Urban Peregrines of Western Washington

Third Seattle Peregrine Eyass Dies Friday

2008-06-07T11:17:00.000-07:00

The last of the three 2008 peregrine nestlings at WAMU died sometime between 3 PM and 8 PM yesterday. Security at Wright Runstad was kind enough to notify Ruth Taylor, project leader, last night.

We are now making every effort to retrieve the chick for analysis before one of the adults carries it off the ledge. If we are successful, it will be sent to the WSU lab in Pullman, WA, for a post-mortem examination.

Once again, having all three eyasses die mid-way through their development is an unusual event for us. We have not seen this type of mortality before among peregrines breeding in Seattle or elsewhere for that matter.

We can't say what the cause might be until further analysis of the young. When we receive those results, we will share them with you all.

In the meantime, thanks for your patience, understanding and compassion for the nestlings. We have had several calls and e-mails from people concerned about their welfare and we appreciate it.

Second Chick Dies At WAMU

2008-06-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

Cass Dahlstrom confirmed this morning that the second peregrine nestling had died at the Washington Mutual Tower in Seattle. We immediately contacted Wright Runstad and they have been extremely helpful in arranging for a drop to the ledge on the 56th floor of the building.

Denise Kolb, Special Projects Engineer, ran the window washing stage and took FRG volunteer and peregrine bander, Martin Muller, down to the ledge to retrieve the dead eyass just moments ago.

They were able to get to the ledge immediately and before the adult female carried the dead chick from the ledge.

Chris Anderson, WSDFW biologist, will be picking the bird up around noon today and conveying it to the Washington State veterinarian at Pullman for a necropsy.

Everyone's goal is to try and determine what has caused this relatively unique incident of peregrine mortality. If we can determine the specific cause, we may be able to prevent it from recuring in the future.

Second WAMU Chick Fading Away

2008-06-04T15:29:00.001-07:00

The second of three nestlings at the Washington Mutual Tower is experiencing problems at this time and appears to be in the process of dying for unknown reasons.

Both adult falcons have been present and trying to feed it all day. The adult female is "chupping" at the chick repeatedly, in an obvious effort to induce it to feed.

But the nestling is not responding.

We have contacted the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife in an effort to try and rescue the chick at this late stage. However, based on their established policies, they have made the decision to allow nature to take its course in this case. Since they are the governing body for wildlife in our state, we must legally abide by their decision.

We have never seen this type of mortality among peregrine eyasses in Seattle before this year. To have two nestlings die at this late stage of development is unusual for us. So we are all extremely interested in learning more about what exactly is going on with the WAMU birds this season.

Martin Muller also reports the late deaths of several eyasses at another Seattle area nest site this spring. Once again, we have not seen this type of late season mortality among nestlings on the ledge before this year.

In the interests of determining the cause of death, WSDFW has kindly granted us permission to collect the WAMU nestling, but only after it has died.

Denise Kolb, at Wright Runstad, has generously arranged for us to visit the ledge and collect the chick post-mortem. So we want our readers to know that everyone is cooperating and working hard to do the right thing.

WSDFW has also agreed to assist with the necropsy and try to establish exactly why the chick died. Their veterinarian has expressed interest in the case and is expected to run toxicology tests on the nestling.

It is going to be challenging to collect this bird after death but before the adult female removes it from the ledge. FRG volunteer, Vivian Gross, will be checking on the chick late this afternoon. Another volunteer will be checking in the morning. Once we establish mortality, we will do a drop to the ledge and collect the chick. It will then be transported to the WSDFW.

Thanks for your patience and your concerns regarding this peregrine.

Eyass Mortality At WAMU

2008-06-02T15:22:00.001-07:00

2 June 2008

I wish that I didn’t have to post this update.

One of the three peregrine chicks at the Washington Mutual Tower in Seattle died late Friday at just under two weeks of age. It was still visible on the live video feed over the weekend.

As it is no longer in the nest at this time, we expect that it was carried off the ledge by one of the adults.

As of noon today (Monday), one chick still appears lively and healthy, but the other seems to be having difficulty even raising its head.

At this point, we do not to know the cause of death of the first eyass.

In earlier years at WAMU, an eyass died within 2-3 days after hatching on several occasions.

