Editor note: For the health and well being of the wild falcon, the zoo is minimizing human contact. Therefore, media access cannot be permitted. Please contact KOMO TV for pool footage taken by the zoo. Footage includes an exam, a blood draw and a weigh-in.

SEATTLE - Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials brought an injured adult peregrine falcon to Woodland Park Zoo over the weekend. The female falcon hatched in the wild in 1997 and was banded in the San Juan Islands. She was found in Safeco Field and apparently injured herself during flight and sustained head trauma and severe swelling to her right eye. Zoo veterinarians will keep her under observation for a minimum of 10 to 14 days, after which they will reassess her for release into the wild.

Ruth Taylor, a representative with the Falcon Research Group (FRG), has been observing this particular falcon since she was first sighted at the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge in 1998. “She frequents other bridges and the grain terminal in the city and favors the West Seattle Bridge as her home for the past two years,” notes Taylor. To date, the falcon has not produced any offspring.

A veterinary ophthalmologist examined the swelling around the raptor’s eye and internally within the eye itself and found bleeding associated with the retina. According to zoo Associate Veterinarian Dr. Darin Collins, her overall prognosis is good if the retinal bleeding does not cause scarring and/or problems with the nerves associated with the bird’s eye. “She is strong and is accepting our hand-fed food. But in order to successfully reintroduce her to the wild and help ensure her survival, her vision must improve,” notes Collins. “Experience with rehabilitated raptors with eye disease,” adds Collins, “has shown that wild birds with vision problems have more difficulty killing prey.” Staff is treating her with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication for eye and head trauma.

Peregrine falcons are distributed worldwide but nest mostly in arctic and temperate regions. While the raptors require mountain crags and cliffs for nesting, they are found in most major North American cities, as skyscrapers mimic their preferred cliff habitats. Peregrines form long-term pair bonds and are highly protective of their nesting territory, which they use year after year. The falcons are best known for their remarkable speed and spectacular stooping ability, with diving speeds recorded well in excess of 200 miles per hour! Their quarry is almost always a bird that is captured in midair.

Zoogoers can see a 4-year-old female peregrine falcon at Woodland Park Zoo’s Raptor Center, where the raptor is on public exhibit and keepers fly her for public demonstrations. Woodland Park Zoo has been a valuable conservation center for the region since its rehabilitation program for injured and sick raptors began in 1971. Since that time more than 200 bald and golden eagles, peregrine falcons and other birds of prey have been received. More than 70 eagles and many of the other birds were rehabilitated and returned to the wild.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission last week reclassified the peregrine falcons from state endangered status to “sensitive” due to the recovery numbers of the species. The birds are still vulnerable so the new sensitive status means the state will continue to monitor the species.