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Saturday, January 26, 2013

Footprints in the sand

This morning I decided to take a short walk to Salmon Creek to study gulls.  As I started down the beach, I was surprised when this bird flew in and landed on the sand in front of me.


These images illustrate how well the colors of an adult Peregrine Falcon match the tones of winter beaches. 



When the falcon flew off, I was curious about where it had been perched.  Could I see or recognize its footprints? 

I walked up to the site and was intrigued that the bird had been perched on a piece of wood partially buried in the sand. 


You could see where the falcon's feet had made impressions in the sand.  But I'm not sure I could identify these prints in the future.

 

1 comment:

Skip Hand said...

Once again we looked to your NHBH to verify our own sighting. From Bean Ave. in Salmon Creek Village about 8a.m. today we noticed a venue of ~7 Turkey Vultures riding the updraft from the brisk onshore breeze off the bluff of the old part of the village. Watching them effortlessly slide back and forth for a moment, we realized one was different – specifically it was roughly half the size of the TVs and had pointed wings. Suddenly it tucked its wings and stooped (faster than a falling stone) to somewhere below the rooftops above us. A minute later it was back, and thru my mini binoculars against the difficult bright sky, I was able to see a couple of other Peregrine marks.