Tag Archives: peregrines

Alive and kicking…

Photo by Heather O’Connor The Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch is still alive and kicking, although we’ve had some slow days. So we took off on a one day road trip to check on some of the old peregrine nest sites … Continue reading

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Doris returns to “Miami”…

Doris returns to Miami...

Photo by Cleve Nash

About this time of year, we start seeing winter arrivals in and around the bay.Today is a special day with a special arrival. “Doris,” an adult female peregrine falcon, has wintered here for the last four years always in the same two spots, a cypress tree behind a little coffee shop in Baywood and in a eucalyptus tree at Mitchell and Doris Streets. She is not a banded bird so no one knows where she is from. People have speculated that she could be from the cold country, the Pacific Northwest, Yosemite National Park, etc. She leaves in early spring and returns in October.
She plumes and consumes her prey in the cypress tree. Underneath the tree is a great place to collect feathers from the kills she makes.
Happy trails, Bob
P.S. Baywood Park, California is a small community near the back of the Morro Bay Estuary.

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A first look around…

http://youtu.be/J-NoFQ_lNkc

Narration and videography by Bob Isenberg.

When we go out to search for the peregrines every day, we see this view of Morro Bay, California, USA with a few weather variations. We enjoy calm to blustery winds, bright sun or fogginess and variable temperatures. All delightful. There is a steady stream of people from all over searching for a view of these magnificent birds.

“Education though observation.” Heather

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You don’t need a $10,000 lens…

You don't need a $10,000 lens...

Earlier I answered a letter to a blogger and mentioned most photographers use 400, 500 and 600 mm lenses. I don’t mean to disappoint other photographers who cannot afford these very expensive lenses. The photograph above was taken with my Canon SX 35, a $375 “point and shoot” at 200 yards. In the center of this photo is a peregrine sitting on a post high up on Morro Rock. As you zoom in on this photo, you can see what $375 can do. Good luck with yours! ~Bob

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Best times to photograph peregrines at Morro Rock, Morro Bay, CA.

Hi Randy, You asked about the best season to watch and photograph the falcons. My favorite time is January, February and March. This is the time you’ll see high speed acrobatics by the tiercel during this courtship and breeding time. … Continue reading

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Madame Rue…

Madame Rue...

This is the sixth in a series of tales about the “famous and not-so-famous birds of Morro Rock.”
She was a fledgling falcon just out of the nest her first day. She was one of three chicks hatched that spring of ’08 on the south side of Morro Rock. Nothing special or unusual about her appearance or abilities, just a “plain vanilla” falcon until she landed on a narrow ledge on her first flight. The ledge and the rocks behind were covered with foliage, a nice spray of yellow flowers and some green vines. A nice backdrop for photos. If she were a bull they would call her “Ferdinand,” but with the floral above and around her she looked like a gypsy until we saw her eating the vine growing around her. Three leaves on a stem, it must be poison oak. Every one was astounded to see this. In the few months she was around the rock, she did well being fed by her parents, but we still caught glimpses of her with her favorite snack. She was given the name Madame Rue, you know “the gypsy with the gold capped tooth.” She’s got a rock with some flowers and some vines (“selling little bottles of …….”)
Happy trails, Bob P.S. If you know the rest of the lyrics you’re showing your age!

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A healthy happy peregrine…

A healthy happy peregrine...

Photo by Jeri Roberts of the peregrine just before release..

Rehabilitation has done wonders for our peregrine juvenile who after release is now soaring over the sand-spit beyond Morro Bay hunting and surviving on her own. A true success story. ~Heather

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Transfer to another place…

Transfer to another place...

Photo by Jeri Roberts’ assistant
Here is a photo showing the gentle care by Jeri of the juvenile when it was to be moved to another location. Gloves are always used for protection. ~Heather

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Previous days of recovery…

Previous days of recovery...

Photos by Jeri Roberts.
I’m adding a few photos to show how Jeri Roberts rehabilitated the peregrine juvenile. It has since been released. ~Heather

Here is another photo. The one where she is perched again shows the feed door (old dog door) where I can deliver food without being seen and she is going into smaller caged area within the larger flight cage that has shade cloth on it that can act like a “cave” that she seemed to like for eating and sleeping sometimes. ~Jeri

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Peregrine on the wing…

Peregrine on the wing...

Article and photo by Neil Farrell, Tolosa Press

The article in the following post is what locals read when the Bay News was delivered about town. The people attending the release of the juvenile were Jeri Roberts, skilled rehabilitator of falcons, Brian Roberts, her husband, Bob Isenberg, of Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch, Joyce Cory, birdwatching blogger, Neill Farrell, writer, Jeremiah and Jason of the Harbor Patrrol and me. How fortunate we were to see this exciting event. ~Heather

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