May 22, 2000--Roger Orness spent over two hours watching the falcons this morning, and another hour and a half in the afternoon. The adults are finding plenty of food for the young falcons. Here are Roger's notes:
    06:59 After a 15 minute void of activity, the male flew from the bridge, directly over 11th St. into the city, below the rooftop of the Perkins building, out of view.
   07:09 A brief flight by male again, over the bridge and back over me to the city.
   07:16 a pefa in a laboring flight up to the east tower, and not until I see feathers exiting the area, did I find the male eating on the far north lower step in the east counter weight, where the cables anchor to the CW. He is facing west and prey is pigeon size.
   07:23 after eating just the head, he drags carcass back into the shadows and feaks on the concrete edge, then walks east out of my line of sight.
   07:42 he flys off east tower towards a passing gull, then west to Perkins, flushes a starling off the upper ledge, and chased it around the south side, into the city.
   08:09 a gull lands on the SE cable drum, but no responses and 08:12 it flys off.
   08:16 The female flys from nest to N. face of W. tower, landing on upper short beam, 8 feet N. of nest box. Male is now on upper E. tower hand rail.
   08:17 she flys off circling back and lands directly above on the NW cable drum mounting structure and walks inside.
   08:23 she emerges with a small prey item, flys off to the nest area and walks into the counter weight out of view.
   08:23 male flys off, circling back, landing on the N. face cross beam, E. tower, near the bottom of the CW.
   08:26 he flys up 15 feet to the far N. end of the E. CW, facing the SE.
   08:38 male on a fast NE. descending hunt to the fire station below, out of view.
   08:40 female flys from nest to W. CW out of view, then 08:41 she flys back to E. tower, landing on the lowest cross bar below the E. CW, next to the bump, and the male is behind this protruding flange plucking small prey. Vocalizations were seen and not heard, then at
   08:42 she flys off, circling up, landing, then walks to nest, which is on the south half of the CW.
   08:45 male takes the small dark prey to the exact same place, that the female went to retrieve that last meal.
   08:46 he is walking around inside this 3 ft. square cubby hole, then appears without prey, except for a small dangling feather, that he feaks away on the edge of the beam.
   08:47 he flys off east, lands near his presumed brooding mate, and immediately flys to the west counter weight, out of my view, but confirmed it upon departure.
   16:10 to 17:40. Everything seemed normal, as the male was on a lower cross beam of the W. tower plucking a feathered prey. He left the prey there and moved a couple times, once perching on the beam above the nest, then back to the S. side of the W. tower.
   Female spent a couple minutes perched on a cement block, near the nest, then a couple minutes back down on the nest, before she flew off north, 600 feet or so, very fast and soared up over the water.
   When I looked back, the male flies up to that same low beam, 50 feet further S., than the last prey preparation, and he plucks a small dark prey. He delivers it to nest.
   I did not see the female return, but a minute later, she emerged with a small prey in mouth, flies it to a W. tower cache, then went right back to the nest with the larger prey, the male had prepared. Before she enters the nest, the male emerges, and he also has a small prey in his mouth.
   Saw 3 preys in 15 minutes. They're not having any trouble finding food.

Four one-week old eyasses

May 20, 2000--Bud Anderson took photos of the four one-week old falcons in the nest today at noon. This is the first time that peregrines have hatched in Tacoma. We only wish that our friend, Jim Lyles, could have been there to enjoy them.
   The falcons will be nestlings for the next four to six weeks. Then they will start trying to fly out of the nest as fledglings. Stay tuned for more reports...

May 17, 2000--Roger Orness watched the female adult bringing stashed prey to the nest site this morning at 8:00 A.M to feed the young falcons. After Roger arrived at his Cliff Avenue vantage point and waited for a couple minutes, the male came streaking toward the bridge from the city, and stooped to the water and pulled up to the east counterweight. Then he almost immediately flew off west, landing on the west tower.
    At 8:02, while the male had been there for 8 minutes, the female flew from the east counterweight to the west counter weight and retrieved a stashed prey and returned to the east counterweight, disappearing into the interior to feed the young. The male flew north, past the female, when she landed, and turned west into the city. At 8:12 the feeding was over, and the female removed the carcass, stashing it on a cross beam, below and south of the E. CW, then returned to the nest.

May 16, 2000--Roger Orness observed the male adult bringing stashed prey to the nest site this morning at 8:30 A.M. This is a good sign that the young falcons have hatched recently.

