March 2007 Update
A record six pairs of peregrines nested in the Greater Seattle area in 2006. All pairs fledged young, but we had very few sightings of juveniles after the initial fledging period. Unfortunately, window strikes and apparent vehicle collisions took a toll of some of the young birds, and those that survived apparently dispersed. With young birds, no news may be the best news.
The birds that breed here are residents; they do not leave in the winter. Six pairs of residents make it easier to monitor peregrines year round. But, since residents exclude intruders from their territories, it is now more difficult to locate birds that are wintering here or are moving through the area. Experienced observers identified several “strangers” outside of established territories this winter. Birds of unknown origin were seen on Lake Washington, at Ballard, Beacon Hill, Rainier Beach and the Central Area. One was a juvenile; the others were adults. It is now rare to see a juvenile in Seattle in the winter, in contrast to earlier years of peregrine monitoring. The dominant adults are probably chasing them off, as juveniles are reported outside the food-rich city.
A hatch year 2003 male from Tacoma was a non-breeder on territory throughout the 2006 breeding season and into the fall. We thought he might try to breed here this spring, but he has vanished. The unbanded juvenile female that kept him company is gone, too.
As we move into the 2007 breeding season, it appears that all the breeding adults are still on their territories, except at the Ballard site, where there is a new male. Courtship is going on now, and peregrine watchers are looking forward to courtship flights, eggs, fuzzy chicks and the chicks’ metamorphosis into beautiful fledglings, ready to challenge their brave new world.
WAMU
The young female from the Washington Mutual nest – the only survivor of the two young – was last reported in downtown Seattle in August. Some juveniles continue to “visit” their parents on into the fall, probably in hopes of getting an easy meal from the adults. However, it can be very difficult to locate one juvenile in the forest of downtown buildings, so the absence of sightings after August may not be significant.
As far as observers can tell, the unbanded adults at this skyscraper site are still the same pair that first nested there last year. They have been seen regularly on the nest ledge and other parts of their home “cliff” throughout the fall and winter. Activity around the nest ledge has increased steadily over the last month.
Ballard
The sole fledgling at the Ballard site made it through her first few weeks on the wing, but has not been reported since.
An unbanded adult male has replaced the banded adult male that bred at the Ballard site last year. We don’t know when or how this happened. The original male was the hatch year 2004 offspring of the pair at I-5, and we hope that he will resurface at some other location in the future.
West Seattle
The last confirmed report of a youngster still hanging around its natal territory was a juvenile seen in early September, dozing on the West Seattle nest ledge with a full crop. One of the other young birds died from an apparent vehicle collision earlier in the summer. The adults have been observed regularly at this site throughout the winter.
South Duwamish
Both adults at the south Duwamish site were trapped and banded after the breeding season. We don’t know the origin of either, but the VID (Visual Identification) bands will allow us to keep track of them while they are in the area. Both are currently on their home territory. Their sole fledgling, a female, was found dead on an adjacent road only a couple of weeks after her first flight.
I-5
Two of the young from this site died from window collisions, one at the University of Washington and one in a residential area. Based on partial band readings, it appears that the adults at this site are the residents that have been there since 2002.
Eastside
The adults at our one eastside site were very early nesters last year; we don’t know why they are earlier than other resident pairs. Based on recent observations, it appears that they are on an early schedule again this year.
