Downtown Pittsburgh Falcon Chicks Checked, Banded At Gulf Tower

Five peregrine falcon chicks living at the Gulf Tower in Downtown Pittsburgh received a checkup and were banded on Monday as part of the Urban Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project.

Officials from the national aviary caught the five falcon chicks from their nest on the 37th floor of the Gulf Tower.

"Banding peregrine falcons is an important part of continued monitoring of this state endangered and federally protected species," said Dr. Todd Katzner, director of conservation and field research at the National Aviary. "By banding these birds, we are able to keep tabs on them and often identify where they settle when they find a breeding territory.”

Banding helped aviary workers determine where the chicks’ parents were born.

“This activity is also important to the National Aviary, as we work to show off success stories about people and wildlife, and there is no better conservation success story than that of the peregrine falcon," said Katzner.

Katzner said the chicks will grow rapidly. In the coming days, Katzner said the chicks will acquire their flight feathers and begin strengthening their wings in preparation for their first flight.

The public can follow their progress via the Pittsburgh FalconCam.

LINK: Pittsburgh FalconCam

Peregrine falcons were once one of the most widespread birds in the world, but the use of long-lived pesticides such as DDT caused females to produce thin eggshells that often cracked during incubation. By the 1960s, populations crashed throughout much of the world, and in 1974, peregrines were listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

After a nationwide recovery program enabled the species to make a comeback, the peregrine falcon was federally de-listed in 1999.

The peregrine falcon continues to be listed as a Pennsylvania endangered species under the state wildlife code because their populations have not fully recovered here.

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