May 11, 2000--Bill Yake watched the female Peregrine return to the nest and trade places with the male. This kind of behavior shows that the falcons are still incubating. We estimate that the young falcons may hatch sometime between May 13th to 15th. Stay tuned - we'll keep you posted on any changes in behavior that may indicate incubation or hatching.

April 20, 2000-- Jim Lyles passed away today from a sudden heart attack. Jim watched the downtown Tacoma falcons for more than 5 years and created this web site. From his downtown USGS office, he ventured out on his work breaks to see what the peregrines were up to nearly every day.

April 16, 2000--The 11th Street Bridge opened today and the counterweights lowered to let a long line of boats pass through. Seventy minutes later, the bridge closed again, and the counterweights went back up. The Guy Peregrine had sat tight on the nest the whole time.
    At 12:50 pm when the bridge opened to the annual Marine Parade of boats, Mickee, the female peregrine, circled the bridge and then flew to a nearby office building. She quickly returned to the upper parts of the bridge.
    After the bridge closed again at 2:00, the Washington State Department of Transportation guys who had ridden the bridge center upward said that G.P. had been sitting tight on the nest the whole time.
    The WSDOT guys did not see how many eggs there were.

The Seattle peregrines' laying &brooding times Ruth Taylor has given us data about the Seattle falcons for comparison with G.P. and Mickee. The day after she laid the 3rd egg, [Bell and Stewart, the Seattle peregrines] had one gap in incubation of about 15 minutes, with several 2-3 minute gaps during shift changes. The day after she laid the 4th egg, they had a gap of 32 minutes. Since then, I think the longest gap has been 3 minutes. . . .     The literature says that they average interval between eggs is about 50 hours, with 52 - 62 for captive birds. I averaged all Bell's egg intervals from 1995 on and found that her average interval is a little over 55 hours.     I suspect that the wild estimates are too short, but who knows.So far, we're seeing Bell doing about 60% of the incubation, which is what they did the first two years they nested -- '95 & '96.

April 11, 2000--The Tacoma peregrines apparently exchanged incubation shifts twice today, strongly indicating that they have started incubating a clutch of eggs.
    At 12:30 pm today, from a high vantage point, I watched G.P., the male, land on the south end of the 11th Street Bridge's east counterweight, drop in, and settle in, apparently trading places with Mickee, who jumped up on the counterweight's edge and stretched. That done, she flew to the west end of the bridge and perched.
    Later, I found her sitting on the east end above the counterweight. At 2:45 pm, G.P. popped from the area of the nest scrape and stretched and preened in the mild sun, while Mickee stayed in place above. At 3:00 pm, G.P., with Mickee after him, shot off low to the north, whether after prey or an interloper, I don't know. They reunited in a couple of minutes on the old Weyerhaeuser Building. Then at 3:05 pm Mickee flew directly to the east counterweight and hopped down into the place of the nest scrape.
    What did the 20 minutes apparently off the eggs imply? "Yeah. They can leave the eggs alone for several hours, believe it or not," Bud Anderson, of the Falcon Research Group, told me.
    "This is one peregrine behavior that drives me nuts! Solid incubation usually begins with the third egg, more or less."
    In the coming days, watchers can look for more instances of Mickee and G.P. shifting incubation stints and maybe confirm that they are nesting now.

April 9, 2000--While Mickee was sitting on the east counterweight's north end at 12:15 pm today, G.P., the male, popped up from inside the south end. And they sat there, one at each end, for the next 40 minutes.

Later, at 4:30 pm, I found them close together on the east counterweight's south end. Half an hour later, when the bridge raised and the counterweights came down, Mickee flew over the nearby old Weyerhaeuser Building. G.P. apparently hopped inside the east counterweight and rode it down.

Just a few minutes after the counterweights rose back up again, G.P. hopped into sight again on the east counterweight's south end. (Mickee had slipped out of sight from the Weyerhaeuser Building.)

If the peregrines have started nesting or plan to nest, they have evidently chosen the east counterweight in a place at its south end that's out of direct view even from the highest nearby buildings.

This past week I have seen them copulate at least twice for 9 or 10 seconds at a time. But I've seen them together on the bridge less often. A week or more ago, I would usually see both of them on the east counterweight at the same time. But this past week, I have usually found one of them on the bridge or nearby, but one of them out of sight.

Is the one out of sight in the counterweight? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, I cannot say.