But mortality on the ledge, at almost two weeks of age, is not something we have seen here before.

Although we understand that this event may be upsetting and unpleasant for many of our viewers, it is important to remember that mortality is a natural process and part of nature.

It is not easy being a peregrine.

We have elected to let nature take its course and will provide further updates.

2nd Egg hatches at WAMU

2008-05-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

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.

Seattle Eyass Update 18 June 2007

2007-06-18T21:31:00.001-07:00

The Seattle eyasses at most sites are fledging at roughly the same time this year. As usual, not all of them have good experiences during the first few days on the wing, but thankfully some fledge without problems.

West Seattle
At West Seattle, a third fledgling was picked up and brought in to a local wildlife care center. This leaves only one of the original four fledglings remaining with the adults. On Sunday, this bird was observed perching briefly in a precarious place – the guardrail of the West Seattle freeway – but she soon left to chase her parents. She flew strongly.
We hope to release the other falcons back to these sites as soon as they are ready to fly well.

First Avenue South Bridge
Two youngsters fledged at the south Duwamish site. The adults had earlier laid their eggs on a really horrible ledge under the bridge rather than in the luxurious custom-built nest box that we provided for them. Oh well...
As of Sunday, both fledglings were staying close to the nest area, but looked good on short flights.

I-5 Ship Canal Bridge
On Saturday at the I-5 site, a recent fledgling perched on roof of a building near ground level. Unfortunately, it was only a few feet from a doorway where a number of people were entering the building. Though the crowd was oblivious to the fledgling peregrine perched directly above their heads, the adult female perceived the humans as threats to her vulnerable youngster and gave an impressive demonstration of stooping (folding her wings and diving) at the heads of bewildered pedestrians in an attempt to drive them away. I observed her stooping at least three times to within 4 to 5 feet of a small group of people, who immediately ran around a corner of the building.
Probably a good thing she did not hit anyone. This bird currently has the reputation among the FRG banders of being the most aggressive and dangerous female of all the sites we band. She hits hard and has drawn blood more than once. Of course, we consider that to be a good thing. She is a really good "mom".

A week ago, there were three youngsters on the I-5 bridge nest ledge. A fourth was at another wildlife care center. However, this weekend, no one could locate the remaining two fledglings. This is common at this stage. There are many low perches where the young can be concealed by vegetation or buildings, so we will continue to try to find them and hope for the best.

Seattle Eyass Update 13 June 2007

2007-06-14T18:32:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, a second young peregrine from our West Seattle site ended up on the ground. Thanks to a commuter who realized that the bird was in a dangerous location, it is now at Sarvey Wildlife Care Center in Arlington. Like its sibling and a youngster from the I-5 site, it wasn’t quite ready to fly, but it’s in good health and should be released when it’s a little older.
By Monday morning, June 11, a third West Seattle youngster had taken its first flight, but this one made it to a nearby roof, a much safer place than the ground. As of today, June 13, the fourth eyas was still on the ledge.
At the Ballard site, only one egg hatched, and the male eyas was on the nest ledge Monday, with both parents perched close by to protect it if necessary. When an adult Red-tailed Hawk drifted into the area, both adults launched into flight, bombarded the larger raptor in screaming fury and quickly drove it from the area.
Also on Monday, at least two young birds were on the nest ledge at the I-5 site, with both watchful adults nearby. One eyas was at PAWS after leaving the ledge prematurely; an observer was not able to confirm that the fourth eyas was still on the ledge, but could not locate it on the ground or in the bushes. It isn’t possible to see the entire ledge from one vantage point, so it may have been tucked away in a corner out of view.
By Ruth Taylor

Update 8 June 2007

2007-06-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

Here in Seattle, it seems like just yesterday that we checked nest sites to confirm hatching. The nestlings, or eyasses, at most of the sites are approaching six weeks of age now and fledging (first flight) is imminent.
We had two reminders of this Wednesday, June 6. Two eyasses ended up at PAWS, a wildlife care center north of town, after apparently tumbling off their respective ledges at our I-5 and West Seattle sites. We want to thank everyone involved in their rescue.
Both youngsters are healthy birds – they just weren’t yet capable of keeping themselves airborne and ended up running around on the ground, which is a very dangerous place to be. Dogs, cats, cars and people can all cause injury to a grounded nestling.
At this age, they have remnant patches of white down, and their pristine new feathers are still stubby. They’re not quite ready for flight yet, but they have developed an intense curiosity about the world beyond the nest ledge
Soon, very soon, instinct will prod the other nestlings to leave the security of the ledge and take that critical first flight.
If you find a recently fledged young peregrine on the ground, we suggest calling either PAWS at (425) 787-2500 or Sarvey Wildlife Care at (360) 435-4817. Both have experienced staff that can offer advice and help.
By Ruth Taylor

Brief visits at three urban eyries

2007-06-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

June 5, 2007.

