Falcon babies atop Seattle's WAMU tower all dead

A peregrine falcon couple nesting atop the WAMU building in downtown Seattle lost its entire brood in the past few days, according to a group monitoring the raptors.

The first death occurred on May 30, according to a blog posted by the Falcon Research Group on Monday. The chick — also called an eyass — was under 2 weeks of age. A second death was reported on Thursday. The last of the brood died between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday, the blog reported.

The deaths are "an unusual event," the Skagit County-based Falcon Research Group said in its blog. "We have not seen this type of mortality among peregrines breeding in Seattle or elsewhere for that matter."

Peregrine falcons have been living on the WaMu tower, Seattle's second-tallest building, since 1994.

Peregrines are the world's fastest birds, reaching speeds up to 200 mph as they nail their prey in midair. The predators' near extinction from pesticide poisoning in the 1960s helped spur an environmental movement and inspired a generation of raptor enthusiasts.

This story contains information from The Seattle Times archives.

Ángel González: 206-515-5644 or agonzalez@seattletimes.com