March 31, 2000--I've taken work breaks three times a day during the last three days, and on each break, I've found one or both of the Tacoma peregrines on the 11th Street Bridge. They have become real homebodies.

The notes I've scribbled during the last three days give the idea of just how stay-at-home G.p. and Mickee are these days.

March 29. 8:05 am. From an office window, I peer at the bridge through binoculars. Mickee, the female, glides from the east counterweight to G.P., the Guy Peregrine, on a beam above the west counterweight. G.P. takes off, circles, and returns for a 9-second copulation (which is pretty lengthy for peregrines). G.P. then retires to the east counterweight.

9:10-9:20 am. My morning break. G.P. and Mickee are sitting on opposite ends of the east counterweight. A few minutes after G.P. takes off toward the Russell Building, he comes back lugging what looks like a crow (maybe one of the raucous crowd of crows that had congregated on the Russell Building) and eats it on a cross beam below the east counterweight.

Noon. My lunch break. Mickee is hanging on the east ledge of the Russell Building. G.P. is out of sight.

2:15-2:30 pm. My afternoon break. Both peregrines are on the east ledge of the Russell Building apart.

March 30. 9:05-9:15 am. G.P. is sitting like a big swallow on the cable that runs between the bridge's east and west towers. Mickee is out of sight.

11:45-12:15. The two falcons are sitting at opposite ends of the east counterweight. Mickee moves over to G.P. at the north end, and then she drops into the counterweight out of sight. So does G.P. A few minutes later, G.P. reappears and circles out of sight east of the bridge. He returns in 5 minutes and drops into the east counterweight; Mickee flies out of the east counterweight and lands on a corner of the Key Bank Building. When G.P. flies toward Mickee, I hear their vocalizing, but I can't see them because the Perkins Building is in my way. In the few seconds it takes me to get Mickee into sight, G.P. has gone off somewhere.

2:15-2:20 pm. From a distance, I see one of the birds fly into the east counterweight. There's a burst of vocalizing from inside the counterweight.

March 31. 9:10-9:20. G.P. and Mickee are sitting 6 feet apart on the north end of the east counterweight. G.P. sails to a beam above the west counterweight, pauses, then flies back to Mickee for a 9- or 10-second copulation. G.P. retires to the west counterweight, and Mickee stays put on the east one.

11:45-12:15. Both are on the east counterweight--G.P. at the north end and Mickee near the south end--as I go out for my lunch break. When I turn away briefly, G.P. is gone. Mickee sits placidly in place through my break.

2:15-2:30 p.m. Again, G.P. is sitting at the north end of the east counterweight, and Mickee is at the south end. Mickee hops down out of sight into the counterweight. Then G.P. does too. Three minutes later, they each pop up again and return to their respective ends of the counterweight.

March 28, 2000--The Tacoma peregrines seemed to be neglecting the new nest box in favor of a scrape in east counterweight. But after a close encounter today with people, they may be reconsidering the west counterweight's nest box.

Washington State Department of Transportation bridge specialists, working at noon today above the east counterweight, found a nest scrape at the south end. (For nests, peregrines merely scrape a little hollow in earth or gravel to hold their eggs.)

The bridge workers found both G.P. and Mickee near the scrape, and the two falcons flew to the west counterweight, protesting. Before retiring , though, G.P. circled the east end a couple of times. A few minutes later, they attempted a quick 3-second copulation, and G.P. flew back to the east counterweight and screeched protests, even while one bridge worker was still moving around only a few yards above. At last, G.P. retreated to the Perkins Building, and Mickee stayed put.

At 1:10 p.m., after the workers were gone from the heights of the bridge, both peregrines had appeared near each other on the west counterweight near the nest box.

Both hopped down into the counterweight, and, from my vantage point on the Wells Fargo Building, I saw Mickee go into the nest box, turn around a couple of times, hop out, then hop back in again briefly. Then she jumped back up onto the ledge of the counterweight.

Both falcons, but especially G.P., have been testy with interlopers this past week. On Monday, both G.P. and Mickee chased off an immature female peregrine who dropped in on them at the east counterweight. In the past few days, G.P. has driven off crows and gulls that venture too close to suit him.

At 3:40 p.m. today, G.P. and Mickee were side by side on the north end of the east counterweight.