I had some brief time slots in between appointments today, all near peregrine eyries in Seattle, so I decided to use my breaks wisely.

At the Eastside nest I spotted the adult male sitting on a pillar. No sign of the female. However, four minutes later she flew out of the nest site. She landed near the male and feaked (wiped her bill, indicative of recently having eating). It is difficult to see into this nest, and young are not visible until they are a couple of weeks old. So we have to go by adult behavior until the young can be seen.

The past few weeks the adults' behavior switched from incubating to feeding young. Last week both adults stayed off the nest for prolonged periods, indicating they either failed or the young were about two weeks old. At that age they can regulate their own body temparature and don't need constant brooding from the adults.

The adult female coming out of the nest site and feaking strongly indicates she had been feeding young. I looked up at the nest site with my scope and lucked out. One down-covered young stretched both its wings above its back (only the wings were visible). The edges of the wings showed about one inch of growing flight feathers, indicating about 3 weeks of age. At the same time another young backed up to the edge of the nest (there is a ridge that screens the young from view) and defecated. This leads to the conclusion that there are at least two three-week-old young up there.

This image was taken last year when the Eastside adult female was eating on the ground.

My second break was near the Duwamish site. Here the adult female was perched in a light stand. Searching around the nest ledge revealed two young mostly feathered young with extensive tyfts of down on body and wings. About 4 1/2 to 5 weeks old. One was 'pancaked' and sound asleep. The other busy preening on the ouside edge of the nest ledge.
Just as I left the adult male showed up and perched in anearby light stand as well.

In 2006 I banded both adults at the Duwamish site, after the nesting season was over. The female is on the left, the male on the right. Both birds have returned to nest at this site this year.

My final break was near the Ballard nest site. Initially I did not see the youngster on the ledge and I feared it might have fallen in the water. But while I changed to a different vantage point and back again the youngster received food from the adults and was busily tearing away at what once was a pigeon. This youngster is about five weeks old. One more week and hopefully it will fledge successfully.

Michael MacDonald reports on I-5 Ship Canal banding

2007-06-04T22:21:00.000-07:00

Michael MacDonald is the Washington State Department of Transportation wildlife biologist who is instrumental in banding the peregrine chicks at the I-5 Ship Canal bridge. To read his first hand report of the banding effort, click the link below:

http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/

Banding at Seattle Peregrine Eyries

2007-05-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

Friday May 18, 2007.

West Seattle Bridge, Seattle

With the help of the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) Ed Deal and Pat Little of the FRG accessed the West Seattle Bridge nest site and banded four peregrine chicks. This is the second time that chicks were banded at this site. The nest is only accessible through a man-hole cover in the bridge deck, which requires the closure of an entire lane. Mary Brown, Bridge Maintenance Supervisor for SDOT gave permission for Crew Chief Greg Funk to assist the banding team.
The peregrines have chosen to nest in a small gap next to an expansion joint of the bridge and are difficult to observe from the ground. However, once the team descends the ladder, we can walk into the nest space, which is tall enough to stand up in. The adult female and four chicks were all in the gap. We picked up the young and kept them safe while they were banded one by one. All four chicks were females.

Note that the nest subtsrate is formed by prey remains.

Saturday May 19, 2007.

Ballard Bridge, Seattle
Once again, with the help of an SDOT crew, (this time under the supervision of John Dahle) Ed Deal got to ride in the bucket of a U-bit truck, the only equipment that will allow access to the nest on the Ballard Bridge. For the second year in a row, we banded a single chick, this time a male.

Monday May 21, 2007.

