West Seattle eyasses banded

Today, Wednesday May 14, 2008, with the indispensable help of a Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) crew, Mark Gleason and yours truly 'descended' upon the peregrines in the nest box beneath the West Seattle high-rise.

This past winter, FRG volunteers have kept an eye on 'our' local peregrine population, and we noticed some changes. In West Seattle the female disappeared (for unknown reasons), while in Ballard the male disappeared. The Ballard female (double-banded) then showed up in West Seattle, and has now produced her first set of offspring in this site.

In the 2006 and 2007 seasons, the West Seattle pair chose not to use the nest box placed for their use beneath the bridge. Instead the female laid her eggs on top of piles of feathers and bones, left over from meals, in the bridge expansion joint.

The Ballard female, who nested in the box beneath the Ballard Bridge during the 2006 and 2007 seasons (raising a single chick each season), opted to use the nest box at West Seattle. The box and its contents are easier to observe from the bridge control tower than the expansion joint, making planning for banding activities simpler. Our thanks go to SDOT Mary Brown and Ed Morteson for helping schedule the banding.

The only way to access the nest site is by blocking off one of the lanes of traffic on the bridge and removing a man hole cover at the top of a ladder leading to a maintenance catwalk. The nest box was placed next to this cat walk many years ago, when peregrines started wintering in the area, and we suspected they might try and nest here.

In this picture the SDOT crew has removed the man hole cover out of the roadway, exposing the ladder leading to the cat walk.
We found four healthy-looking eyasses in the box, and two attentive adults who flew around and vocalized to show their displeasure at our unannounced visit.
The four young were banded with USFWS bands and VID bands and returned to the nest box
Even before Mark and I could retreat up the ladder, the female was back at the nest box, checking out her young (below).

The final image of the female shows the value of outfitting the birds with the VID band, in addition to the USFWS band. In real life the code (vertical 07 over vertical P) is easy to read, making identification possible without having to re-capture the bird.

In this case, it made it possible for us to track her from her old nest site to her new nest site, and document her third breeding season, as her most productive season to date.

2008 Banding season started

Today, Tuesday May 13, 2008, with the help of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the three-week-old peregrine chicks on the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge were banded successfully. This year's team consisted of Eric Engi, bridge technician; Broch Bender, from WSDOT Communications; Michael MacDonald, WSDOT Wildlife Biologist.

The adult female here was banded as a chick in a nest box in Rainier, OR (power plant) in 2000. Her VID band is 71 over A. Her mate is VID band 1 over G, one of the 2001 offspring from Stewart and Bell on the WAMU tower, in downtown Seattle.

Unlike in previous years, there were only three young this year. They now sport USFWS bands (right) and VID bands (left). All three took female-sized bands, although one of them smaller (7A) than the other two (7B).

The photo at left shows Mike MacDonald, WSDOT Wildlife Biologist, holding one of the chicks after banding.

In years past the female has been extremely agressive towards the intruders who came to band her young. She usually would hit the first person down the ladder, and others too as they approached the nest. This year, much to Eric's surprise, she yelled at him, but didn't hit. As the team members gathered at the base of the ladder, she stood in the nest box, next to her young. Only as Mike and I approached to gather the young did she fly off.

The young were gathered up and kept safe inside a cloth bag, while we banded each in turn. The team members stand within a couple of feet of the nest box, using part of the bridge structure as a working table. This also allows us to keep an eye on the whereabouts of the adults.

As I banded the first chick I glanced over to the adult female and noticed that she had laid down in the box! A most unusual posture for an adult peregrine that's not incubating. It makes for nice calm working conditions though.

We did not see the male during the banding activity, although I believe I heard him vocalize from somewhere out of view on the bridge.

We would like to thank WSDOT Supervisors Archie Allen, Rick Rodda, and Tim Ditch for granting permission for the banding operation. Dave Wheeler and Gerald Cornell assisted by driving the trucks.

Seattle Eyass Update 18 June 2007

The Seattle eyasses at most sites are fledging at roughly the same time this year. As usual, not all of them have good experiences during the first few days on the wing, but thankfully some fledge without problems.

West Seattle
At West Seattle, a third fledgling was picked up and brought in to a local wildlife care center. This leaves only one of the original four fledglings remaining with the adults. On Sunday, this bird was observed perching briefly in a precarious place – the guardrail of the West Seattle freeway – but she soon left to chase her parents. She flew strongly.
We hope to release the other falcons back to these sites as soon as they are ready to fly well.

First Avenue South Bridge
Two youngsters fledged at the south Duwamish site. The adults had earlier laid their eggs on a really horrible ledge under the bridge rather than in the luxurious custom-built nest box that we provided for them. Oh well...
As of Sunday, both fledglings were staying close to the nest area, but looked good on short flights.

I-5 Ship Canal Bridge
On Saturday at the I-5 site, a recent fledgling perched on roof of a building near ground level. Unfortunately, it was only a few feet from a doorway where a number of people were entering the building. Though the crowd was oblivious to the fledgling peregrine perched directly above their heads, the adult female perceived the humans as threats to her vulnerable youngster and gave an impressive demonstration of stooping (folding her wings and diving) at the heads of bewildered pedestrians in an attempt to drive them away. I observed her stooping at least three times to within 4 to 5 feet of a small group of people, who immediately ran around a corner of the building.
Probably a good thing she did not hit anyone. This bird currently has the reputation among the FRG banders of being the most aggressive and dangerous female of all the sites we band. She hits hard and has drawn blood more than once. Of course, we consider that to be a good thing. She is a really good "mom".

