I decided to catch a bit of tv last evening, so I made my way to the WAMU
building in downtown Seattle for the latest episode in the continuing
docudrama of the Seattle Peregrine Family. I got to see the three new
little balls of down and both parents--and some live action! From what
someone in the small but still-there crowd (at ca. 6 P.M.) said, the
papa, Stewart, was tending the babies when I arrived. A few minutes
later, after lots of looking around and some vocalizing by Stewart, mama,
Bell(e) arrived with dinner, whereupon Stewart immediately took off for
his break. The unidentifiable-by-me meal looked as if mama had already
eaten her share of it--my guess is a rock dove. Since I've been reading
Poole's OSPREYS: A NATURAL AND UNNATURAL HISTORY, I watched closely as
Bell(e) (who picked that name, anyway?) fed the chicks (okay, eyasses) to
be sure that they all got some. In the above-mentioned book, Poole
described starving chicks in areas with inadequate food supply, where
only one or two chicks got all the food. In our case last evening, all
three babies eventually got some food. I didn't hang around long enough
to find out what eventually happened to the dinner remains. You know,
too much tv isn't good for you .... But I do highly recommend this
program for all the elements of good tv entertainment: very attractive
actors including adorable babies, scintillating dialogue (thanks to
whoever decided to add a microphone--I don't think they had one last
year), suspense, drama, etc., etc., etc. Since the chicks hatched around
first of May, when are they expected to fledge? Respectfully
submitted, --Anna Coles, Seattle, WA acoles at u.washington.edu