Interstate 5 Freeway Bridge, Seattle
FRG members Mark Gleason and Martin Muller banded four three-week-old peregrine chicks on Seattle’s I-5 Ship Canal Bridge. For the fifth year in a row, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Widlife Biologist Michael MacDonald arranged for permission and assistance from WSDOT. Thanks go to Archie Allen, Regional Bridge Maintenance Supervisor; Rick Rodda, Assistant Regional Bridge Maintenance Supervisor; Dave Wheeler and Gerald Cornell for driving trucks, Tim Ditch, Ship Canal Bridge Maintenance Supervisor, also driving one of the trucks; Eric Engi, the lucky bridge technician who got to go down the ladder first, and Lauren Penning, of WSDOT Public Relations, who documented the whole affair.
Both adult peregrines at this site had been previously banded. The female is from the former Trojan Nuclear Plant downstream from Portland, Oregon, and the male is a descendant of the Washington Mutual pair (Stewart & Bell). We quickly collected the nestlings and placed them in a cloth bag, where they were safe. During our banding activities, the female spent most of the time standing in or near the nest box keeping watch. With the young calm and quiet, the adults also remained fairly calm, although they did occasionally voice their objections.
In our program, each young falcon receives two bands. We place a US Fish and Wildlife aluminum band on one leg and a black, numbered Visual Identification (VID) band on the other. The VID bands have much larger symbols which are easy to read in a spotting scope. They allow us to identify individual peregrines at a distance. Bird watchers and other observers often read these bands in the field and report the sightings. In this way, we can learn more about where the falcons go, what happens to them or even how long they might live.The return rate on birds with VID bands is about 25 times higher than USFWS bands alone.

In this picture of the adult female you can see how much easier it is to decipher a VID band compared to the USFWS band.

Egg collection at WAMU

2007-04-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

Ruth Taylor checked the WAMU site this week. No one had reported sightings of adults actively incubating. So today, Martin Muller (suffering from a bad cold) most graciously made the trek up to floor P-1 and crawled down the tunnel to see what was going on. He found all eight eggs present in the scrape (see picture) but one was badly broken. No adults were present and so we are regrettably declaring a breeding failure this year at WAMU.

We will make an attempt next week to collect the eight eggs and donate them to a local museum.

I'd like to extend a special thank you to Jeff Kasowski and Denise Kolb of Wright Runstad for going to all the work of setting up the camera connections this year. Sorry we were not able to make use of them.

WAMU update

2007-04-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

Many of you have asked us about the status of the peregrines on the Washington Mutual Tower this year. Thank you for your patience. Here is a brief summary of the events so far this year.

A new pair of falcons established occupancy at WAMU last year (2006) after both Stewart and Bell passed on. This pair produced one male eyass and one female eyass, which we banded on 6 June.

This year (2007), Ruth Taylor checked the box early in the season (March 16) and was surprised to find 4 eggs already in the nest scrape. This was several weeks earlier than we would have expected, since this pair began laying eggs the first week in April last year. She was also puzzled because they were not being incubated at that time. This is really unusual. We discussed the matter and thought that perhaps they failed early on, possibly because they laid so early in the cold spring season.

A short time later, when Ruth re-checked the eggs, she found a female incubating. Again, we were surprised but delighted to see a bird in the nest box. We thought that everything might be back on track.

However, when Ruth visited the site last Wednesday (April 18), she got the biggest surprise thus far. There are now eight eggs in the scrape! This is very unusual for peregrines. The normal clutch size is four. The largest number of eggs reported in the literature that I am aware of is seven. And all those were thought to be from a single female.

We have never seen this happen before in Washington. After considerable discussion, the most plausible scenario is that there were two different adult females involved. The first falcon laid the initial clutch but probably died. A second adult female was recruited (indicating a large floating population) and laid the subsequent clutch. It is very unlikely that the current WAMU female just set a world record for peregrine eggs but stranger things have happened. We'll see what happens with her next year.

Dr. Steve Herman suggests that if they were laid by two different females then the eggs should have detectable color variations. We'll try to have a look at that next week.

Unfortunately, the presence of eight eggs in the scrape creates a major problem. Peregrines are "designed" to incubate four eggs. They will have a difficult time covering more eggs, particularly the smaller adult male. So it is likely that some or all of the eggs have suffered from incomplete incubation. It is possible that one or more could survive and hatch. Again, time will tell.

