Summer Solstice

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch

June 20, 2012. Today the solstice celebration will take place in the parking lot at the rock. A few of the local Native Americans have gone up to the top of the rock last night with a park guide, where they will have a small fire. At the base of the rock, the dancers with drums and flutes will have a large fire next to the parking area.

The young falcons are still camped out on the sand spit, about three quarters of a mile from here. The adults have taken nine young gulls in four days to them.

Another little nugget I thought I would share… Last year about this time, two of the young falcons from the north side chased a pigeon down into one of the three 500 foot smoke stacks at the power plant. Pacific Wildlife Care found them at the bottom, a little disheveled, but in good shape and subsequently were released.   ~Bob

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Landing gear !

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch

June 16, 2012 Since there is not a lot of action right now at the rock, I wanted to share some behavioral actions that are happening as we speak. The south side female has been perched for about 40 minutes. As one of our visitors was watching her through one of our spotting scopes, she launches off the perch and circles the face, then out around to the ocean side of the rock. Within two minutes she appears from around the front of the rock carrying a shorebird in her talons. As she crosses the bay toward the sandspit, she lowers her legs still clutching the prey for a few seconds, then brings them back up close to her body. She repeated this gesture several times until one of the young flew up to her. She then dropped the prey for the young to catch which it did. What I have tried to describe here is much like an aircraft lowering its main landing gear several times with a big banner between the wheels that says “Dinner.!”

I’m sure I’ve seen this before, but I never grasped that it was an advertising gesture. I’ve been carefully watching this activity for the past three days that she has done this.

-Bob

Image

Photo by Cleve Nash

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Gull chicks are about ready…

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch

The young Western Gulls are coming out of the nests to wander around. The falcons know it. Now and the next few weeks, they are just the right size to kill and carry off. The adult gulls are protective of them, but the falcons will use a technique where one will distract the parent by diving on it. The second falcon close behind grabs a chick in one swoop and carries it off.

Yesterday the south side female was here by herself and made eight passes at two chicks on a bare slope and came up with nothing. All she was able to do was distract the adult gull. Without help she can’t get back fast enough. There will be many more chances.
-Bob

Image

Photo by Cleve Nash

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Juveniles in flight

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch

juveniles sparring

Photo by Cleve Nash

I set up in the south parking lot and not much action other than the adult female coming and going every thirty minutes or so.

But there’s been a lot of action on the ridge that divides the north and south faces. The north side female has always hated turkey vultures and chases them all year long. Two years ago the vultures nested high on this same ridge and hatched two young. Last month they were seen copulating near the same old nest site. Today she has been chasing them relentlessly with her single chick “Solo” following her and trying to duplicate her moves. He hasn’t learned to gain altitude and stoop. He instead tries to catch up by just flying. Being a single chick, he has no siblings to chase and spar with, so Mom and Dad will have to do.

Some years back, I watched the south side female with a 6 foot piece of eel grass in her talons flying across the face of the rock with her only chick she had that year chasing the length of grass.
-Bob

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Catch this…!

Posted on June 12, 2012 by hhocean

peregrine65114

Hungry chicks learn to catch their next snack mid-air! Photo by Cleve Nash.

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“Solo” visits again.

Posted on June 12, 2012 by hhocean

“Solo,” the young falcon from the north side made a visit to the south side again. After crashing into the top of a bush, he made his way down behind some rocks. I couldn’t see him , but sure could hear him. When the south side adult female returned to the rock, his crying alerted her. She swooped into the cluster of rocks and brush near him. It was then I saw she was carrying a small bird when she banked to turn and make a couple more passes over the young falcon.

She left the young and went to a rock to plume the small bird. She then launched off the rock with bird in her beak headed for the sandspit. Over the water, she reached forward with one talon and transferred the prey from beak to talon. I followed her with binoculars to a large dune where her own young were sitting. As she neared them, they both flew up to take the bird from her.

I turned my attention to the rock just in time to see “Solo” go over the ridge.  ~Bob

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Off To the “Rock.”

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch

Bob just headed down to the rock to see what the peregrines are up to on this foggy morning. ~Heather

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Hello world!

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch

We are now using this site to reach more people. Follow along with us as we learn how to do it…

The Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch is here to inform birders, students and all people who are eager to know about these handsome peregrines. We want you to enjoy and be able to use our on-site powerful spotting scopes. We are available to answer your questions about the pair of falcons that have been observed for many years.


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