So far so good, at one week post-fledging. The last male to fledge gave us a scare on Tuesday, two days after his initial flight. The Tuesday morning observation team spotted him on top of a pedestrian walk sign, only a few feet above oblivious pedestrians, at an intersection at the base of his home "cliff.". The concern, of course, was that he would end up in the street, and the team had visions of recruiting pedestrians to form a physical barricade to keep him from running into traffic. However, he managed to make it to the roof of a nearby 4 story building, where he ran into a new problem. A very aggressive gull harassed and swooped at him and made contact at least a couple of times. He was too close against the building for the adults to see him, or they would have
ended the gull problem.
He flew east and out of view. A few minutes later, a man reported that he had landed on the sidewalk about a block to the north; he was close enough that he could read his VID band. By the time rescuers got there, though, the bird was gone. Since we couldn't locate him and had no more reports of a peregrine in trouble, we could only hope that he managed to escape a precarious situation by himself. We had to wait until the next day for confirmation that all four fledglings were safe on the roof of Puget Sound Plaza.
The rest of the week was uneventful, at least for the observers. We suspect it was much more of an adventure for the fledglings, as they explored new territory. Under the watchful eyes of the adults, they flew from one building to another. They played in the water on top of a building; rushed to adults arriving with prey; gobbled down prey or ignored it, depending on hunger; had mild squabbles over prey remains; practiced their wing flaps; and snuggled up to sleep next to each other, just like they did on the nest
ledge. The male that fledged first has proven to be a strong flier, quickly learning to ascend rising air currents. The last female to fledge was the stodgiest, but the heavier females usually take longer to master flying. Bell and Stewart did not have a carefree week. They had four youngsters to protect and feed, from first light to dusk. Since the fledglings were not vigorously pursuing them, they used very visible perches close to them, where they could intercept any potential threat that approached; the result was a daily war waged on the gulls that nest on many of the lower buildings downtown. The Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks that nest in the city seldom come downtown during the breeding season, so the gulls bear the brunt of peregrine aggression. Bell and Stewart had hunting duties, too, but these experienced adults had no problem providing lots of food, especially with the new crop of young pigeons.
We'll update you on their continuing adventures.
