30 May

The two little charmers in the WaMu nest box continue to grow at a rapid pace. The energy they take in via meals during the first half of the six-week nestling period goes to attaining full body size, while the second half goes toward growing feathers. At 2 ½ weeks, they’ve grown their second coat of down, which makes them look soft and fuzzy. Once they pass the three-week milestone, watch for rapid feather growth. Once this starts, it’s possible to see them change from day to day. The majority of the meals we have seen the female feed them have featured small birds, with a few pigeons as well. As the female increases her amount of hunting, we expect that there will be more pigeons. She has time for hunting now that they can regulate their body temperature and don’t need constant brooding to keep warm. They will be banded at approximately three weeks. This is the ideal age, as their legs have reached their maximum size, which assures that the bands each will wear for the rest of its life are the correct size. Also, at this age they can’t move around very well, which means they can’t run down the ledge to get away from the bander.

As far as the other Seattle area peregrines, four young were banded at the I-5 Ship Canal on May 17, four at West Seattle on 5/23 and one at Ballard on 5/23. All appeared healthy. We would like to thank the Washington State DOT and Seattle DOT for access to the ledges for banding. The young at these sites are older than the WaMu eyasses, and they are in various stages of transition between down and feathers. Pristine new feathers are growing in, but lots of fuzzy white down is sticking out around and between the feathers. Sleek does not describe them at this age. Although they are active and curious, they still are quite clumsy. However, when one stops and stares intently at something beyond the ledge, the dark-eyed gaze and intent posture give a glimpse of the potential powerful raptor within.

May

Washington Mutual has hatched! The last time we had fluffy eyasses to watch downtown was in 2004, which seems eons ago, rather than only two years. While it is disappointing that two of the eggs did not hatch, we look forward to watching the two eyasses mature and to observing the adults taking care of them.

This is a new pair. Since neither is banded, we know very little about them, other than that they have been here since last summer. The female may be the same bird that attempted to nest on a ledge on the IBM Building last spring.

The peregrine population in the greater Seattle area continues to expand. We now have pairs at seven sites, and six of these pairs have laid eggs. All except the Washington Mutual Tower are on bridges. One site from last year – the Grain Terminal – is not active this year.

Four young at the I-5 Ship Canal hatched the last week in April. This is the fifth nesting season for the pair at this site; the previous two years have been successful. The male is from the Washington Mutual nest (hatch year 2001) and the female (hatch year 2000) from an Oregon site on the Columbia River.

The West Seattle pair fledged four young last year, for the first successful nesting season ever at this site. The pair did not use the nest box this year and laid eggs in a nearby expansion gap on the bridge. Observations of prey deliveries by the adults confirmed that eggs had hatched by May 1.

The pair of two-year-olds (hatch year 2004) at the Ballard Bridge had at least one young hatch by 5/2 or 5/3. The Ballard male is from the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge site, and his mate from a nest on a crane in Olympia.

After showing interest in a nest box provided for them, the pair of unbanded adults at our south Duwamish site chose instead to lay and incubate eggs on a small ledge that is out of view. This is a new site and a new pair.

The first youngster fledged from our one eastside site May 14th. This is a very early fledge date for the Seattle area. This is the 4^th season at this site for the hatch year 2001 female from Portland. Her current mate is an unbanded adult male; probably the same bird who shared unsuccessful incubation duties last spring after the disappearance of her original mate (hatch year 2002, Washington Mutual).

An adult male from the 11^th Street Bridge in Tacoma (hatch year 2003) is on territory on I-90 and has attracted a mate; the birds have not laid eggs.

The Grain Terminal is not active this year, and there have no recent sightings of birds at this site.

We had an anniversary to celebrate on May 2, 2006. On May 2, 1995, three peregrine eggs hatched on the WaMu tower. It was Bell’s first breeding season and the second for Stewart. Only one of the young, a male, survived past fledging. Because he stayed in Seattle his first two years of life, many of our volunteers were able to watch his adventures as a juvenile and young adult. When this little brown peregrine was only a few weeks post fledging, he challenged an adult female for her territory at the Grain Terminal, and the following spring he courted another adult female in Ballard. In his second winter, he courted a much older female that wintered at the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge for years. Our last confirmed sighting of him in Seattle was in 1997. Based on a partial reading of his VID (visual identification) band several years ago, we suspected that he was still alive. Last month, we were delighted at confirmation (via VID band reading) that the eleven year old male we called “Junior” is still alive and nesting in the Bremerton area.