2nd Egg hatches at WAMU

Just a few hours ago another egg has hatched at WAMU. Here is a recent picture of the family group.

WAMU Eggs Starting to Hatch

For the two adult peregrines at the Washington Mutual Tower in Seattle, who faithfully attended three eggs hour after hour, 24 hours a day, day after day since 14 April, the waiting is finally over. And for all of us who also watched incubation day after day, the waiting is finally over.

The Washington Mutual Tower (WAMU) peregrine eggs began hatching early yesterday afternoon (20 May 2008). By early evening, there was a single tiny white eyass (baby falcon) in the box. The two other eggs should hatch soon. The female fed the chick twice. The male then brooded the eyass while the female flew off and cached the prey remains elsewhere.

In the past, peregrine eggs at WAMU usually hatch within a span of 48 hours. As the events progress, we will continue to post updates.

If you get a quick glimpse of the tiny, vulnerable youngster in the nest box, remember that in only six weeks it will fly from the nest ledge for the first time!

Ruth Taylor

West Seattle eyasses banded

Today, Wednesday May 14, 2008, with the indispensable help of a Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) crew, Mark Gleason and yours truly 'descended' upon the peregrines in the nest box beneath the West Seattle high-rise.

This past winter, FRG volunteers have kept an eye on 'our' local peregrine population, and we noticed some changes. In West Seattle the female disappeared (for unknown reasons), while in Ballard the male disappeared. The Ballard female (double-banded) then showed up in West Seattle, and has now produced her first set of offspring in this site.

In the 2006 and 2007 seasons, the West Seattle pair chose not to use the nest box placed for their use beneath the bridge. Instead the female laid her eggs on top of piles of feathers and bones, left over from meals, in the bridge expansion joint.

The Ballard female, who nested in the box beneath the Ballard Bridge during the 2006 and 2007 seasons (raising a single chick each season), opted to use the nest box at West Seattle. The box and its contents are easier to observe from the bridge control tower than the expansion joint, making planning for banding activities simpler. Our thanks go to SDOT Mary Brown and Ed Morteson for helping schedule the banding.

The only way to access the nest site is by blocking off one of the lanes of traffic on the bridge and removing a man hole cover at the top of a ladder leading to a maintenance catwalk. The nest box was placed next to this cat walk many years ago, when peregrines started wintering in the area, and we suspected they might try and nest here.

In this picture the SDOT crew has removed the man hole cover out of the roadway, exposing the ladder leading to the cat walk.
We found four healthy-looking eyasses in the box, and two attentive adults who flew around and vocalized to show their displeasure at our unannounced visit.
The four young were banded with USFWS bands and VID bands and returned to the nest box
Even before Mark and I could retreat up the ladder, the female was back at the nest box, checking out her young (below).

The final image of the female shows the value of outfitting the birds with the VID band, in addition to the USFWS band. In real life the code (vertical 07 over vertical P) is easy to read, making identification possible without having to re-capture the bird.

In this case, it made it possible for us to track her from her old nest site to her new nest site, and document her third breeding season, as her most productive season to date.

2008 Banding season started

Today, Tuesday May 13, 2008, with the help of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the three-week-old peregrine chicks on the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge were banded successfully. This year's team consisted of Eric Engi, bridge technician; Broch Bender, from WSDOT Communications; Michael MacDonald, WSDOT Wildlife Biologist.

The adult female here was banded as a chick in a nest box in Rainier, OR (power plant) in 2000. Her VID band is 71 over A. Her mate is VID band 1 over G, one of the 2001 offspring from Stewart and Bell on the WAMU tower, in downtown Seattle.

Unlike in previous years, there were only three young this year. They now sport USFWS bands (right) and VID bands (left). All three took female-sized bands, although one of them smaller (7A) than the other two (7B).

The photo at left shows Mike MacDonald, WSDOT Wildlife Biologist, holding one of the chicks after banding.

In years past the female has been extremely agressive towards the intruders who came to band her young. She usually would hit the first person down the ladder, and others too as they approached the nest. This year, much to Eric's surprise, she yelled at him, but didn't hit. As the team members gathered at the base of the ladder, she stood in the nest box, next to her young. Only as Mike and I approached to gather the young did she fly off.

The young were gathered up and kept safe inside a cloth bag, while we banded each in turn. The team members stand within a couple of feet of the nest box, using part of the bridge structure as a working table. This also allows us to keep an eye on the whereabouts of the adults.

As I banded the first chick I glanced over to the adult female and noticed that she had laid down in the box! A most unusual posture for an adult peregrine that's not incubating. It makes for nice calm working conditions though.

We did not see the male during the banding activity, although I believe I heard him vocalize from somewhere out of view on the bridge.

We would like to thank WSDOT Supervisors Archie Allen, Rick Rodda, and Tim Ditch for granting permission for the banding operation. Dave Wheeler and Gerald Cornell assisted by driving the trucks.