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Flying Falcons! We’re Supporting Bird Research and Preservation Efforts at the West Seattle Bridge

by on June 20, 2024
Young peregrine falcons watch their adult parent fly out from the nest. Photo: SDOT

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At-a-glance:

  • Local ornithologists (bird experts) have successfully placed monitoring bands on falcons at the West Seattle Bridge.
  • This work advances ecological research and preservation efforts while supporting bridge infrastructure safety, building off work that dates back to the late 1990s.
  • The Urban Raptor Conservancy offers vital expertise in working with these falcons. The Conservancy’s mission is to document the challenges and benefits of urban raptors in the Puget Sound region to learn how to better coexist with them in a human-altered world.
  • On Thursday, June 6, 2024, our SDOT Roadway Structures Engineering and Bridge Maintenance Crews assisted Urban Raptor Conservancy President Patti Loesche and Vice-President Ed Deal in observing and banding the eyasses (baby birds) of the resident peregrine falcon at the West Seattle Bridge.
  • Our bridge engineers were careful to keep their distance from the young falcons, with a sole focus on maintaining a safe environment for the professional naturalists to do their work.

Puget Sound’s peregrine falcon population has withstood the test of time. Since its population declined years ago due to toxins and other ecological challenges, the falcon population has been steadily recovering, thanks to the efforts of local wildlife protection programs.

We at SDOT have a long history of working with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Urban Raptor Conservancy’s Seattle Peregrine Project to support wildlife preservation efforts including protecting peregrine falcon nests on the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge and the Ballard Bridge. We’re proud of our ongoing efforts to collaborate where natural wildlife meets urban infrastructure.

This work dates back to the late 1990s when we helped place nest boxes on the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge. This site has produced young falcons for most years since 2005. In some years, we’ve helped the Urban Raptor Conservancy to ‘band’ new falcon chicks to learn valuable lessons about the birds’ movement and migration habits. For example, in 2011, one of our SDOT bridge inspectors discovered four young falcon chicks roosting beneath the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge, which were the offspring of a female peregrine who had traveled from a nest on a crane at the Port of Olympia.

What’s new?

On Thursday, June 6, 2024, the SDOT Roadway Structures engineering and bridge crew team assisted Urban Raptor Conservancy President Patti Loesche and Vice-President Ed Deal to observe and band the eyasses (baby birds) of the resident peregrine falcon at the West Seattle Bridge.

Women with short hair and black square oval framed glasses in an orange safety helmet and orange safety vest, holds the white young falcon with gloves.
Patti Loesche, a trained naturalist, holds a young falcon known as an eyass. Photo: SDOT
Two people stand on a large structure reaching toward a wooden platform where a small bird is located. A ladder is in the left side of the picture.
Trained naturalists with the Urban Raptor Conservancy handle a young falcon with care at its perch on the West Seattle Bridge. Photo credit: Jim Riley
A woman and a man wearing safety equipment and hard hats hold a young falcon next to a large gray bridge structure.
Patti Loesche and Ed Deal, trained specialists in ornithology, handle a young falcon with care on the West Seattle Bridge. Photo credit: Jim Riley
two men, one women, and another three men stand in a line. Posing in front of a roadwork truck on the highway. All wearing bright orange or yellow safety vests and, long denim pants, boots, and safety helmets.
SDOT Roadway Structures engineers and local ornithologists pose for a photo on the West Seattle Bridge. Photo: SDOT

Our bridge engineers were careful to keep their distance from the young falcons, with a sole focus on maintaining a safe environment for the professional naturalists to do their work.

Thanks to this collaborative effort, our engineers and local wildlife conservationists successfully banded two eyasses (a male and a female), a crucial step in the data collection. This work supports ecological research and the development of infrastructure safety methods that help preserve and better understand the peregrine falcons.

A large falcon looks at the camera while perched on a tall bridge structure.
View of an adult peregrine falcon perched under the West Seattle Bridge on June 6, 2024. Photo credit: Jim Riley

We hope you found this post interesting and informative, and want to thank our staff, as well as our partners at the Urban Raptor Conservancy, for their ongoing efforts. To learn more about the Urban Raptor Conservancy and engage with their efforts, you can visit their website. Thank you!

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