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It looks like the Midnight/Noontime (Leavenworth, WA) birds didn't nest this year, at least in this area. The seasonal closure for these two rocks has been lifted early, effective immediately. At the Snow Creek Wall, two chicks fledged by mid-day on the 25th while the third was still at the eyrie. Be aware that the chicks are still weak flyers and you could encounter them anywhere along the wall, as well as their protective parents. Photo of the 2 chicks that fledged. Based on size comparison to the adult female who came in to deliver food we think that these are males.

New slide from just up-road from the 4th of July Trailhead, happened around noon today (Fri, 6/10/11). The road is blocked by mud and debris just past that. Barricades are up just past Bridge Creek Campground -- Icicle Road is now closed past that point. Access to Stewart/Colchuck Trailhead via 8-Mile/Mountaineer Creek Road is not affected. First photo showing the 1st lobe of the slide, second photo with a little better view of the 2nd lobe. I think there's a total of 3 - so far. More stuff came down about an hour ago.

Hi Ben, I do, but posting a picture on a forum such as this also makes the info available to people with less than good intentions. If you have a question on what routes it is near so as to avoid conflict, I can answer that, preferably by PM. Joseph: this is the first year I've found an eyrie low enough to see into. Usually we have to wait until they're big enough to start exercising their wings, or we count airborne birds after fledging and subtract 2 for adults. This is quite a treat!

The peregrines at Snow Creek Wall picked a really good spot this year, seems to be out of the way of anything popular to climb. If anyone does try an obscure route on the north end of the wall and encounters aggressive/defensive peregrine activity please let the USFS in Leavenworth know (509-548-2550). There are no climbing restrictions on the Snow Creek Wall at this time. Here's a picture of the 2 chicks that are visible, we got a head count today of 3 but will follow up in another couple weeks to see if there are any more.

Even though it isn't known if the birds are nesting yet (mainly due to a lack of funds for persistent monitoring efforts), the closure at Midnight and Noontime rocks did go into effect, as usual, on April 1. Closure posters were stapled up on April 5. If it turns out they fail to nest and the closure is lifted early word will go out through multiple venues, including this one.

I just got back from the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust annual member dinner. I talked to Bob Bugert (Executive Director) about your desires to possibly take on volunteer management of the park so that it can remain open. If y'all are serious about volunteering to take care of this park in the event it stays on the closure list, someone should contact him directly. He can help you get organized and possibly craft some sort of legal agreement. CDLT helped secure this property originally and are interested in seeing it stay open to public use. You can get his email address here: http://www.cdlandtrust.org/contact%20us.html phone: 509-667-9708

Today's update: "This fire in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness usually sends up smoke in the late afternoon & into the evening, after things have dried out a bit and the area heats up. There was some good smoke Friday eve, as it hit some fuel pockets. This fire also received moisture over the weekend. Not enough for a season ending event, but enough to slow it down. The fire has not burned to the lake - it was burning in an east-west pattern over the weekend. We guesstimated the acreage at 155 this a.m. and after flights, will know more. All trail closures remain the same. Reports will be "occasional" unless the fires begin making some runs, or smoke is noticeably present."

On the centerline in the Tumwater, between Swiftwater and Castle Rock, mid-day monday 8/16/10. Leavenworth.

Effective immediately, to protect nesting raptors and climbers The closure area includes these climbs: Champagne, Spring Fever, and Chicken on a Leash, as well as any unnamed climbs that share the wall where pitches 2 & 3 of Champagne are located. Climbs on the Main Wall/Shield and Central Areas remain open, as do climbs on Easter Tower and April Fool’s Tower. If, however, climbers find raptors behaving aggressively towards them on Easter & April Fool's tower, routes on those pinnacles will be closed as well for the safety of all those involved. The closure will last until July 31, unless monitoring reveals that fledging occurs earlier. If a change in the re-opening date occurs, updates will follow.

AlpineMonkey - the very small ticks you found are just a variation on the life stage. "These ticks have four stages in their life cycle: egg, larva, nymph, and adult. After the eggs hatch, each stage of tick must feed once to develop into the next stage. Ticks become infected while feeding on blood from an infected animal. After the tick develops into the next stage, the infection may be transmitted to humans or other animals during the feeding process. Both male and female ticks may bite humans but it is the females that are responsible for most transmission." These websites have more information: http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/transmission.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixodes_scapularis The CDC site refers to them as blacklegged ticks, around here we call them deer ticks, same species.

