Peregrine Falcon Fledglings, Part 3

The nesting season for the Peregrine Falcons is coming to a close for 2016. We have been treated to some wonderful sightings and observations of these beautiful raptors as they learn to fly and explore their new world. This last blog, part 3 of the Peregrine fledglings series, shows a few shots of the parents and how they protect and teach flight techniques to the youngsters. Everything they do is to hone their skills to keep alive and survive successfully in the wild.

As soon as I arrived at the south end of the Guy Fleming trail, I found one of the Peregrine fledglings perched on a log by the lookout point.

Looking out for his siblings.

Checking out the photographers.

 Wow, This is my first look at one of the adult Peregrines today. Looks like he has quite the full crop. 

Checking the north end of the trail, I find one of the fledglings perched in a small Torrey pine tree. He appeared to be in the process of preening so I headed back to the south end hoping to see the others in flight. 

One of the adult (parent) Peregrines is perched on a bluff top. He starts to call and call. One of the regulars that knows the adult Peregrines told me that the male has a very white bib and belly. This may be the dad that we are looking at.

His call is answered by an aggressive fledgling coming straight at the adult. 

 It's time to play chase the parent. 

The adult floats downward. 

The fledgling is heard calling and calling. He may be saying that he is hungry and that dad needs to go get breakfast.

 

The fledgling shadows the adult. 

The youngster is aggressive and demanding and his calls are insistent. They both fly north.

 A while later, an adult flies by going south.

 Circles.

Turning back towards the south bluff. 

A photo op for all of us watching on the bluff. 

Glancing towards us to make sure there are no threats. 

The adult flies by so fast that you can get just an inkling how fast this bird can fly. They have been recorded flying in a dive at about 250 MPH. 

 

One adult is spotted on the bluff. 

keeping a lookout for the fledglings. 

A fledgling comes screaming towards the parent. He may be insisting on the adult going out and hunting for breakfast. 

 

" I want breakfast now!"

Charges into the adult's personal space making him flick his wings out and take off.

 

"Breakfast now!"

 

The youngster forces the adult to fly. 

 

The chase is on. 

This is exactly what the adult wants the fledgling to do. The more he flies the better his flight skills. 

The adult descends down the face of the cliff. The fledgling is calling the whole time and copying every flight maneuver. 

Adult keeps just close enough to keep the youngster chasing. 

Shadowing. 

Kak, kak kak!

The youngster is insistent and flies aggressively. Adult keeps encouraging the chase. 

 

Flying towards the camera. 

Parent pulls up and flies upward past all the photographers. 

 

The youngster pulls hard to his left and we get a side view. Looks like he has been fed recently. His crop looks nice and full. 

The adult looks to see how her youngster is doing. 

The fledgling is quite full of himself and flies off. 

Adult takes a break. 

Adult patrolling the bluffs. 

Flies by calling and calling. May be a warning to a bird that is entering her territory. 

Her call brings another fledgling flying to the area. 

A wonderful leading edge look at the youngster as he focuses on something in front.

It's one of his siblings. The air is filled with Kak, kak , kak, kak !

The adult is still flying back and forth calling and calling. This appears to excite the youngsters into mock fights and strafing past the photographers and onlookers just a few feet about our heads. 

She patrols her territory. 

Notice that the adult has the yellow coloring at the base of her beak and the skin around the eyes are also yellow. 

The fledglings have bluish color nostrils and the eyelids are also bluish. 

An exciting display of mock combat between the siblings. 

Close-up of the youngsters as they hone their skills. 

Something else that gets their attention. 

Just as fast as they appeared, they are gone to another part of their territory.

If you are patient, they usually will make another appearance and may fly by again. 

The youngsters appeared to enjoy looking at all the people that are lined up on the bluff observing their every move. 

At times they appeared to be giving the audience a show doing fantastic aerial maneuvers directly in front of us. 

It's that they fly by so fast, it is extremely difficult to get them in your sights and by the time you try to get a focus, they are half a mile down the beach. 

Another youngster is spotted coming from the canyon. He spots the Osprey that has entered his territory and starts a chase. 

Osprey has entered the Peregrines territory and is already being chased by one of the fledglings. 

What a beauty. This Osprey knows that this is Peregrine territory and moves quickly to exit the area. 

Close up. He is looking a little nervous and starts to get moving faster as he flies higher leaving the area as quickly as possible. Almost every time he flies into this area, he has been harassed by the youngsters so he knows very well not to linger. 

A parent patrolling the cliffs is enough to get the Osprey to hurry even faster out of the area. 

Something below in the water catches my attention. It's two small seals enjoying the beautiful water off the state beach. You will almost always see a seal or a dolphin in this area. There have also been reports of increased Great White sharks spotted off our coast. Hopefully they have plenty of seals to eat and leave the humans alone.  

A young Great Blue Heron flying by but stays way out over the ocean and out of the Peregrine's territory . LOL. the adult Peregrines have most of the birds in their territory well trained to stay a respectable distance from the nest site. It is amazing to see a flock of Pelicans fly by hugging the bluffs... but as soon as they approach the nest area, they veer out dramatically towards the ocean.  It is very obvious that they have had some uncomfortable harassment  in the past by the adult Peregrines warning them off their territory. 

Looking south, there are a lot of kite-gliders out having fun off the La Jolla cliffs. What a great experience it has been watching the fledglings learn to fly as we enjoy one of the most beautiful ocean and scenic coastline views you will ever see in San Diego. It's time to head for home as we wish the fledglings safe flight. 

Have a beautiful week everyone!

 Happy Father's Day too!