Gallery – Linn, the “Duck Hawk”
Click the image above to see the full-sized picture
Carol Phillips’s inaugural entry into the Gallery at Imprints is this impressive image of Linn watching an armada of Mallard ducks paddling upriver. Peregrine falcons used to be known as “duck hawks” because ducks are favored prey for them. Anatum, the Latin word for a duck, is one of the 3 Peregrine subspecies found in the United States.
August 3rd, 2007 at 4:21 PM
That is a very nice peaceful picture…thank you, nice shot.
August 3rd, 2007 at 6:38 PM
A gorgeous picture featuring one of the Rochester Beauties. Thanks, Carol! Those Mallards look so relaxed paddling away, oblivious of who is up in the tree.
August 4th, 2007 at 5:37 AM
Love that picture, Carol. You took a wonderful shot and it is beautiful. Thank you.
August 4th, 2007 at 4:32 PM
just wondering….
has any of our peregrines over the years ever been seen taking a duck??
given the size and weight, I’m hard pressed to understand how they got the reputation…
August 5th, 2007 at 12:49 PM
Beautiful picture…seems like a mighty big job for the falcon to grasp one of the ducks in the talons…but im new to this …so I keep learning…I have enjoyed this site since the eggs were laid in box ..wached them last year also
August 6th, 2007 at 7:20 AM
Female falcons are up to a duck, but a male would be hard put to drag one home 🙂
A year or so ago there was a picture posted at one of the many sites (maybe Harrisburg?) with a falcon defeathering a duck.
August 8th, 2007 at 11:05 AM
For more proof that “Duck Hawk” is an apt name for a Peregrine, here’s a picture of Ranger— one of Mariah’s offspring from 2001– with a duck. Ranger is nesting on the Dunn Tire building in Toronto, Ontario in Canada. Thanks to Carol Phillips for tracking down the picture, and thanks to our friends at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation for the use of the image!
August 8th, 2007 at 11:20 AM
This is an awesome shot. Where were you standing when this photo was taken? Linn is probably wondering which one she will select for dinner!
August 8th, 2007 at 11:59 AM
Margaret – Thanks! I was standing on the pedestrian bridge that spans the Genesee River just east of the Kodak Tower. Linn was below us sitting on a tree on a small island, watching the ducks swim by. – Carol P.
August 14th, 2007 at 12:47 AM
Jess, I’m glad you followed up on the issue of Peregrines, aka Duck Hawks, being able to catch ducks, but I must admit the picture of Rambo … sorry, Ranger … with the duck makes me nervous, because this is clearly one ferocious dude (not the duck) and he lives in the same city as me.
April 5th, 2008 at 7:05 PM
Just to ask how can you tell the gender from each bird. Both birds look a-like but it was just in my curiousity what one is a male and what one is the female? Thank you for you time.
~Kari Vogel~
June 5th, 2008 at 9:51 PM
I was just observing the birds and noticed a pink patch on one of them. what is that for?