Bridge stuck open; cops eye falcon watchers

March 26, 2000--The 11th Street Bridge was stuck open early in the week. And over the weekend, city, county, and state cops eyed suspiciously peregrine watchers and questioned them. But the Tacoma Peregrines apparently weren't concerned much about either.

At midday Tuesday, the bridge was stuck open after letting a tug into the Thea Foss waterway for repairs. While the Washington State Department of Transportation worked at the bridge's lower heights to fix the hangup, both G.P. and Mickee, the Tacoma Peregrines, flew off and out of sight for the day. By about 3:00 p.m., the bridge was back in operation.

Did the stuck bridge episode bother the falcons? It was hard to see much change in their behavior in the following days.

They have spent a lot of time on and in the east counterweight. On Thursday morning, for instance, when G.P., sitting on the east counterweight, hopped down inside, Mickee flew over from a downtown building and popped down inside too. After a burst of vocalizing, G.P. flew out of the counterweight and off hunting to the north.

Saturday afternoon, both falcons again joined each other on the east counterweight. Earlier that day, they both had soared high to the south and east, G.P. seriously taking 6 or 8 passes at a Sharp-shinned Hawk and both G.P. and Mickee chasing off a Red-tailed Hawk. Later in the afternoon, as they were both on the east counterweight, G.P., as if putting the romantic moves on Mickee, took off on a long loop and returned but found her not ready. As they perched again 10 feet apart, Mickee hopped down into the east counterweight, and G.P. followed.

In a few minutes, they reappeared. G.P. fetched some cached prey from the west end of the bridge and took it back to Mickee. She lugged it over to the west counterweight and sat for a few minutes next to the nest box. When she returned to the east counterweight again, they looked at each other from opposite ends of the counterweight. They were still looking at each other when I left them 20 minutes later.

They have spent some time on the west counterweight too. On Friday morning, G.P.was sitting on it next to the nest box. Later, in the midafternoon, G.P., again on the west counterweight, flew over to Mickee on the east counterweight, and they copulated for 9-10 seconds. G.P. returned to the west counterweight.

This weekend, Tacoma peregrine watchers watched out as much for suspicious police as for the falcons. Labor protests against the Kaiser Aluminum had state, county, and city police on alert for the weekend.

One falcon watcher reported to Tweeters, the birding e-mail list, that on Saturday he and his companion were surrounded by three State Patrol cars and two Tacoma Police cars, all full of officers. The state and local Dogberries were suspicious that the falcon watchers "might be 'scouts' for anarchists planning mayhem over the next few days."

"They didn't seem to believe that we were simply watching birds - we were asked 'so that's your story and you're sticking to it?' They took down our drivers license numbers to check to see if we were WTO anarchists. It didn't help us when we weren't able to produce a scope-view of the falcons on request - of course as soon as they left, the Peregrines were out and about again.," the falcon fan said.

I, too, was questioned on both Saturday and Sunday. A genial Pierce County Sheriff's Department deputy stopped his car on the bridge, leaned out the window, and asked if I was thinking about climbing up on the bridge. When I told him I was watching peregrine falcons, he said something nice about protecting falcons and eagles and added that I should call him if anyone climbed the bridge to bother the falcons. Then he drove off.

On Sunday, as I was waiting on the bridge, binoculars dangling around my neck, for G.P. to return from a hunting flight, a Tacoma Police car pulled up, and an officer got out to ask me what I was up to. I told him I was watching peregrine falcons.

"Peregrine falcons, huh," he muttered. "What's in the backpack?"

"Camera gear."

He eyed the USGS patch on my cap and the USGS pin on my jacket. "Do you work for the USGS now?"

"Yes." I showed him my government ID card.

He muttered something about troubles this weekend and moved back to his car, still dubious.

He left. And G.P., back from his hunting trip, was sitting on the east counterweight.

 

 

First spring day tickles peregrines' fancy

March 20, 2000--This first day of spring seemed to tickle the Tacoma peregrines' amorous fancy.

At 9:00 a.m. when Mickee, the female, popped down inside the west counterweight, G.P. flew from the east end of the bridge and landed atop the west counterweight near where Mickee had been. Mickee popped back up a few feet away from G.P. They bowed to each other a couple of times. Then they copulated. Mickee stayed on the counterweight, and G.P. flew off to a corner of the old Weyerhaeuser Building

At 2:30 p.m., they apparently copulated again, this time on the east counterweight. Afterwards, Mickee remained. G.P. flew to a beam above the west counterweight.

