bands but Beth went back later and got a closeup. That’s how we found out this female peregrine hatched May 10, 2005 at the Bank One building in Canton, Ohio. She was named “Storm” at banding. The PennDOT crew plans to call her “Val.”
By now Val’s eggs have hatched and she and her mate – as yet unidentified – are busy feeding their babies. Beth will return to the bridge to band them.
Good luck, Beth. This mother bird was calm when you visited her eggs but I bet she’ll kick up a Storm when you come back!
from Kate St John's blog
I couldn’t resist using the slogan of the Westinghouse Electric corporation from the old days when they made home appliances.
The company is long gone, dissolved by a series of buy-outs and takeovers, but the Westinghouse Bridge that carries Route 30 over their old plant site in East Pittsburgh is still there. And it hosts a new family.
Last month PennDOT workers were stunned when they were vigorously attacked by one - sometimes two – peregrines when they attempted to work on a particular area of the Westinghouse Bridge. They called the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Beth Fife came over to check.
On her first visit Beth found no eggs, but on her second she found a female peregrine and five eggs carefully laid in deep gravel in a dark, protected area of the bridge. Beth could see the bird was banded but could not read her bands. She hoped the pictures would reveal the peregrine’s identity.
And here is one of those pictures, taken April 29 by PennDOT’s Val Roskosh.
This image was too far away to read the bands but Beth went back later and got a closeup. That’s how we found out this female peregrine hatched May 10, 2005 at the Bank One building in Canton, Ohio. She was named “Storm” at banding. The PennDOT crew plans to call her “Val.”
By now Val’s eggs have hatched and she and her mate – as yet unidentified – are busy feeding their babies. Beth will return to the bridge to band them.
Good luck, Beth. This mother bird was calm when you visited her eggs but I bet she’ll kick up a Storm when you come back!
from Kate St John's blogTitle: Re: The Westinghouse Bridge falcons
Post by: Donna on 16-Jun-13, 04:09:17 PM
Alrighty folks, this is going to be a bit confusing but I'll try to keep it short and simple.
The eyas (Phoenix) at Westinghouse probably fledged last Tuesday, June 11. He was found by a work crew from Abate Irwin who are constructing a connecting ramp from Turtle Creek to North Versailles. They took pictures that I am still waiting for the foreman to email to me. What happened to the eyas depends on who you talk to. Every worker we talked to had a different story. We sort of deduced that they picked it up and took it up to the ramp and released it on a beam and that parents did find him. I'm hoping that the foreman can also clarify this.
We have yet to see Phoenix. We have seen his parents, but can't seem to find him or to hear begging calls. The “official” fledge watch may be over, but we still need eyes on the bridge to locate this little fellow. We got rained out today and I can't make it back there until Tuesday.
Hope they find him!!Title: Re: The Westinghouse Bridge falcons
Post by: MAK on 16-Jun-13, 05:01:31 PM
Aww he looks so cute with his pantaloons! :baby: