Here’s what has happened with Seattle peregrines over the fall and winter.
As far as we know, the four Grain Terminal young dispersed without problems. Grain Terminal employees told wonderful stories about the young peregrines watching them while they worked, the adults flushing and nabbing pigeons at close range, the adults chasing off other raptors and the ever-present gulls and, the screeching youngsters chasing their parents – close, personal views of the lives of a peregrine family with vigorous flying young.
One of the Grain Terminal youngsters was at the Ballard Bridge in December. Observations of the juvenile with an adult female at this location, without conflict, suggest that the adult may have been its mother. As the peregrine flies, it’s only a few minutes in the air from the Grain Terminal to the Ballard Bridge. An adult female that appears to be the same bird is seen regularly at the Grain Terminal. There have been no recent reports of her mate, but observations at that locale are spotty. We will certainly be looking – this was our only successful nest last year!
The female that tried to nest in a ventilation pit on One Union Square began perching on the nest ledge at WaMu in late summer, after abandoning incubation. In the fall, we confirmed this was Bell by reading her VID band. She spent time close to the nest box almost every day until the cold weather in late winter, when she became less regular there.
An adult male has also been present at the WaMu tower since fall and has been seen almost every week. We have not been able to confirm his identity, so we don’t know if this is the double-banded adult reported at One Union in late spring. Keep in mind that it’s not impossible that this male could be Stewart. We haven’t been able to confirm whether he is or is not in the area.
As the days have gotten longer, the female and male have been displaying near the nest box, as we would expect at this time of the year. We want to confirm that the female is still Bell and see if we can determine who the male is. We see them only at a distance, and the birds we’re seeing may not be who we think they are.
Both the Ship Canal adults are active and highly visible on their territory. An observer read the male’s VID band about a month ago and the female’s last week and confirmed they are still the 2001 male from the WaMu nest and his Columbia River (Oregon) mate. We hope that the 3rd try will be the charm for this young pair and that they will nest successfully in 2004.
Recent reports suggest the West Seattle female has not paired with a male over the winter. This could change, though. This is the time of year when unpaired birds are moving around, looking for mates and territories.
There have been regular peregrine reports from some of the areas outside of the core activity area in Seattle – in Renton and Tukwila, for instance. Time will tell whether these birds are wintering birds or will stay in the area and attempt to breed.
Stay tuned for breeding season updates.