March 19, 2000--G.P. and Mickee, the Tacoma Peregrine Falcons, did not seem of a mind to entertain falcon watchers this past week.

Yes, G.P. put on an odd little show at midday Friday on the east counterweight of the 11th Street Bridge. He popped up into view, jumped back out of sight, popped up a second time, dropped out of sight, then popped into a view again. All of this was in rapid succession just as Mickee flew in from the north, brushed by the counterweight, and continued on south.

And, yes, earlier in the week, they were seen copulating on the southeast corner of the Wells Fargo Building.

But for most of the blustery week, they sat and sat some more in their various spots all over the bridge.

March 11, 2000--Not long after humans had climbed over and above their favored bridge perches, the Tacoma Peregrine Falcons had reclaimed their places, even on the the west counterweight.

On Thursday, the bridge workers from the Washington State Department of Transportation did extensive maintenance work around and above the counterweights on both ends of the bridge, especially on the 88-year-old cable system. While the work went on, the peregrines, G.P. and Mickee, retired to the tops of nearby Tacoma highrise office buildings.

 

By Friday, the peregrines were back in their usual places on the bridge. Both Friday and Saturday, Mickee, the female, has perched on the west counterweight not far from the new nest box.

 

What Mickee and G.P. think of the new nest box is not yet clear, though.

 

Earlier last week, after G.P. had snagged a pigeon and refused to share it with Mickee, she chased him and his meal around and under the bridge until he lost her and perched on a very low bridge beam only about 25 feet above the street. He plucked and ate his meal, warily looking overhead for Mickee but placidly ignoring Jim Lyles staring up from just below.

March 2, 2000--At least twice today the Tacoma peregrines were seen sitting near the newly installed nest box on the 11th Street Bridge.

 

The two peregrines, G.P. and Mickee, were perched on the bridge's west counterweight near the nest box when the Washington State Department of Transportation bridge crew came today to do maintenance work on the cables that suspend the counterweight.

 

At another time today, the two peregrines were also sitting almost side by side near the nest box at 2:20 p.m. when the bridge crew was gone.

 

These are the closest indications that anyone has seen yet that the two birds might take to the new nest box.

 

WSDOT's Kip Wylie reports that when his crew went up to work on the supporting cables, G.P. and Mickee temporarily gave up their perches near the box. Wylie said that his crew hopes to grease the cables next week and then work lower down, where the birds won't be much bothered.

 

At the other time today, just before 2:30 this afternoon, while the two birds were sitting near each other not far from the nest box, Mickee, the female, seemed to take the initiative in courtship: she bowed toward G.P. and took a few steps toward him. Then nothing happened till at last she flew off and out of sight behind the Key Bank Building. G.P. stayed put for a few minutes, then flew off in the direction Mickee had gone.

 

Earlier in the week on Monday, Mickee certainly initiated a mating session. While G.P. was sitting on the east counterweight, Mickee flew off a beam above him, circled, then landed a foot away from G.P. on the counterweight. They both vowed and vocalized and together hopped down out of sight inside the counterweight. About 15 seconds later, G.P. popped into sight again and flew to the west counterweight. Mickee appeared atop the east counterweight and sat there.

February 27, 2000--Tacoma's peregrines mated this morning on the Wells Fargo Building. They may have mated again this afternoon in the 11th Street Bridge's east counterweight. They were first seen mating this year six days ago.

By far, they are mating much earlier this year than in past years.

In the Guy Falcon's first two seasons in Tacoma, 1996 and 1997, he was never seen copulating with any of the many females that stayed with him for a while, though he did make a few clumsy attempts.

 

Not till April 27, 1998, did any witnesses see G.P. copulate successfully--with April the Peregrine, who had just arrived in town a few days earlier. In 1999, it wasn't until April 2 that G.P. and Mickee first were seen mating.

This morning at 11:15 a.m., G.P. hurled himself off the bridge's east counterweight and aimed toward Mickee on the southeast corner of the Wells Fargo Building. After he flew several circles, he closed on her, and they copulated for about 5 or 6 seconds. Then he retreated to the northwest corner of the same building.

 

This afternoon between 2:45 and 3:00 p.m., both falcons were not anywhere in sight. At 3:00 their vocalizations--maybe the sounds of mating-- came from inside the top of the east counterweight, and then Mickee popped into sight and flew to the western tower of the bridge for a meal cached there. G.P. emerged from the east counterweight and sat on its ledge.

