Thanks,Alan. Years ago,in Scotland, I saw one of these flying past and the
leader of the group said ,"There goes the fastest bird
in the world." Your pictures take me right up in the sky with them.
Gwenda
On Sun, Mar 26, 2017 at 1:28 PM, alan lenk <adlenk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Friends,
I met Clifton Avery on Friday morning at the I-40 pull off in Pigeon River
Gorge near the NC/TN line to monitor falcon behavior. From the viewing
location by the river the cliff face was approximately 500-1000 feet away
making close photos impossible even with a 600mm lens. Nonetheless I was
able to document some interesting paired male and female activity
including: female entering eyrie 3 or 4 times, soaring near cliff and
aerial display, perching in tree, perching on rock ledge feeding, hunting
(possibly cooperatively), territory defense by rising toward and chasing
intruder (Red-tailed Hawk), probable aerial prey exchange. Other birds
observed flying above the cliff during the visit included Canada Goose(2),
Great Blue Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Raven(3-4), and Turkey Vulture. As far
as the probable stage of the nesting cycle it was thought by Clifton and
Chris (after consulting by phone) that we were witnessing the egg laying
stage. A few photos are attached of some of the observations with comments
below.
#1 Location of eyrie, behind myrtle ground cover
#2 Peregrine Falcon flying above cliff
#3 Male and Female comparison, male above and female below. Female
approx 1/3 larger. When enlarged on computer it appears male is holding
prey in its right talon. Possible prey exchange was in progress.
#4 Falcon Perched in snag near eyrie
#5 Red-tailed Hawk flying over cliff near eyrie
#6 Falcon after taking issue with Red-tailed Hawk
#7 Falcon flying by cliff face holding prey in lower talon, sorry
lighting was not better.
Thanks to Clifton for the interesting morning.
Alan Lenk
Asheville
