Washington Mutual Nest - the fabulous four:
In 2002, Stewart and Bell fledged four young, for only the second time in their long nesting history. To the amazement of the project volunteers, none of the young required human intervention and assistance during those first weeks on the wing. Trouble-free fledging has only happened once before, in 1998 when only two fledged. Four brown peregrines hurtled themselves through the air in pursuit of pigeons, their parents, and each other among the urban pinnacles and canyons of downtown Seattle.
It appears that they didn't all disperse from the Seattle area, as we had sightings of juveniles downtown throughout the fall. In November, a small juvenile seen with a large adult presumably was one of the young males with Bell, but the observer was unable to read the VID bands. Reports of juveniles continued into mid-December.
Last week, one of the WaMu juveniles was trapped in a bathroom in an unfinished building in the Central Area. It chased a pigeon into the building, cornered it in the bathroom, and made a meal of it, before it was trapped. The young peregrine was missing its right leg, with a completely healed wound near where the leg came out of the body. Speculation is that it probably hit a wire, which amputated the leg. The bird was evaluated by a vet at Woodland Park Zoo, but was released because it was healthy, aside from the missing leg. Obviously, a peregrine with one leg is at a
disadvantage, but, so far, this young bird is a survivor, with a demonstrated ability to catch prey.
West Seattle - the changing of the guard:
This spring, during egg-laying, an unbanded adult female took over the West Seattle territory after the former occupant was injured in a collision at Safeco Field and could not be rehabilitated. The former occupant, a hatch year 1997 bird from the San Juan Islands, had been a Seattle resident since spring 1998. The new female moved into the territory within two weeks of the injury and is still there. Like her predecessor, she shows a great deal of interest in an adult male that visits her on a regular basis. Like her predecessor, she may find that he is only a part time mate. He is not banded, but plumage and behavior over the past two years point to Stewart as the culprit. Speculation is that he considers West Seattle part of his territory and is strong enough to drive off other males that show an interest in the area and the female. Bigamous relationships are unusual in peregrines, but not unheard of. Stewart fits the pattern - an older, experienced male that devotes most of his attention to his alpha female and their nest, while the second nest fails. This is what happened at West Seattle in 2001.
In September, an adult male from Tacoma (hatch year 2000) courted the new West Seattle female. Peregrine observers hoped for the ideal situation - a male strong enough to hold the West Seattle territory, but not strong enough to cause mayhem downtown. At least as for now, though, it appears that Stewart has driven him off and is firmly in control of that territory.
I-5 Ship Canal Bridge - son of Stewart: A juvenile male and an adult female attempted to nest this spring on the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge, north of downtown Seattle. The male is Stewart and Bell's offspring from 2001; his mate is a hatch year 2000 bird from the Oregon side of the Columbia River. It appears that the nest failed primarily because of the male's youth. Juvenile males usually lack the maturity and hunting skills to nest successfully, and he was not an exception. He lost interest in incubation as the weeks went on, and observations suggest that he probably did not provide the female with enough food. The pair abandoned incubation. They are still together, and we hope for a better outcome in 2003.
Bellevue - possibilities:
An adult male and a juvenile female were present in downtown Bellevue this past spring, but did not nest. The female's VID band identified her as hatch year 2001 from the Fremont Bridge site in Portland, Oregon, where peregrines have nested for years. We don't know the male's origin. There is still a pair of peregrines in downtown Bellevue, but we don't know if they are the same birds. Whoever they are, there is a nest box on one of the buildings in downtown Bellevue waiting for them.
For so many years, we have had our breeding pair, Stewart and Bell, downtown, with other birds arriving in the fall to establish winter territories. As we begin 2003, it appears that we are now transitioning to a breeding population. Perhaps, in a few years, we will have a breeding population in urban areas along the I-5 corridor, from Everett to Olympia
