Birds of prey in Maple Leaf?

Maple Leaf Life follows birds (and dogs) and was pleased to get an email today from Matt:

I bought a home 2 years ago in this neighborhood and like it very much, it has a great mix of small businesses and residential appeal. I was curious, has anyone written in recently with sightings of a falcon?

I live on 96th and Roosevelt and I was returning from a walk with my dog when I saw the distinctive shape of a bird of prey, I first thought it a hawk, but it was more maneuverable and the markings made me think it was a falcon. It honestly looked like a Peregrine Falcon to me. … … but… do we even have those here anymore? Would be very cool to hear that they are coming back into the city!

The answer is: Yes! Maple Leaf does host most of the common birds of prey found in the Pacific Northwest, including, to our knowledge:

• Peregrine Falcons (sometimes seen on the Maple Leaf water tower).
• Merlins. In fact, Seattle’s only known breeding Merlins live just northeast of Maple Leaf. Here’s a story from our new partners at The Seattle Times.
• Cooper’s hawks.
• Sharp-shinned hawks.
• Osprey, sometimes known as fish hawks. Sometimes seen on the Comcast tower at Roosevelt Way Northeast and 89th Avenue Northeast, eating salmon from Lake Union.
• Bald Eagles. Often seen, perhaps the pair from Green Lake and Woodland Park.
• And, of course, Red-tailed Hawks.

We’ve asked Simone Lupson-Cook, a longtime resident who is a falconer and lives with a Red-tail (Chase), to post more about local raptors. Here’s her last piece on owls. Stay tuned!