This falcon was a significant milestone for me.
1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I found him late in the afternoon of March 14, 2014 in the Bicknell Bottoms area of Wayne County, Utah as he circled a dead Cinnamon Teal he’d been feeding on.
This photo could be a little sharper but I like the ventral lighting on the bird and the angle of his head that allowed eye contact and indicates he was banking in flight rather than flying high overhead (birds nearly always keep their heads level in flight).
1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I don’t know the sex of this bird for sure but I’m calling it a male because of the color of his legs. Except for some of his toes that are covered with Cinnamon Teal blood the bare skin of his legs and toes is intensely yellow which suggests the bird is a male. During breeding season the bare skin of males is a brighter and deeper yellow than that of females.
This was a memorable bird for me because he was the first Peregrine Falcon I ever got decent flight shots of. Several years earlier I’d spent more than 10 minutes trying to photograph a Peregrine Falcon as it attacked a plastic Great Horned Owl at Farmington Bay WMA but back then my flight shot skills were so primitive that every last photo was dreadfully soft.
Since that time I’d been lusting after Peregrine flight shots so I won’t soon forget this bird.
Ron
As a kid I watched the Peregrines at their eyrie in the cliffs of the Palisades along Hudson River in New York. Of course nearly all of the northeast population was killed off by DDT and they have been re-introduced. My last sighting was through the window of my son-in-law’s office high up in Willis Tower in Chicago (Ironically I almost called it Sears Tower, now a truly extinct species!)
Something to be proud of, for sure.
There’s a Peregrine that hangs out by the freeway offramp I take. I think of you every time I pass it. 🙂
The first shot is absolutely amazing! Love the way he’s keeping an eye on you in the second shot.
Then I hope you think of me a lot in the future, Marty!
Me too! Hope you’re feeling better today!
Fabulous Falcon Fotos! Since I rarely see them in flight around here I’ve never even dreamed of getting a photo (let alone one as good as these). Such gorgeous raptors!
And anyway, as Wally said, “If it was easy, we’d all be you.” 😁
Thank you, Chris. I hope you get one in flight one day.
I see what you did there, Chris. 😉
Happy that your lusting was satisfied!
What a superb photograph, Ron!
I had a chance last week at a migratory Peregrine. Managed a clear shot – it was perched on a, you guessed it, utility line. The flight shot was of its rear end as it took off down the road.
If it was easy, we’d all be you.
Ha, believe me Wally, it isn’t easy for any of us!
He does look like he’s had a good meal.
Yup, fat and sassy. The sassy part in spades.
That is a Peregrine that has been living comfortably.
Here’s hoping that you come across many, many more this season.
I hope so, EC.
Very very pretty Peregrine. The first image, “he” is looking quite portly, filled, satiated, thanksgiving stuffed. Nicely done, as always Ron.
Kelly, I think you’re right that he’d had plenty to eat. There wasn’t much left of that duck, just enough to ID it.
Fablous shots Ron! Hope you recover quickly!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
Falcon lust !! Love it.
Falcon lust is something I ALWAYS have, Jeffrey… 🙂
Gorgeous falcon, Ron! 🙂 The bright yellow eye ring really pops and shows off the eye…. Beautiful feather detail….. Is that also blood on the tip of the feathers on the tail or just the color of the feathers?
Thanks, Judy. I’m not sure if it’s blood, It sure could be.
Excellent photos Ron. Peregrine in flight shots are definitely tough to get unless you have a situation as you had here where they are circling around prey. Hope you are feeling a little better every day. One of my neighbors had an adult Peregrine on his back fence just a couple days back.
I’m envious of your neighbor, Everett.
I received your thoughtful card in the mail yesterday. Thanks for your kindness.
Here’s hoping you get another chance this year. These are great shots. I really like the coloring of their faces…so very distinctive. I’ve only been lucky once and he was sitting in a tree but I treasure the photos.
Thanks, Kathy. Sadly I don’t have as many opportunities with Peregrines as I used to.