A pair of peregrine falcons is nesting under the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge in Seattle.
The couple, affectionately nicknamed Ariel and Maverick, hatched two chicks around June 11, 2017.
Three weeks after they hatched, WSDOT accompanied a licensed falcon bander to the bridge to placed identification bands around the chicks' legs.
Ariel was not especially aggressive with us, but peregrines can be quite fierce when defending their babies. They've been known to drive off or even kill bald eagles, which are ten times the size of a falcon. This time, Ariel stayed on a beam close by and squawked loudly, but didn't attack. Dad Maverick flitted around, but was hard to spot!
Chicks are generally banded when they're 19-21 days old. That's when their legs are actually adult sized, but the chicks don't have their flight feathers so they can't get away from us.
Banding the chicks allows wildlife agencies and conservation groups to track the population and spread of peregrine falcons, which nearly went extinct due to pesticides.
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