Female (left) and male (right) peregrines at 62nd Street Bridge, 11 June 2026 (photo by Jeff Cieslak)

13 June 2026

In 2024 and 2025 a pair of peregrines nested successfully at East Liberty Presbyterian’s church steeple where they fledged a total of four young. Nest monitor Adam Knoerzer named them Libby and Dave.

This March they were on their way to another successful year when a terrific wind storm blew away the sticks that supported the nesting zone. Here’s what it looked like before it disappeared. See more at East Liberty Peregrines’ Nest is Gone.

Former site of East Liberty Presbyterian peregrine nest in April 2025 (photo by Adam Knoerzer)

That was in late March, egg laying season, so Libby had to find a place to nest very quickly. Together the pair looked around for available sites and came up with a plan. They nested at the 62nd Street Bridge.

We didn’t know there were peregrines at 62nd Street until Matt Jacob shared his June 4-5 photos. I wrote about them on 7 June: New Pair Found at 62nd Street. At the end of that article I wondered if this pair had come from East Liberty.

On 11 June Jeff Cieslak visited the bridge and produced the side-by-side photo shown at top.

As Kate StJohn reported last week , a pair of peregrines has appeared at the 62nd Street Bridge. Today, I went to see them, and one was under the bridge on the catwalk not far from Etna. We waited about 45 minutes to see if anything would happen, and at about minute 44 something did. Based on size, the image [at top] shows the female (L) and male (R). The male was actually on the far side of the bridge, but I scaled his image to show the difference.

Adam Knoerzer sent Jeff his photos of Libby and Dave. Jeff put them all together and their face and head features match. Ta Dah! This pair is Libby and Dave.

Libby (left) and Dave (right) peregrines at 62nd Street Bridge, 11 June 2026 (large photos by Jeff Cieslak, inset photos by Adam Knoerzer)

At 62nd Street Libby’s clutch is later than it would have been at the East Liberty because she had to start over. It will be a while — perhaps early July — before we know if they are successful.

This discovery also indicates …

If East Liberty Presbyterian’s steeple (ELPC) has a proper nesting zone, it is a preferable nest site to the 62nd Street Bridge. Peregrines very rarely use the 62nd Street Bridge. This is only the fourth time since monitoring began in 2007.

And yes, it’s possible to identify individual peregrine falcons using photographs. Chad+Chris Saladin have been doing this for years. That’s how they are able to name and re-identify peregrines at various sites in Ohio. See their work at C&C’s Ohio Peregrine Page on Facebook.