At 10:09 AM 10/20/98 -0700, you wrote:

>I am fortunate to work on the 50th floor of the Key Tower building downtown.
I occasionally see one of the Peregrines roosting under the
>arches of the building.
>Last week I had a great treat when one of the birds flew up an perched right
>to the building (Seafirst?) across from my window. Questions;
>Are the adult peregrine pair that nest on the WMTower banded? Are there any
>individual characteristics (aside from size) that would help id who is who?
Does it seem most likely that this is one of the local residents, or could
>it be a migrant or winter resident?
>Where do I find the ship canal bridge bird?


The downtown pair are resident. A few (too few) observers downtown report
sightings several times a week.
The adult female (Bell, after Bell Street) is double banded, as of this
spring - black VID band on one leg, USFWS on the other. The male
(Stewart)is not banded.
Bell has a well-defined black vertical stripe below the eye (malar stripe);
Stewart has almost a full "helmet" with the area aft of the malar stripe
mostly filled in with black feathers. She has blackish vertical streaking
on her bib (upper breast) with moderately heavy horizontal barring on her
belly and leg feathers. He has a clear, unmarked bib; his leg feathers are
lightly barred and barring on the belly is reduced to "dots." Also, this
time of year, with fresh feathers, his underparts have a distinct peach
cast. His back is silvery while hers is slaty. Light makes a *lot* of
difference in the color, though.
Do you know that Bell often perches on the pipe under the rain gutter on the
north side of your building? 57th floor. She's a regular there when it's
raining.
The Ship Canal Bridge bird can be found on the power towers adjacent to the
bridge - sometimes on top and sometimes at express lane level. She also
hangs out under the bridge.
Call 654-4423 to report sightings.
Hope this helps; enjoy your view.

Ruth Taylor
Seattle WA
rutht at seanet.com