Up ahead

One morning this week I was following Eric up a coastal trail when he stopped and whispered something.  We were done with field work and headed back to the car, and honestly I was hungry and I was thinking about a snack.  So I was a little confused when Eric paused, but then I registered what he had said — "There's a raptor up ahead."

A raptor?  Up ahead?  But we were just below the parking area along a busy road.  How could there be a raptor there?  He said it again, but it was a narrow trail so I couldn't see beyond him at first.  Eric had turned to the side, so I could just peek around him and look at what might be there.  

This was my first view (taken with a point-and-shoot camera).  That's the drawstring on Eric's sweatshirt in the foreground.

 

Not only was there a raptor perched about 20 feet from us, but it was a Peregrine Falcon!

This is a young falcon, probably recently fledged, so its behavior was a little different than what you might encounter with an adult.  It sat there, looking a bit curious, scanning the landscape, and then eventually took off and headed for a flock of gulls out by the ocean.

 

So cool!