Magician in the rain

 

 

Merlin (Falco columbarius) in the rain at Doran Beach, 8 December 2022

To catch a shadow

  

I made a quick stop this morning (8 September 2022) when I noticed two Peregrine Falcons on the top of sea stack off Highway 1 near Gleason Beach.

When one of them dove, I tried to get a photo of the falcon in a stoop.  I was so focused on the bird, that I missed the shadow entirely until I downloaded the photos after dinner.  Pretty cool!

 

 

To start and end the day

  

Morning light at flood tide in Bodega Harbor on 1 February 2022.

 And then later...

 

 

 

 

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) overhead, and in silhouette at sunset:

 

 

P.S.  I've heard that there have been some issues with the e-mails being sent out from the Natural History of Bodega Head.  (Thanks for letting me know!).  Unfortunately, I'm not sure when I'll have time to resolve that problem, so for now if you're interested in seeing new posts, you can go directly to the NHBH website: https://bodegahead.blogspot.com. I realize that the e-mails are a convenient way to get updates, so I apologize that that option isn't, well, an option right now.  Oh if only I could snap my fingers or sprinkle fairy dust to fix technology issues!

Cruising the coast

  

For comparison with the Merlin (Falco columbarius) posted a couple of nights ago, here's a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) photographed last week on 11 November 2021.

Merlin, the Magician

  

Whew!  We've been attending a virtual meeting during the last few days — which means a lot of time looking at a computer screen.  So it was nice to get out for a walk around the neighborhood in the late afternoon, and even nicer to see a Merlin (Falco columbarius)!

If you're not familiar with them, Merlins are small falcons, a bit larger than American Kestrels but smaller than Peregrine Falcons.  They're generally darker than kestrels...and note the relatively dark face and the pale stripe above the eye:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Merlin was joined in this tree by an American Crow, making it easy to compare the size difference:

 

 

 

Merlins are ~10-12" long with a wingspan of ~24-25", while American Crows are ~17.5" long with a wingspan of ~39".

Backlit

 

 

Okay, okay...I'll admit it, I've been distracted by some sporting events lately,  but here's another view of the falcon photographed on 9 October 2021.

 

P.S.  Way to go, Red Sox!  :)

 

In a dive

  

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) in a dive, 9 October 2021

Evasive maneuvers

  

 
A tight flock of shorebirds over the waves...

...often means a falcon is nearby.

 

 

Salmon Creek Beach, 21 September 2021

Learning to fly

  

Young Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), 11 September 2021

Coming in to roost

  

I went out to check on the grill tonight and looked up to see some White-tailed Kites (Elanus leucurus) flying overhead.  If you've been following this blog for a while, you might recall that in some years we've seen kites roosting in our neighborhood.  We haven't seen this roosting activity in a while, but maybe this will be one of those years?

Around 7 p.m., there were several young kites flying east to west.  Here's a close-up showing the rust-colored feathers across the breast:

 

 

I was also somewhat surprised to see a darker looking raptor around the same time.  When I saw it out of the corner of my eye, I could tell it wasn't a kite, but I wasn't sure about the i.d.  I only had my camera (no binoculars), so I took a couple of quick shots.

I think this is the first time I've photographed a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) flying over our house in Cotati (see below).

 

A fun few minutes in the backyard — and I'm lucky I didn't burn the fish!

 

 

P.S.  To see more photos of kites coming to roost in our neighborhood in previous years, you can search for "kite" or "kite roost" in the search box at the very bottom of the NHBH website.

 

Riding thermals

  

I stepped out of my car this morning (18 June 2021) to see this Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) riding thermals with vultures over the Bodega Dunes.

Intensity

So we were trying to get a shorebird survey done in Bodega Harbor today (23 November 2020), and we we wondering where all the shorebirds birds were, when almost all of the gulls on the east side of the harbor flushed.  I scanned to see if there was a falcon or an eagle around, and sure enough, this bird flew past me not too long afterwards:

 

 

 

Then I heard another Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) calling, and a second bird was diving on the first.  I followed them as they flew east.  One bird kept going, but the other stopped to dive on a Turkey Vulture.  They were pretty distant, but check out the angle (and intense focus!) of this falcon as it dove:

 

 

 

 

Here's a zoomed in view:

 

 

 

 

It's really hard to do a shorebird count when there's an active falcon in the area, but watching these powerful birds in flight is always impressive!

 

 

 

Falcon express

 

Dim light, but nice views of a young Peregrine Falcon tonight (28 August 2020) when leaving work.

 

Stilt success

I had heard that Lisa had found a Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) near the upper reaches of the Estero Americano, so I swung by there today (16 July 2020) on my way home.

Luckily, Gene spotted the Stilt Sandpiper not long after I arrived.  It was far away, but the views were still decent through a spotting scope.  My camera lens wasn't quite strong enough for a good photo, but here's one for the record, since it's the first Stilt Sandpiper I've seen in Sonoma County.  (Most Stilt Sandpipers migrate through the interior regions of the North America, so they're rare on the West Coast.)

 

There were a lot of nice shorebirds in this marsh today, so here are a few more examples:

 

Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus) — the juveniles have pale edges on their back feathers, making them look "scaly" in comparison to the adults.  [Three adults in the foreground and three juveniles in the background.]

 

Another distant view, but note the Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor), the paler bird behind the feeding dowitchers.

 

Young Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) in pursuit of a dowitcher (Limnodromus sp.).  [After a long chase, the falcon won.]

Many thanks to all of the local birders who posted information about the Stilt Sandpiper.  It's much appreciated!
 

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!

 

Enraptored

We had a nice trio of raptor observations this morning.  I think one of the best views was this bird near the Bodega Bay Post Office:

 

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetis leucocephalus)

Returning from a shorebird survey, this bird was perched on a wire along the road:

 

Separating Cooper's Hawks and Sharp-shinned Hawks can be challenging.  I'm going with a small male Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) for this one, but I'm open to other opinions!

Earlier, just as we began the shorebird survey in Bodega Harbor, this bird made a quick pass over the tidal flats:

 

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)

 

Perched up high

 

On my way to the post office today, I noticed a Peregrine Falcon perched on a telephone pole along Westshore Road.  I couldn't help stopping for a closer look.  So beautiful!

 

On the way to work

 

On the way to work this morning (15 January 2020), I felt grateful for a few moments with this Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) perched on a Monterey Cypress tree in Bodega Bay.

Storm falcon

Just a quick photo of a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) during an incoming storm late this afternoon (9 March 2019).  The falcon was hanging above me in an updraft along the bluffs.  It was very windy and the conditions were quite dark, but I liked the falcon's silhouette.  (More about the storm later!)

 

The one time

The one time when you don't want to see a Peregrine Falcon?

 

When you're trying to count these: 

The scenario: When we've planned a shorebird count, it's the one time when I hope not to see a falcon.  But today wasn't that day.  

We try to count shorebirds (sandpipers and plovers) when they're standing on the tidal flats — where we can scan across a relatively stationary flock to get a good count of the number of individuals.  When a falcon flies by, all of the shorebirds take off, swerve in unison to avoid the falcon, scatter, and eventually land somewhere else, making counting very difficult! 

P.S.  The shorebirds in the photo above are primarily Dunlin, with a few Sanderlings, and one Black-bellied Plover.

P.P.S.  I don't think I'm ever truly disappointed to see a Peregrine Falcon.  Although they do complicate our surveys, it always feels special to see them.