23 June

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.

17 June

For better or worse, all our eyases have fledged. We, the human observers, often wish that last week on the ledge could be extended, so that we could enjoy looking at them a little longer. The young birds are so beautiful at that stage in their lives. Their perfect, pristine feathers contrast with remnant fuzzy, white down, and their dark eyes are accentuated by the black feathering on their heads. Their liveliness and vitality are pure pleasure to observe. Since the adults furnish a steady supply of prey, they get along very well, with just the occasional tug-of-war over prey. No one could describe this brood as food-stressed. They snuggle up together in fluffy piles, appearing deceptively cuddly and gentle.

Their life on the ledge is in the past now, but they're not off to seek their fortunes yet. First they have to survive the transition to attaining flight skills and to learning to sustain themselves by catching their own prey. Right now, they're awkward fliers, their landing skills are minimal, and they believe that food comes from their parents. They have a lot to learn.

16 June

The last two eyases on the ledge, a male and a female, joined their two siblings in the skies of downtown Seattle this morning. While the first two fledged on camera, these two left from the north end of the ledge, out of view, between 0539 and 0715. Stay tuned for their adventures

15 June

Our second fledgling of the 2002 season took her first flight at 1109 on Friday, June 14, leaving the other female and male on the ledge to watch. This lively youngster was the first female to feather out, before her sister and the remaining male. Her flight from the nest ledge was captured on our 24 hour videotape. She perched on the outer ledge, with one sibling near her and the other in the nest box. She flapped her wings, flapped again, and took off. The male who fledged first also was on camera when he left the ledge on June 13. All four eyases were hopping and flapping on the ledge. He perched for a few seconds at the edge of the drop-off, pumped his wings, and flew. Our tape review team reports that the other three simply stood and stared in the direction of his flight for about ten minutes, before resuming their normal activities. We have backed our camera off to record when the birds fledge, if possible. This is how we have been able to pinpoint the times of first flight for the two that have left the ledge.

13 June

For the last couple of days, we watched the four feathered charmers flapping and hopping about the ledge, and we expected one of the males to go at any time. The questions were which one and when. This morning at 0732, one of the males left the ledge on his first flight and ended up on the northwest corner of the 27 story Financial Center, about a block from his home cliff. Within minutes, Bell was there to give him
attention and food. Our morning observation team was able to read the VID bands on the three eyases left on the ledge, so we know which male it was.
When will the second male go? And the two females? Stay tuned.

9 June

We expect that the eyases will begin fledging this week. As of today, June 9, one of the males and one of the females are almost fully feathered, with the other male and female lagging behind. We expect that the most feathered male will go before the female, as the smaller males usually develop faster.
Feather development is a clue to who flies first, but, once their feathers are sufficient to support them in their weak initial flights, temperament becomes a factor. They go when they are ready, and, since we can't get into their heads and look out through those dark eyes, we'll have to wait to see when they decide to start their winged adventures.

3 June

Although the eyases made the big trip out of the nest box and onto the main ledge, they stayed fairly close to the nest box and were on camera most of the time last week. Watching them was a visual treat, not because they had attained the beauty they will have as fully-feathered birds, but because they were so funny, both in appearance and activity.

They had not mastered the art of leaving the box gracefully; when eyases leapt from the box to get prey from an adult, they often landed face first. Attempts to stand and flap wings had the same result. Shuffling on their tarsi got them from one place to another faster than trying to stand fully upright and walk on their toes. All had attained the minimum skill to grasp prey, hold it down with one foot, and pull pieces off, but It was usually much easier and much quicker to get food from the adults.

At the beginning of the week, they were still very white and fuzzy in appearance, trimmed with dark feathers on their wings and tails and around the eyes. By the end of the week, more and more feathers peeked through the white fluff, as they approached the half feathers/half fluff "harlequin" plumage. The contrast between the disheveled eyases and the elegant adults is comical, but soon the down will be gone, and the youngsters will be beautiful in their perfect new feathers.