Beauty doesn't seem to be in any hurry to go anywhere.  At this point in the incubation Beauty may be giving him the go away-I'm on duty signal.

Does this mean that hatch watch has begun?

Paul

No offspring, but still a falcon to be reckoned with.  Imagine looking out your office window to find this scene:



A 2003 photo by Todd Sharman from the CPF website.

Paul

It's probably time we started thinking about this.  The weekend after July 4 is Corn Hill, and hotel rooms are packed; however the weekend of July 15-17 has lots of rooms available.  Last year, we did July 17-19 (two weeks after the 4th and got some great flying.

What do you all think?  I just made a refundable reservation for July 15.

Paul

sorry, i don't get it--except for possibly harming a beautiful  animal,
what's the point

Flying through small gaps is what Goshawks, Coopers Hawks, and Sharp Shinned Hawks do.  It's as characteristic of them as a high speed stoop is of a peregrine.  What they do in nature is much scarier than what the movie shows.  Example -- a few years ago, I was standing by the base of a large tree watching a flock of nearby house sparrows dust bathing.  Suddenly, a fast-moving shadow got my attention. I looked up and saw a Coopers Hawk dive into the treetop, flash through the dense network of branches, snatch one of the sparrows, and fly off into the distance.  I stood there, stunned like the remaining sparrows, for a long time.

Paul

Your chance to vicariously fly through tiny openings at high speed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CFckjfP-1E#ws

Paul

More about the pair and their travels:

http://www.capitalpower.com/About/CorporateResponsibility/crr-environment/landscapesandwildlife/perergrinefalcons/Pages/falcontracking2011.aspx

Paul

Is there anything else as peaceful as the sight of a peregrine sitting on eggs?

Paul

The river level was about 6 feet at Great Falls  -- more than halfway to 10 feet, which is flood stage. 

The last time I visited the peregrines, the river was at 12 feet -- two feet above flood stage.  The trail to the river (probably made by deer) was blocked and I had to do some rock climbing to get there.  The trips in and out each took well over an hour and neither bird was visible that day.  I suspect that one of the peregrines was watching me from a tree, rock crevice, or high in the air. That's falconwatching!

Even when the river is normal, getting around is not easy, because of large rocks, greasy-slick mud, and jungle-like underbrush.  The whining roar of the road traffic overhead is very loud.  My favorite observing spot with its tree blind is still cut off by deep, fast water, so I have to be content with watching from a half mile away from the male's favorite perching spot.  At that distance, quite a few of my photos were badly blurred from atmospheric turbulence.

However, it is a strange and beautiful place.  The gorge itself is lovely and the beams and girders of the bridge are surreal -- much like a Fritz Lang movie set.  Many of the concrete bridge supports are decorated by large cartoons and other graffiti.  It's the same basic idea as the Lascaux Caves -- create art in a place where almost nobody will ever see it. 

Paul

In my last two trips I'd failed to see the peregrines.  Perhapssomething had happened to them?  The Potomac has ben at a high flood stage, so I can't get to my favorite watching spot and just getting to the bridge is difficult.

Last Sunday, I waited an hour until I saw a tiny speck perched on a bridge support on the Virginia side.  That was good news, but even better news came an hour later when he flew to the nest box and another peregrine flew out.

That meant that a pair is present and there are eggs being incubated.  What a thrill!  In the second picture below, the peregrine is perched on the bridge support that is beyond and below the one with the nest box.

Paul

That class was in shock.  It's one thing to watch an attack when you are a falcon watcher and another when you have never seen a peregrine before and have absolutely no idea that anything might happen. It's like the fabric of reality was torn apart.  Even the ibis was unaware. 

Paul

Wow!
Gobsmacked, just gobsmacked.
Thanks, Ann and Frank.

Paul

Wow!
This site gets my vote for most improved nestcam.  You guys are great.

Paul

Thanks!
The nest is actually not that easy to spot, as it is screened by trees.  I was able to stand by the benches just south of the Model Boat house and shoot handheld at 1/640 with f7.1 and ASA all the way to 1600.  The rest was luck. 

Paul

I spent about an hour watching Pale Pale and his mate, Lima (who may actually be Ginger) yesterday.  At first all I saw was what appears to be an empty nest, but Lima soon arrived.  Unlike a peregrine who either swoops up or flaps hard to reduce airspeed before landing, Lima folded her wings and stooped onto the nest.  When I thought about it, I decided it made sense -- redtails don't fly as fast as peregrines but do have to dodge tree branches enroute to the nest. 

In any case, it soon became clear that there were two redtails in the nest.  In a few minutes, Pale Male flew off.  I'd read that he often hunted from a perch like an accipiter, but his flight that day was pure redtail  Off he went, circling higher and higher in updrafts until he vanished into the turbulent gray sky.

Surprisingly, I saw no other watchers anywhere near the east side of the Model Boat Pond where I stood.  Given that Pale Male and Lima seemed to have just made a nest exchange and looked to be sitting on eggs, that was unexpected.  Then, again, it was cool and rainy -- not ideal for either hawkwatching or photography.

Paul

Alkyonis
Freedom
Seneca

Ranger (Mariah and Cabot-Scirocco) was seen in Toronto for many years; may still be there.

Gehastey was found dead over a year after fledging
Hafoc made it nearly a year


Paul