Developer Gets OK To Relocate Young Falcons From Downtown Nest

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Majestic and effortless birds of prey ride the thermals above Downtown Pittsburgh.

Hawks, bald eagles and peregrine falcons don't fail to grab our attention.

"They have big eyes, they are powerful and do brave things like dive at 200 miles per hours," says Falcon watcher, Jill St. John.

Dori and Louie are a falcon couple that have called the Gulf Tower home for years, raising their young under the watchful eye of a webcam. This year they decided to shun the spotlight and take up space in the ventilation split in the rear of a Fourth Street office building. Dori and Louie are playing tag team these days bringing food to their little family and protecting them.

Falcons have no idea people can't fly says St. John so the protective birds have been diving on construction workers on the roof of a building next door.

The building's developer, BET Investments says as soon as they realized they were falcons, "we ceased work on the roof out of concern for the safety of the falcons."

The company applied for and received permits to remove the chicks. But St. John says that won't necessarily solve the issue.

"If you remove the chicks from the area, the parents get more aggressive and focus on the last place the chicks were."

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Attacks that she says could continue for the same length of time as if nothing is done at all.

"It's not that long and then the family will leave on their own," St. John says.

But the developer says waiting until early June to resume the work on the roof will delay the project and the apartments will not be ready for students this fall.

So, BET Investments says, "The relocation will be completed under the direct supervision of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The falcons will be raised by a certified bird rehabilitator for eventual release into the wild."

The move could come as soon as Thursday.