Peregrine Falcon Chicks on Pitt's Cathedral of Learning Scheduled for Banding May 31

PITTSBURGH-The four peregrine falcon chicks born atop the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning will be banded May 31 starting at 10:30 a.m. Media can observe and photograph the banding from the Babcock Room on the Cathedral's 40th floor. Space in the Babcock Room is limited. Please RSVP to Morgan Kelly.

The bands assist in keeping track of the peregrine falcons, a protected species in Pennsylvania. Veterinarians from the Pennsylvania Game Commission will band the chicks following an introduction to the banding project from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy's Charles Bier, senior director of conservation science. The conservancy monitors the peregrine falcon nests at Pitt and the Gulf Tower downtown.

The Pitt peregrine falcon chicks hatched in early May. In March, parents Erie and Dorothy withstood an invasion of their nest by a male falcon searching for a mate. The interloper fled after a bloody 20-minute battle with the male falcon Erie. The female Dorothy began laying her eggs approximately a week later. A slide presentation of the fight is available on the conservancy's Web site at www.paconserve.org/rc/peregrine-07-images/index.html.

For more information on and images of the peregrine falcon nest, visit the conservancy's Web site at www.paconserve.org/rc/peregrine.html.

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5/25/07/tmw