 

They do it

February 21, 2000--It was a brief encounter. But for the first time this season, the Tacoma peregrines were seen mating this afternoon.

 

With a short flurry of vocal fuss and feathers, G.P. the Guy Peregrine and Mickee the female copulated at 2:45 p.m. on the east counterweight of the 11th Street bridge.

 

Immediately afterwards, G.P. flew off and retrieved a cached bird carcass. Calling, he dragged the meal to the west counterweight, with Mickee following behind. There he gave her the carcass. Returning to the east end of the bridge, she dined on a high catwalk, and he rested on the counterweight.

Peregrines' romance still

simmering, not sizzling yet

February 15, 2000--Even though Valentine's Day has come and gone, the Tacoma peregrines' courtship is still on simmer, though there are a few signs that they may turn up the heat soon.

 

Through much of the day they sat at oposite ends of the 11th Street bridge, G.P. at the east end and Mickee at the west end.

 

But at 2:30 p.m. they were sitting only two feet apart on the northwest corner of the Wells Fargo Building. G.P. then flew off into a short loop and landed within a foot of Mickee. He bowed to her, and she raised her tail slightly--and then--and then he flew to the south end of the building without attempting anything more.

 

They seem to be working up to their first mating attempt of the season.

 

February 13, 2000--It looked like schoolyard courtship--like showing attention with a punch in the shoulder. Mickee flew in and landed next to G.P., and he hurled himself off his late-morning perch.

Although the Tacoma peregrines haven't started steady courting, they are paying attention to each other.

 

Musical perches? As Mickee arrives from a hunting trip, G.P. gives up his bridge perch.

 

This morning's bout of musical perches took place after G.P. had been sitting for an hour on a beam above the west counterweight. Mickee had been gone, apparently hunting. After she had rushed in and shooed him off his perch, he flew to the east counterweight, and she followed after a moment's pause, settling on a beam above him.

 

Yesterday, late Saturday afternoon, the two of them occupied the SE and NE corners of the Wells Fargo Building. When Mickee shot off southward and snagged a pigeon, G.P. flapped after her and drove off a squadron of gulls trying to steal her heavy meal from her as she labored toward the bridge.

 

On the bridge top, she dined while he idled nearby for a half hour till she allowed him to take off the remains. She then shifted to another meal cached nearby and, losing her grip, dropped it to the bridge deck--a fresh Western Sandpiper. I set it up on a rail for her, but she didn't come down to take it.

 

 

February 9, 2000--The downtown Tacoma Peregrine Falcons may be shown new nesting accomodations on the 11th Street Bridge, if plans go right this weekend.

Falcon fans hope to install a nestbox in a counterweight on the bridge that will entice G.P. and Mickee to lay a clutch this year. The two peregrines have enlisted fans from the Falcon Research Group and the Washington State Department of Transportation who are cooperating in the project this season.

 

Today, at the invitation of WSDOT's Kip Wylie, I spoke to a group that he was taking on a tour of the 11th Street Bridge. As I explained the story of G.P. and Mickee, G.P., who was perched on a cable high above us, let loose a mute that nearly splattered us.

 

At last, they're courting.

G.P. begins his 5th breeding season in Tacoma

February 4, 2000--After several weeks of just hanging around together, the Tacoma Peregrine falcons have at last started active courting.

 

Today, for the first time this season, observers saw the Guy Peregrine and Mickee, the female, bowing and vocalizing. Until now, they have joined each other in several hunts and have spent a lot of time perching near each other. But that's been all that anyone has seen.

 

Over the next weeks, the test will be whether Mickee stays and makes downtown Tacoma her home. In past seasons, courting females have left Tacoma and G.P. well into March. But Mickee has been in town since last spring, so there's a good chance she'll stay.

 

G.P. and Mickee together again

for the year 2000 season

January 17, 2000--The Guy Peregrine (G.P.) and his mate of last year, Mickee, are apparently together again above downtown Tacoma as the year 2000 breeding season approaches.

 

Last year they failed to produce young, though they mated enthusiastically. Their failure may have been because Mickee was a first-year bird.

 

But this year, she is apparently back--a dark, mature female. Because both G.P. and Mickee changed their habits and started wandering last summer, they were sometimes absent for weeks at a time. So it's not one-hundred percent certain that this year's dark female is indeed Mickee. But by her habits and her looks, she seems to be.

 

This will be G.P.'s fifth spring in Tacoma.