November 2, 2015
Note to readers: This blog is a work in progress. Bird Man Dan will complete editing in a few days!
This story begins in 2015 with a Peregrine Falcon capture. On an early November day, Dale Larson, his son John, and Katie Lutz joined me for an Ocean Shores raptor survey. As we drove north on the beach that morning, we spotted a first-year female peregrine crouched over a carcass which we later determined to be a Green-winged Teal.
We recorded the observation and continued on north. About 30 minutes later as we headed south on our return, we re-sighted the falcon. Now finished feeding, she was perched less than a half-mile from where we first saw her. Using a feral pigeon as a lure, we captured her successfully. This capture marked the 197th peregrine trapped since our raptor surveying and banding research started in 1995.
Before starting the banding process, we fit the falcon with a hood to keep her calm, a technique used by falconers and raptor researchers that goes a long way to quieting raptors during handling. In her book, The Hawk’s Way, author and falconer Sy Montgomery writes, “Putting a hood on a bird is like extinguishing a candle. “
In less than an hour we collected blood samples, took measurements and applied bands to the legs: a visual identification band with the code P/7 on the left and a US Geological Survey band on the right. Plumage features led us to assign her to the Pacific coast peregrine subspecies, Falco peregrinus pealei (for more on the Peale’s Peregrine, click here.)
Following our initial capture, we saw P/7 on four subsequent surveys. In addition, we have re-sighting reports by people not part of surveying and banding research. The most memorable of my survey encounters happened on March 6, 2016.
A trip to Las Vegas is part that story…
Viva Las Vegas!
In January 2016 I flew to Las Vegas and brought with me Peregrine Falcon feather samples from more than 150 individuals, collected during surveys from 2004 to 2015. Wouldn’t you just know that a feather sample from peregrine P/7 was not in the mix because, inadvertently, I had not collected any when we had P/7 in hand.
There I met with Joe Barnes, a Nevada wildlife biologist with expertise in mercury contamination in raptor feathers. Joe had special access to a lab at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he tested my feather samples for mercury levels.
Joe and I worked in the lab with the samples for a few days and he carried on with the process after I returned home. We made a plan for Joe to join us for beach raptor surveys and banding with (hopefully!) feather collection in March.
March 2016
Indeed, in March Joe joined a group of Coastal Raptors volunteers and me for surveys and banding. We surveyed Long Beach on March 5 and Ocean Shores on March 6.
The bad news is that in two days of beach surveys we only trapped one falcon. The good news is that it was P/7! As we processed P/7 (and finally got her feather samples), a group of beach walkers gathered round to watch us work.
Screenshot from a video by Florence Dulla.
A Full Circle Peregrine Memory from 2016
In June, out of the blue, I got an email from Florence Dulla. This was someone I’d never met. On the subject line of her email. Florence had written A Full Circle Peregrine Memory from 2016; this certainly caught my attention! Unbeknownst to me, Florence and family members were in the crowd gathered round in 2016 as we collected feather samples from peregrine P/7.
On 06/26/2025 7:42 AM PDT Florence Dulla wrote:
Hi Dr. Varland,
I hope this note finds you well. I’m writing to share a very meaningful memory from nearly a decade ago—and an incredible discovery I just made.
Back in 2016, my family and I were vacationing in Ocean Shores when we happened upon you and Joe Barnes conducting a banding and release of a Peregrine Falcon right there on the beach. By sheer coincidence, it was also my nephew Xavier’s 8th birthday, which made the moment even more unforgettable. Watching the banding and release up close was a fascinating, inspiring experience—one that left a lasting impression on all of us.
Back in 2016, my family and I were vacationing in Ocean Shores when we happened upon you and Joe Barnes conducting a banding and release of a Peregrine Falcon right there on the beach. By sheer coincidence, it was also my nephew Xavier’s 8th birthday, which made the moment even more unforgettable. Watching the banding and release up close was a fascinating, inspiring experience—one that left a lasting impression on all of us.
Just recently, I came across your YouTube channel—and to my utter amazement, I found a video you had posted that exact day! At around the 3:18 mark, there we are: Xavier, his mom, and me—right there in the frame, watching the release. I can’t tell you how emotional it was to discover that. I truly never expected to see footage of that moment online, and it brought back all the wonder we felt that day. What an absolute gift. Thank you.
To watch the complete video, click here.
I found the Journal of Ornithology study on mercury contamination in Peregrine Falcons along the Washington coast from 2001–2016 through the Coastal Raptors site, as referenced in the video description. Realizing that the banding we witnessed was part of that important multi-year effort added a whole new layer of meaning. It was also encouraging to see that, while contamination levels were relatively high, mercury concentrations in hatch-year Peregrines showed a downward trend overall—and a significant decline in the final years of the study. That glimmer of hope really stood out.
Fast forward to June 2025: I now live in Seattle and have been volunteering with the Seattle Urban Raptor Conservancy since February, working alongside Ed Deal and Patti Loescheto monitor nesting sites for Peregrine Falcons and Cooper’s Hawks. Just recently, I had the incredible honor of watching three Peregrine eyases fledge from one of our monitored sites—a deeply moving and unforgettable experience in its own right.
My family, including Xavier (now 17), is now visiting me in Seattle. They recently accompanied me to one of the Peregrine nest sites here, and being there with them brought me back to that shared experience on the beach in 2016.
Full circle for Florence Dulla: Documenting field work on the Washington coast with Coastal Raptors to determine mercury contamination and monitoring Peregrine Falcon nesting success in Seattle.
Thanks, Florence, for sharing your uplifting raptor experiences with me. I invite readers to follow Florence on Instagram (@florence.dulla.photography).
