Subject: [Tweeters] Peregrine Falcons at N Bend
Date: Jul 2 11:37:50 2006
From: Lynn Schulz - linusq at worldnet.att.net


Hi Tweeters:
Falcons are at Snoqualmie Falls and Rattlesnake Lake near N Bend, WA east of
Seattle
along the I-90 corridor. Sorry I'm writing this so late.
The wild Peregrines are breeding at two places near N Bend. My sister and I
visited the North Bend area last weekend, Sat, June 24. First we stopped at
Snoqualmie Falls about 8:15am, and saw three juv Peregrines. One was
perched on a snag across the river, and the other two put on a show chasing
each other, and perching on the hotel gables. They especially liked to
perch right next to a plastic Great-horned Owl. They swooped right by us
when we stood at the lower viewing overlook.
>From the falls, we took a route that is written up in "A Birder's Guide to
WA" edited by Hal Opperman, (see map pg 170). (This section of the book was
written by Hal.) As we came out of the parking lot at the falls, and within
about 1 block, we turned left onto SE Mill Pond Rd, (where big trucks turn
in) and followed it along the north bank of the beautiful Snoqualmie River.
There were birds flying about, and fly catchers calling. Past the pond
(Lake Borst), we passed tall cottonwoods where Red-eyed Vireos were flying
and calling from the tops of the trees. There are varied habitats here
where the three forks of the Snoqualmie River join. We continued on this
main road toward N Bend. The road turn right and becomes 428th. We took
the next left onto 92nd St, and set up a scope along there to try to see the
Mt Goats. They can be seen on Mt Si from that area, but in the morning we
were looking at the sun. It's probably best to view from there in the
afternoon. A Turkey Vulture flew through. We continued into N Bend, as our
road became Ballerat Rd. We took the surface streets (the old hwy) east
past the Ranger Stn, and past the turnoff to Mt Si trailhead, and turned
right (south) on 436th Ave. This crosses I-90 (there is an exit off the
freeway there) and becomes Cedar Falls Rd as it heads up in elevation and
south toward Rattlesnake Lake. See map in Opperman, p 169. Just below
Rattlesnake Lake, we turned left and stopped at the gate across the old road
(trail) at the wetland (with it's interesting ice
age and RR history written up in the birder's guide). We immediately turned
left off the main gravel trail at Christmas Lake and walked a dirt trail. A
lot of birds were singing and calling including
several singing Wilson's Warblers that followed us along the trail. A
Common Raven flew through.
Up at Rattlesnake Lake, folks were parked all along the hwy going near it.
But we continued on and found plenty of parking to the left in the upper
areas
near the Iron Horse State Park trailhead. From these upper parking areas, a
view of
the ledge across the lake showed many hikers atop the ledge, on a gorgeous
sunny day. We looked for the Peregrine Falcons on their ledge below the
top. To find their ledge, look across to the rock cliff. Near the lower
right there is a big, white area of rock. Follow a large horizontal crack
which goes to the left and up. Find the large area of white wash dribbles.
The is the nest (scrape) on the ledge. It goes back under the overhang. We
viewed for awhile and did not see any falcon activity. Yellow Warbler,
Willow Flycatcher, Blk-headed Grosbeak, Hairy Woodpecker, W Tanager, a male
Rufous Hummer, and more birds were in the area. Ospreys fly over the
beautiful lake which swimmers and fishermen use. We walked the area and
walked over to the Visitor's Center/Education Center. This is a very
interesting place that should not be missed, and birds were in the little
stream there. We came out to the parking lot and looked over to the falcon
ledge. An adult (female) and two juv PEREGRINE FALCONS were at the nest.
We drove back to the shady area near the Ironhorse trailhead called Cedar
Falls, and set up a scope. By then the adult and one juv had disappeared.
But the second juv which was about 3+ weeks old was teetering out on the
ledge and eventually muted. I thought it might fall off! It was downy
white, but was getting dark wing feathers. It was 2:15pm when we first saw
the falcons on the ledge. I suspect those young are requiring more feedings
by now, so there may be more action on the ledge.
These areas can be found in the LeLorme atlas, pg 64 and 80. They also are
in the Thomas Guide, for King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties.
Yours, Carol Schulz
DesMoines
linusq at att.net