UPDATES

July 11, 2023   The AGC youngsters have fledged well and have often been seen at a South Lake Union condo and flying back and forth to AGC. The kids are now in hunting school, where the parents teach them to find and capture prey. This will go on for about six weeks. As the young peregrines become more skilled, they will disperse farther and farther from their home territory. Of the five 2023 Seattle eyries being monitored; these are the honor-roll students. The adults will probably hang around South Lake Union over the winter, but only loosely be on territory at the AGC building (these peregrines do not migrate).

May 18, 2023   Two chicks have hatched — one male, one female.

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These are Peregrine falcons, which began nesting again in Seattle in 1994, slowly returning from near extinction due to the effects of DDT. The first-known Seattle nest was at 1201 Third Avenue (formerly the WAMU building).

Peregrines have nested in the city since then (4-6 nests a year), but it wasn’t until 28 years later that a pair showed interest in nesting on a second Seattle building: the AGC of Washington building in the South Lake Union area.

In 2022, AGC, in partnership with Urban Raptor Conservancy, hosted the nest box you see here, behind a balcony on the building’s tenth floor, and the Peregrines did the rest. Tenth-floor tenants GMMB were marvelous stewards of the nest box outside their window, providing the Peregrines with privacy during nesting. In return, GMMB had the unique opportunity to witness the entire Peregrine breeding season — from egg-laying to fledgling.

Peregrines like to nest over water, and urban youngsters often drown before they can fly. In the summer of 2022, Urban Raptor Conservancy’s “Peregrine Navy” kept a kayak vigil for over two weeks to watch for fledglings in the water at busy South Lake Union. In July, three strong youngsters were the first Peregrines to fledge from the AGC building.

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For many years, the Urban Raptor Conservancy has monitored Peregrine falcons and Cooper’s hawks in the Seattle area. Please email information on any local Peregrine sightings here.