With the number of active nest sites we now have, there are other fledglings in various stages of independence at bridges all over the city.
At West Seattle, a recently fledged youngster awoke from a nap in the grass and flew to the top of a train stopped on nearby railroad tracks. With the oblivious fledgling atop it, the train started moving, headed for a bridge that would have eventually carried the youngster across the Duwamish. Thanks to an observer who jogged along beside the stop-and-go train, frantically trying to get someone’s attention, an engineer flushed the bird from the top of a boxcar, and it flew to a tree close to the nest ledge. Another fledgling at this site was not so lucky, as it apparently was hit and killed by vehicles on the swing bridge. Two other fledglings ended up at a rehab center; one was later released back at its nest site.
One early fledgling at the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge was taken to a rehab center, but the other three fledged uneventfully. The one with problems was later released and joined its siblings.The lone eyas at the Ballard site fledged successfully, though it took well over a week to confirm this. There are hundreds of places in the immediate area to perch out of view, and no one could locate the fledgling or an adult until an observer spotted the young female racing in to harass her mother near the nest ledge. In human terms, this youngster is Bell’s great-granddaughter. Love these multiple generations!
We set up a nest box at our south Duwamish site, in an attempt to lure the adults away from a ledge that we felt would be dangerous for eggs and young. However, the birds chose to ignore the nest box. We observed two fully feathered youngsters on the cramped ledge, and one survived fledging. Since we were afraid that neither would survive its initial flight, we were relieved that at least one was successful.
Over the next few weeks, the fledglings clustered around their home territories will hone their hunting skills, spend less time around their parents, and begin to disperse. They will not have the freedom to explore as much of the city as fledglings in years past, because of the increase in resident pairs. Some will have problems; others will disperse without incident. We will never know what happens to many of them, but we will hope for the best. We will continue to post updates when we have news.