In the meantime, Mark Prostor is planning to set up the video camera on the site as soon as the necessary connections become available. Stay tuned, and thank you all for your patience.

Seattle Peregrines March Update

2007-03-12T08:53:00.000-07:00

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.

14 July - WaMu Female Released Back

2006-07-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

There is good news from downtown Seattle. The young female was released on her home "cliff"–-the Washington Mutual Tower–-late in the afternoon on July 12th. She flew almost immediately and appeared strong as she cut into the wind. Since she was in a large flight cage at the rehab center, with lots of room for exercise, we expected she would look good, and she did.

The following day, there was lots of activity around the tower that appeared typical for a fledgling and its parents. It is much more difficult to keep track of a single youngster than 3 or 4, but we will post updates on her as we get observations.

5 July - other sites

2006-07-05T10:11:00.000-07:00

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.

5 July - WaMu

2006-07-05T10:09:00.000-07:00

It seems like just yesterday that we watched as two fuzzy WaMu eyasses were banded. Soon they made the usual clumsy trek to the extreme north end of the ledge, out of camera range, where they slept, ate, and checked things out from their new vantage point. With one eyas of each sex, it was easy and fun to observe the differences in their feather growth, activity level, and agility. Soon, two fully feathered youngsters were almost ready to go.

On Friday afternoon, June 23rd, both wildly flapping youngsters were racing up and down the nest ledge. By early Sunday, at least one was atop the nearby Rainier Tower. It appeared that fledging was off to a good start, but we were wrong. It wasn’t until later in the week that we were notified that the male fledgling died and was picked up Saturday morning, June 24th, on 2nd Avenue. Since he was still on the ledge the previous afternoon, he may have died on his initial flight. This was a huge disappointment. We are all aware of the high mortality of young birds, but we had hoped for a better start for our new pair.

On Thursday, June 29th, the young female’s escapade sent her to a rehab center for evaluation. From a low perch in the courtyard of One Union Square, she flew across the street into a glass-enclosed FedEx office. Her motion triggered the automatic door opening, and in she flew, rather than smashing into the glass. Once inside, she hopped around from box to box, much to the amazement and bewilderment of the staff and customers. Someone alerted a security guard, who by coincidence had previous experience with peregrine fledglings; he threw a jacket over her and put her into a box until help arrived. She appeared healthy, and we expect that she will be released soon.

8 June

2006-06-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

The two Washington Mutual eyasses – a male and a female - were banded Tuesday, June 6. The young female was much more aggressive and vocal than her male sibling, which is what we have often seen in the past.

On its right leg, each now has an aluminum band with a number that identifies it in the Bird Banding Lab database. On its left leg, each has a black band with a white alpha numeric combination. This is called a VID (Visual Identification) band and can be read in the field with a spotting scope.

We speculated that the adult female might not be very aggressive, since this is her first year at the site. Wrong! She showed no hesitation in landing on the nest ledge and window washing stage and made valiant attempts to smack the banders. Those watching in the bank lobby could probably hear the loud thunk! when she hit the hard hat of the engineer running the stage. That’s why the engineer and banding team wear hard hats. As usual, the youngsters settled down quickly as soon as the stage was gone. For them, it was back to their routine of eating, sleeping, wing-flapping, preening and staring at the world beyond the ledge.

Stay tuned for additional updates.

30 May

2006-05-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

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

2006-05-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

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.

2005 post-season summary

2005-12-31T10:18:00.000-08:00

Downtown Seattle - Washington Mutual Tower

After the unidentified pair abandoned the nesting attempt at the IBM building, summer observations were scarce, until July. We believed that Bell probably died either in the winter or early in the breeding season, but on July 27, we confirmed (by her VID band) that a dead peregrine on the roof of a condo in downtown Seattle Avenue was Bell. The roof had been checked about a week earlier, and she was not there then. She died two blocks from her home cliff on the Washington Mutual Tower, where she fledged a total of 26 young from 1995 to 2004.

Her cause of death is unknown. We don't know if the pair of adults that appeared on the WaMu Tower around the same time was responsible for her death or if the timing was a coincidence. The new female is not banded; the male's band status has not been confirmed yet. They have been observed on the nest ledge every week since July, and we expect that they will breed this spring.

