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.
Showing posts with label Duwamish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Duwamish. Show all posts
June 18, 2007
June 5, 2007
Brief visits at three urban eyries
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.
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.
March 12, 2007
Seattle Peregrines March Update
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.
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.
July 5, 2006
5 July - other sites
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.
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.
May 15, 2006
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 4th 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 11th 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.
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