A week ago, there were three youngsters on the I-5 bridge nest ledge. A fourth was at another wildlife care center. However, this weekend, no one could locate the remaining two fledglings. This is common at this stage. There are many low perches where the young can be concealed by vegetation or buildings, so we will continue to try to find them and hope for the best.

Seattle Eyass Update 13 June 2007

On Sunday, a second young peregrine from our West Seattle site ended up on the ground. Thanks to a commuter who realized that the bird was in a dangerous location, it is now at Sarvey Wildlife Care Center in Arlington. Like its sibling and a youngster from the I-5 site, it wasn’t quite ready to fly, but it’s in good health and should be released when it’s a little older.
By Monday morning, June 11, a third West Seattle youngster had taken its first flight, but this one made it to a nearby roof, a much safer place than the ground. As of today, June 13, the fourth eyas was still on the ledge.
At the Ballard site, only one egg hatched, and the male eyas was on the nest ledge Monday, with both parents perched close by to protect it if necessary. When an adult Red-tailed Hawk drifted into the area, both adults launched into flight, bombarded the larger raptor in screaming fury and quickly drove it from the area.
Also on Monday, at least two young birds were on the nest ledge at the I-5 site, with both watchful adults nearby. One eyas was at PAWS after leaving the ledge prematurely; an observer was not able to confirm that the fourth eyas was still on the ledge, but could not locate it on the ground or in the bushes. It isn’t possible to see the entire ledge from one vantage point, so it may have been tucked away in a corner out of view.
By Ruth Taylor

Update 8 June 2007

Here in Seattle, it seems like just yesterday that we checked nest sites to confirm hatching. The nestlings, or eyasses, at most of the sites are approaching six weeks of age now and fledging (first flight) is imminent.
We had two reminders of this Wednesday, June 6. Two eyasses ended up at PAWS, a wildlife care center north of town, after apparently tumbling off their respective ledges at our I-5 and West Seattle sites. We want to thank everyone involved in their rescue.
Both youngsters are healthy birds – they just weren’t yet capable of keeping themselves airborne and ended up running around on the ground, which is a very dangerous place to be. Dogs, cats, cars and people can all cause injury to a grounded nestling.
At this age, they have remnant patches of white down, and their pristine new feathers are still stubby. They’re not quite ready for flight yet, but they have developed an intense curiosity about the world beyond the nest ledge
Soon, very soon, instinct will prod the other nestlings to leave the security of the ledge and take that critical first flight.
If you find a recently fledged young peregrine on the ground, we suggest calling either PAWS at (425) 787-2500 or Sarvey Wildlife Care at (360) 435-4817. Both have experienced staff that can offer advice and help.
By Ruth Taylor

Brief visits at three urban eyries

June 5, 2007.

I had some brief time slots in between appointments today, all near peregrine eyries in Seattle, so I decided to use my breaks wisely.

At the Eastside nest I spotted the adult male sitting on a pillar. No sign of the female. However, four minutes later she flew out of the nest site. She landed near the male and feaked (wiped her bill, indicative of recently having eating). It is difficult to see into this nest, and young are not visible until they are a couple of weeks old. So we have to go by adult behavior until the young can be seen.

The past few weeks the adults' behavior switched from incubating to feeding young. Last week both adults stayed off the nest for prolonged periods, indicating they either failed or the young were about two weeks old. At that age they can regulate their own body temparature and don't need constant brooding from the adults.

The adult female coming out of the nest site and feaking strongly indicates she had been feeding young. I looked up at the nest site with my scope and lucked out. One down-covered young stretched both its wings above its back (only the wings were visible). The edges of the wings showed about one inch of growing flight feathers, indicating about 3 weeks of age. At the same time another young backed up to the edge of the nest (there is a ridge that screens the young from view) and defecated. This leads to the conclusion that there are at least two three-week-old young up there.










This image was taken last year when the Eastside adult female was eating on the ground.


My second break was near the Duwamish site. Here the adult female was perched in a light stand. Searching around the nest ledge revealed two young mostly feathered young with extensive tyfts of down on body and wings. About 4 1/2 to 5 weeks old. One was 'pancaked' and sound asleep. The other busy preening on the ouside edge of the nest ledge.
Just as I left the adult male showed up and perched in anearby light stand as well.

In 2006 I banded both adults at the Duwamish site, after the nesting season was over. The female is on the left, the male on the right. Both birds have returned to nest at this site this year.

My final break was near the Ballard nest site. Initially I did not see the youngster on the ledge and I feared it might have fallen in the water. But while I changed to a different vantage point and back again the youngster received food from the adults and was busily tearing away at what once was a pigeon. This youngster is about five weeks old. One more week and hopefully it will fledge successfully.

Michael MacDonald reports on I-5 Ship Canal banding

Michael MacDonald is the Washington State Department of Transportation wildlife biologist who is instrumental in banding the peregrine chicks at the I-5 Ship Canal bridge. To read his first hand report of the banding effort, click the link below:

http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/