I'm not sure why it was/would be, but I'm told it's open. And I'm told that there's a link on the website for recreation info including roads. To Methow Valley RD (north), go directly here: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/oka/recreation/mvroadsn.shtml Thate link starts here: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/oka/recreation/index.shtml Click on "Road Condition", then pick link for MVRD N or S, or Tonasket.

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. The Act clearly says that STATES have the right to protect nests. A State Park is an agency run by the State, therefore they have the right to protect birds and their nests.

Even though the peregrine falcon is no longer a federally listed endangered/threatened species, it's still protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 which states, in part: SEC. 7. [16 U.S.C. 708] That nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent the several States and Territories from making or enforcing laws or regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of said conventions or of this Act, or from making or enforcing laws or regulations which shall give further protection to migratory birds, their nests, and eggs, if such laws or regulations do not extend the open seasons for such birds beyond the dates approved by the President in accordance with section three of this Act. Which, of course, is not limited to giving the States the right to protect nests, so if the nest was on Federal land, those management agencies would do the same. I found a .pdf copy online some time ago, I'm sure if you googled it you can too if you want to read the entire act (it's only 4 pages).

A couple people have asked me: if the young have fledged, why is the wall still closed? Doesn't that mean they are gone from the area? Here is some additional info on falcon biology & behavior, for those of you interested: * No, they are not gone from the area. When we saw them on Wednesday they'd only gotten about 75' from Outer Space. We saw one fly, weakly, from this new spot to a tree on top of the wall. The other two stayed on this new ledge. They are still mostly walking around, getting around by hopping and flapping from ledge to ledge. * It takes them about 10 days (after fledging) to really get the hang of flying, mainly because their flight feathers and pectoral muscles are still growing. * In this time, they are likely to be perching anywhere on the wall that strikes their fancy or looks safe to land as they're running out of gas. This means they could be on any ledge, tree, or snag on any climbing route in the closure area, exhausted, as you approach. During this critical 10-day period, the parents have to bring food to the chicks. Disruption during feeding can delay development of full flight potential. * Until the young are strong enough to to safely avoid any unwanted (on their part) encounters, we're not sure how the parents will react to people climbing up towards their vulnerable chicks. * The wall is being opened only 8 days after fledging, partly because of the (nearly) complete lack of disturbance they've enjoyed so far. The parents have been able to hunt and deliver food without distraction, and the chicks feed and exercise in relative comfort and safety. The other reason is that we anticipate most of the climber traffic will arrive next weekend (10-11 days post fledging), and a mid-week opening seemed like a good way to reintroduce climbers to the birds. I'll be glad to send (or post) more information if anyone wants it. Thanks again for your interest and support.

So remember when I said it looked like there was a 5 day spread in age based on feather development? Well I was wrong, kind of, and I found out why. Male falcons mature faster than females, so at the same age the males will have more adult feathering. So the brown falcon is a male, and the two fluffier white ones are females. They fledged tuesday July 7th, sorry, no additional pictures (unless you wanna see falcon chicks at Drury Falls or the golden eagle chick on the Bridge Creek Wall - which is another topic I'll get to later). The closure will be lifted early (midnight July 14), so climb-on beginning July 15. Wenatchee National Forest, Conditions Report SCW Closure Poster An important FYI: the young are still dependent on their parents for food and will aggressively chase them in flight starting 10d post-fledging, up to 6 weeks post-fledging. For those of you new to the SCW in a post-fledging environment, you can expect a lot of vocalization as the young chase and beg for food, and some close fly-bys as you're on the wall. There shouldn't be any aggression to climbers from the parents - and if you experience any we would like to know about it. The young are very weak flyers right now but steadily get better, gaining "powered flight" 15-25 days post-fledging. After about 6 weeks the show should be over and you'll have the wall all to yourselves (and the goats). Please please please wait until the 15th! And again, a sincere thanks to the climbing community for supporting the closure and ensuring another successful year for this pair! And watch out for rattlesnakes on the trail, it seems to be a snakey year (2 more yesterday)!