Mouse-ear hawkweed in Schenley Park + peregrine Green perched near the snapcam, 6 June 2026 (photos by Kate St. John and the National Aviary snapcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

6 June 2026

Fledge Watch, 5 June 2026, 6:30-7:30pm

Two of four juvenile peregrines lounge on the nestrail, waiting for dinner, 5 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)

Last evening during the last scheduled(*) Fledge Watch we again watched all four young peregrines lounge on the nestrail waiting for dinner. Only one was excited enough to run, flap, and hop. He almost took off … but not.

Fledge Watch at Schenley Plaza, 5 June 2026 (photo by John English)

Earlier in the day the juvies hopped in and out of the nestbox and made short flights between the nestrail and the top of the box. This could not be seen from Schenley Plaza but it was captured via motion detection snapshots.

At 2:15pm Red hopped up to the snapcam (photo at left) and at 3:45pm Green made the same move (photo at right). Green looks a lot larger than Red but it’s an optical illusion from the wide angle lens.

Red (left) and Green (right) near the snapcam, 6 June 2026 (photos from the National Aviary snapcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)

As we were packing up at the end of Fledge Watch, Carla suddenly dove like a bullet right over our heads and disappeared behind the trees. Seconds ticked by and then she flew out with two crows in pursuit. Hah! Of course they couldn’t catch her. And of course we have no photos. Perhaps she was bored or she was demonstrating for the kids.

(*) Last scheduled Fledge Watch: I will still be watching in the days ahead but it will be a spur of the moment event. You can always look for the peregrines any time and you might get lucky. If you see something interesting leave a comment!

Flowers at Schenley Park, 5 June 2026

On a walk in Schenley Park yesterday morning I found four flowers worth a look:

• Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
• Ribwort or English plaintain (Plantago lanceolata)
• Virginia pepperweed (Lepidium virginicum)
• Mouse-ear hawkweed (Pilosella officinarum)

Chicory, Schenley Park, 5 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)

Ribwort (English) plaintain, Schenley Park, 5 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)

Virginia pepperweed, Schenley Park, 5 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)

Mouse-ear hawkweed, Schenley Park, 5 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)