On Monday (11/26) at 3 PM I was birding with my sister at "the
fill" when we spotted a raptor on the tall limbed snag ("beaver snag")
at the southeast corner of the area. After binoculars indicated an
immature Peregrine Falcon plagued by Crows, my sister noted a black band
on the left leg. We moved closer, and even though the falcon flew out
and circled periodically, it returned to almost the same perch, from
which it could spin its head and follow the crows buzzing by. It
preferred the relatively bare tree over the bushy cottonwoods festooned
with crows. In my scope, zoomed up to 60 power, we could see a black
band with "G-1" printed on its side with the "G" down towards the foot.
Also we could see a much smaller band, probably metal band with a band
lock, on the right leg. After about a half an hour, the falcon tired of
the crows and flew off towards Laurelhurst (east).
After returning home, I called Martin Muller for information.
He steered me to Ed Deal for information on banded San Juan peregrines.
Ed said this was not one of his, but suggested I contact Ruth Taylor on
the Peregrine Hotline (206-654-4423). Ruth called back to say this was
one of the male chicks they had banded this year in Seattle, and had
also rescued from a downtown ventillation pipe of some sort. She was
delighted to get a report on a viable product of their efforts (many of
their reports follow demises of their falcons with a physical band
recovery)..
If any of you see this juvenile (or other) peregrine on your
tours, keep the peregrine hotline posted. I'm sending a copy of this to
Bud Anderson for his information and files when he returns to Seattle.
Fran Wood (male)
fbwood at u.washington.edu