Birds of Prey!
Hello all! First of all I want to apologize for two posts in a row about birds but I could not help myself. Not that long ago, I was sitting at a viewpoint south of Cannon Beach whale watching. As I was sitting there, I noticed a falcon like bird flying in circles near me. I did not think much of it until I looked to my left where this large rock was and on one of the cliff edges was sitting a second falcon. At this point, I turned with my binoculars to confirm what I thought I was seeing. I was right, sitting within fifty feet of a PEREGRINE FALCON. As I watched a little bit longer, it eventually dove off and disappeared down the cliff; leaving me completely in awe.
Since this day, I have been doing some research on peregrine falcons. They are the largest falcon in North America and comparative in size to crows. They can be found all over the continent but typically prefer to be near the coast, which is good news for us. When they dive for their prey, the falcons can reach up to 200 miles per hour, making it the world's fastest bird. Their prey mostly consist of other bird species. The Peregrine will also strike larger birds of prey and then pick them apart on the ground. Additionally, Peregrine Falcons mate for life; which leads me to believe that the two I saw last week were a pair because they are also extremely territorial.
Every once and awhile, we are lucky enough to get a Peregrine Falcon at Haystack Rock. It is always really interesting when we do. The eagles stop coming over to prey on the birds, but there is still small outbursts of chaos from sections of birds on the Rock. Sometimes, it is really hard to be sure or not if there is a falcon though. They look pretty similar to juvenile Western Gulls while in flight, and due to their grayish color they blend in with the cliffs. Last summer, there was at least one Peregrine Falcon that hung around the Rock for a few weeks. Hopefully, we get to see more this summer!
Since this day, I have been doing some research on peregrine falcons. They are the largest falcon in North America and comparative in size to crows. They can be found all over the continent but typically prefer to be near the coast, which is good news for us. When they dive for their prey, the falcons can reach up to 200 miles per hour, making it the world's fastest bird. Their prey mostly consist of other bird species. The Peregrine will also strike larger birds of prey and then pick them apart on the ground. Additionally, Peregrine Falcons mate for life; which leads me to believe that the two I saw last week were a pair because they are also extremely territorial.
Every once and awhile, we are lucky enough to get a Peregrine Falcon at Haystack Rock. It is always really interesting when we do. The eagles stop coming over to prey on the birds, but there is still small outbursts of chaos from sections of birds on the Rock. Sometimes, it is really hard to be sure or not if there is a falcon though. They look pretty similar to juvenile Western Gulls while in flight, and due to their grayish color they blend in with the cliffs. Last summer, there was at least one Peregrine Falcon that hung around the Rock for a few weeks. Hopefully, we get to see more this summer!
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