For the third straight spring, two peregrine falcons are being sighted in downtown Lancaster. Will they again seemingly disappear into thin air? Do they have a high-rise nest somewhere that will finally be located?

The answer might depend on citizen scientists such as you.

It'll take observers looking up to pattern where the falcons are flying to and discover their lofty perches. A pattern just might take us to their nest, and it's highly possible they have one if there are two together this time of year, falcon observers say.

Let's recap what we know.

There were renewed sightings of at least one falcon on the Griest Building last spring. Later in the summer, the Pennsylvania Game Commission's falcon guy and I inspected the roof and ledges of the building.

We found dozens of bird carcasses, but no nest. Conclusion: Though a popular perch for dining and certainly high enough, the Griest Building lacks the type of ledges and cover that would attract a pair of peregrines for a nest.

Around the same time the falcon sightings stopped, a pair of falcons were observed consistently flying under the Route 30 bridge at Columbia. On a search mission I was a part of, three unhatched eggs were found in June on a plate under the bridge.

The failed nest led to speculation that Columbia was where the Lancaster falcons set up shop.

Also, a pair of falcons set up a nest on a high-rise office building in downtown Reading, opening another possibility to explain the apparent disappearance of the Lancaster falcon(s).

But, as they say, the plot has thickened.

Co-workers and I spotted a pair of falcons on the Griest Building in mid-March. Every few days one of us would spot one on a window arch near the top of the building, ripping apart a mourning dove or some other avian victim.

One day, we found two female mallard duck heads at the bottom of the building.

Then, the sightings all but stopped. Had they moved out of town again to raise a family?

But what if they were not gone at all, merely staying close to a nest somewhere else in town?

I called over to the convention center construction site, wondering if perhaps the crane operator, in his high-altitude observatory, had seen anything.

No, Joe Flater, superintendent with Miller, Long & Arnold Concrete Construction, told me, but one of the excavators told him about a hawk catching a bird in mid-air. Since most hawks don't capture other birds in mid-air, and falcons almost always do, that tidbit got my attention.

Then, Flater went on to say he saw TWO of the "hawks" flying around just the day before. He also observed that he notices the birds coming from tall buildings a couple blocks to the southeast.

I looked on the map: Of course, the Church Street Tower and Farnum Street East high-rise! The two apartment buildings, each nine stories high, sit atop one of the highest points of ground in the city and afford a sweeping rooftop view as good as the Griest Building.

A helpful Lancaster City Housing Authority official suggested I get in contact with the Lancaster Community Safety Coalition, as they have powerful security cameras atop both buildings.

Sure, you can come down and we'll scan the rooftops for a nest, said Dale B. Witmer, executive director of LCSC. Several hours later, I arrived at the control center. Witmer greeted me and said he had something to show me.

He cued up a video. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. Within five minutes of my call, Witmer had made a casual scroll with the security cameras. He managed to capture a peregrine flying onto a ledge at the base of the steeple of Crossroads Mennonite Church at South Duke and Church streets. You can watch this several-minute video on lancasteronline.com.

Hopefully, I'll soon get a chance to check out the rooftops of the two towers. But there could be a nest on any number of high buildings in the area, including churches. All they need is a good view, an overhang from the elements and some gravel or dirt on which to lay eggs. Falcons don't build stick or grass nests.

Last year, in addition to the Harrisburg and Reading nests, Pittsburgh had one on the Gulf Tower Office Building, one on the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning and one on a bridge.

There is a nest on the Unit 1 reactor building at TMI, four on bridges near Philadelphia, one on the PPL office building in center Allentown, a cliff nest along the West Branch of the Susquehanna near Sunbury, a cliff nest near Wilkes-Barre, a cliff nest in Delaware Water Gap, a cliff nest near Williamsport, a smokestack nest at PPL's Martins Creek in Northampton County and another on a PPL smokestack in Montour County.

Back in Lancaster, residents keeping their eyes peeled as they walk or drive downtown could provide clues to the peregrine nest.

If possible, try to take a picture or use binoculars to see if the falcon is wearing a leg band. Feel free to report any suspicious activity to me at acrable@lnpnews.com or 481-6029.

Meanwhile, encouraging news about the Columbia falcons. Two adult birds have been seen in recent days ducking under the Route 30 bridge, suggesting nesting activity. So far, no one has seen them using the nest box placed on a pier by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and PennDOT in January

 City's elusive falcon caught on tape

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Turning to another raptor nesting story, Meredith Lombard, a Columbia birder who has been keeping tabs on the Columbia falcons, discovered a new bald eagle nest built on the York County side of the river near Columbia. She watched the nest being built and now an eagle is sitting in it, incubating eggs.

With a good spotting scope, the nest can be seen from the Breezyview Overlook off Route 441 in Chickies Rock County Park. Look across the river and scan until you see a red shed between two houses. View straight up. The nest is in heavy trees about a "half-glass" view from the top of the mountain.