Subject: Falcon/Hawk on Ship Canal Bridge
Date: Feb 17 20:20:04 1999
From: Ruth Taylor - rutht at seanet.com


At 07:06 PM 2/17/99 -0800, you wrote:
>I'm driving the Metro Falcon Express once again (actually the route 307
>and 41 from Northgate) across the Ship Canal Bridge Express Lanes in the
>morning. Last week I saw what I thought was a Peregrine Falcon (hard to
>be sure even when I slow down to 45 mph with a 60 foot long tunnel bus --
>I do have to watch the road) then last Friday I saw what was clearly a
>Red-tailed Hawk. Now today, Wednesday, I saw what was clearly a
>Peregrine. Even at 45 mph the face pattern was clear.
>Is it possible these two species are sharing the towers to the right of
>the Ship Canal Bridge?

Ileen, there have been peregrines using those power towers since at least
the winter of 1991-92, when "Freeway" claimed that area as her winter
territory. She returned every fall, including this fall, when she
disappeared a couple of weeks after her return (probably driven off by a
younger bird that has been hanging around the bridge and UW campus). During
the time of year when Freeway was absent (presumably on her breeding
territory), other peregrines used the bridge and power towers for hunting,
perching, and roosting.
Red-tailed hawks sometimes rip off peregrines on a kill or steal prey
remains that are left lying around on the towers, so it doesn't surprise me
that you've seen a red-tail there. I've seen a peregrine eating on the
towers several times over the last few weeks. "Sharing" probably isn't what
most of us would call the relationship between the two species. Peregrines
often turn into screeching, diving-bombing furies at the mere sight of a
red-tail. Since fall, there have been lots of reports from the UW campus of
exactly that situation, with an immature red-tail the object of the
peregrine's wrath. It would be interesting to know if the red-tail you saw
is the same one - looking for leftovers.
The peregrine I saw Monday on the south tower appeared to be the same
striking young adult that's been here since last spring. I didn't take time
to try to read her bands, though.
BTW, a couple of years back, a friend told me her bus driver had announced
that there was a peregrine on one of the power towers; she was on a #41 bus.
I thought that was great. I wonder if you were the driver.

Ruth Taylor
Seattle
rutht at seanet.com