Isn't it wonderful? The history of these birds is a testimony to one of the few times people brought a species back from extinction, and now they nest in almost every major North American city.

Here is a link that might be useful: Looks like a Good Book

It does look like a good book. I believe I have 2 copies of the book some where, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I contribute to Peregrine Fund and I ordered 2 copies of the book, but never got around to reading it. I have a whole stack of birding magazines and books that I intend to read when I get a free moment. They just keep piling up.

I haven't seen any of the peregrines in Washington yet, but I did see one of the Baltimore peregrines. I was watching pigeons during a Ravens football game and all of a sudden they started acting funny and I saw a peregrine chasing the pigeons.

Richard

Richard,

You have 2 copies of that book! It's an expensive book. You are lucky!!

I thought purchasing the books would be a good way of supporting the Peregrine Fund. I was going to give one copy to one of my brothers but I never got around to it. I find when I lend my brothers books I never get them back. Now I just buy them their own copies. In all fairness when my brothers lend me a book, I never get around to returning them either.

All three of my brothers and my sister as well are interested in birds, so buying birding items for presents works pretty well. One problem is that I often end up with duplicate bird handbooks.

Richard

I'm rather surprised there's a pair under the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, as they've been working on that thing (building a new one) for years, and just recently finished.

I was watching Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa a few weeks ago, and she said she sees Peregrines taking Pigeons outside her apartment window (near Central Park, in NY) all the time. Even brings them to her windowsill to tear them apart.

I know she actually witnessed it, because she said the Hawk "plucks" the Pigeon before eating it, and that IS what they do--pluck out enough feathers to get at the flesh (without getting a mouthful of feathers with each bite). :)

You mean like this?

Beautiful photographic work, Bob_n_Bernie, illustrating the topic so well.

What I like most about your (excellent) camera work is that there is a reason or a story behind the picture and not just a "wow, look at the photo I took" moment.

Ever since seeing your illustrated photo of the comparison between a Sharp-shinned hawk and a Coopers hawk head shape at the beak, I watch for posts with your name, hoping for more.

And what a beautiful falcon!

Gail R (WNY)

bob_n_bernie: I mean EXACTLY like that; and it appears another Dove has been caught by a superior aerialist.

I think I may have posted this in the past, but I was washing dishes in the kitchen of my farmhouse one morning, about 10 years ago, or so, and looking out the window and the 18 inches of snow that had fallen overnight.

All of a sudden I heard a "thump" on the roof, above my head, and saw a Mourning Dove fall out onto the snow, right in front of the window. It wasn't dead, but it couldn't fly, and was thrashing about in the snow, wings outstretched.

I just couldn't figure why the Dove would fly into the roof--the roof was also covered with snow, and it should have been obvious to a (healthy) Dove.

So I put my boots on and went outside to see about the Dove, and no sooner had I rounded the corner of the house, than a Peregrine Falcon took of from the roof, where it was perched, and flew toward the woods.

It looked back at me a time or two, and seemed to be giving me a dirty look--as though I had spoiled what would have been a just reward for superior hunting skills.

And I also realized, that the next time I witnessed such an event, I should wait a bit before sticking my nose in; I probably would have gotten to see EXACTLY what you photographed. And although it may be "gory" to some, it's "Raptor Reality" to me--it's simply survival, for raptors.

I agree with gailr--great photo of a most-interesting subject. A beautiful photograph of a beautiful bird is a beautiful thing: one that tells such a story, as the one you posted, is doubly ineresting and rewarding.

I have a photo that I took 10 years ago, or so. It's only a silhouette--all in black, because it was too far away, taken with an inferior camera I had in the car, but I still think highly of it.

I was driving down the highway, and saw a Sparrow Hawk ascend from a field, toward a power line, with something in its talons. First chance I got, I made a U-turn and went back, while getting my 35 mm camera out of the glove box.

I stopped opposite the Hawk, now perched on the wire, and managed to take 4 or 5 pictures, from about 50 or 75 yards away, before it flew off--carrying its prey.

Later when I got the pictures developed, one of the pictures was exactly what I had hoped for--a percect silhouette of a Sparrow Hawk sitting on a power line with a mouse, hanging down, in one talon.

Of course I would have liked to have a close-up of such a thing--but the Hawk and mouse, clearly silhoutted on the wire, was a rewarding accomplishment, also. Hawks won't always sit still to have their photo taken, particularly when they're aware of your presence.

I had the photo enlarged and framed, and keep it on my wall in the country, to show to all those who accuse Sparrow Hawks of eatinng their "chickens", or some other ridiculous assertion.

The Woodrow Wilson bridge evidently isn't the best place for peregrine nests. The eggs or young disappear long before they can fledge. The eggs either roll or blow off the bridge or the racoons make a meal of the eggs or babies. The peregrines keep trying.

Richard

Richard: Possibly the constant and methodic vibration of the bridge, from thousands upon thousands of vehicles a day, is shaking the eggs off.

Initially the vibrations could have been a problem. They tried to address the problem by putting boards down to keep the eggs from rolling over the side, but the eggs still disappeared. Due to the strong winds they are subjected to bridges are just not a good place for Peregrines to be nesting. Even when peregrines do hatch on bridges, the chicks often get blown out of their nests. One wildlife specialist shared a story with our local raptor group about a bridge further up the Potomac River which they would take peregrine chicks from and put in other nests because the chicks kept getting blown off the bridge into the river.

Richard

Falcons alive and well near National Cathedral in 2013. Just saw yesterday.