(Read more about Bell here)

West Seattle - finally!

After years of waiting since the first attempt in 1999, four young--a male and three females--fledged from the West Seattle site in late June. The current female finally had a "full time" mate who did what male peregrines are "supposed" to do. It was a joy to watch the young grow up.

When she was still fluff and feathers and not ready to fly, one female eyas fell off the nest platform and apparently helicoptered to the pavement below. Someone grabbed her, put her in a box, and took her to Pioneer Square that evening. He was showing off "his" bird, when the police intervened and rescued her. We have seen a lot of fledgling "drama" over the years, but we never imagined this scenario! She stayed at a rehab center until she was ready to fly; she was then released and joined her siblings and parents. A second female also spent a few days at a rehab center, after she was found wandering on a busy road near the nest; she was released at the same time as her sibling. The third female and the male fledged uneventfully.

Ship Canal Bridge

Three young fledged from the bridge in early June - two females and a male. One of the young females promptly got into trouble with the local crows and ended up in a bush in a restaurant parking lot. When she was rescued, it was noticed that she had a slightly deformed mandible. Because of concerns about the beak deformities that have been observed in Washington State, she stayed at a wildlife care center for a short time for further observation, but was then released at her home territory. We don't know the whereabouts of the young birds at this time.

Grain Terminal

After this pair fledged four young in 2003 and three last year, it was disappointing that they only fledged one - a male. Several weeks post fledging, he was found dead on a seldom-visited part of the structure, wrapped in fishing line. The grain terminal is at the edge of Elliott Bay, just south of a public fishing pier. It is all too easy to imagine him getting tangled in discarded line, flying up onto the structure wrapped in it and trapping himself fatally in his attempts to get free. This was a very sad and graphic demonstration of the harm that discarded fishing line can cause.

Eastside

When the breeding season began, our same eastside adults from the previous two years were together at their nest site and appeared to be incubating. We don't know when an unbanded adult male replaced the original male (Washington Mutual 2002). The new male and the female incubated, but the nest failed. We didn't know what happened to the original male until the end of November, when Department of Transportation crews found him dead in a crevice in a bridge on I-90.We don't know when he died.

Since the Breeding Season

We have seen our resident west side pairs regularly on their breeding territories, except at the Grain Terminal, where sightings have been scarce. However, this pair was also hard to locate last winter.

We may have a new breeding pair this spring - at the Ballard Bridge. This would be a first - the nest box there has only hosted Canada Geese and Glaucous-winged Gulls in the past. Since both birds are banded, we know that they are hatch year 2004. The male is the offspring of the birds at the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge. His father is from the WaMu nest, so he is Bell and Stewart's grandson, in human terms. The female fledged from a nest box atop a crane at the Port of Olympia. They were first reported together at the Ballard Bridge in September. A lot can happen between now and the breeding season, but it certainly looks like this pair will breed.

We have had sightings of single birds and pairs at several other locations in the last few weeks. As usual at this time of year, it is difficult to determine what might be a wintering pair and what might be a pair that will stay and try to nest. Spring will be here soon, and then we will find out. We hope for successful seasons for all our pairs.

WaMu in transition...

2005-05-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

We wish we had an answer for those of you who have questions about the Washington Mutual peregrines. It is obvious that something has changed, but we don’t have specifics at this time.

Winter activity downtown was consistent with what we’ve observed in the past. We did not see the birds on the nest ledge, but that is normal during the winter. As spring approached, we continued to see a pair downtown. Then, sightings dropped off abruptly in late February. We began to see more activity beginning in early March, but it didn’t appear that there was much courtship activity – at least not on the nest ledge. The birds sometimes perched on the Washington Mutual Tower, and we observed a few copulations on other buildings, but we didn’t see evidence of focus on the nest ledge. We are still seeing this same pattern, and we have no evidence of a nesting attempt on any other building.

Unfortunately, until the birds either start showing interest in the nest box or perch outside windows where someone can read bands (if either are banded) or photograph them, we will not be able to try to identify them. There are, of course, a number of different scenarios about what’s going on, but it’s all speculative at this point. We do have the camera set up on the traditional nest ledge.

We will have further updates soon, including a recap of last year (6 pairs – 4 successful!) and spring updates on some of our other pairs.