Here's the current status quo, from the human observer's perspective.
Bell is still downtown and in control of her home territory. Her identity has been confirmed by reading the VID (visual identification) band on her left leg. There has been almost no observed courtship behavior downtown, and most sightings are of a single bird. Several volunteers are running tapes a few times a week, but there has been no activity around the nest box.
An adult male that appears identical to Stewart has been hanging out at West Seattle, for the third spring in a row. Stewart is not banded, but there's circumstantial evidence linking him to these sightings. Please see our winter update for more on West Seattle. Whenever he flies into the area, the West Seattle female rockets to the nest box and displays. We've had reports of long mutual ledge displays.
An adult male that looks like Stewart has also been visiting the Grain Terminal, northwest of downtown. With its plethora of pigeons and starlings, this is a popular hunting destination for peregrines, and, for years, both the downtown adults and various young have hunted there. There is an old nest box there, that the peregrines have ignored, until recently. Now, an unbanded adult female appears very attached to that box. Her plumage is different from the West Seattle female, so we know it's not the same bird. However, she reacts the same way whenever the "probable" Stewart shows up - with much excitement, vocalizing, and displaying at the nest box.
Stewart and Bell have a long history of successful nesting, and last year was one of their best ever. While most pairs stay together as long as they nest successfully, it is thought that the bond is at least as much to the territory as to the mate. We have lots of questions about what is going on this year, and why, but we don't have any answers. Right now, we're waiting to see if there will be a late nesting attempt downtown and if either or both of these "extra" females will lay eggs.
The one place where the breeding season appears to be moving along in the usual manner is at the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge, where Stewart and Bell's 2001 male offspring and his Oregon mate are incubating.
As for the web camera status, we are currently monitoring the nest ledge with our 24 hour time-lapse camera/VCR. Currently, the camera images can only be viewed from the TV monitor located in the lobby (1st floor) of the Washington Mutual Bank in downtown Seattle. Because of the expenses involved in maintaining the FRG web-cam, we will only be providing live images on the website if the falcons utilize their traditional nest ledge. We certainly hope we will be able to provide your this experience this year.
