Subject: Loud Peregrine
Date: Oct 17 15:28:04 1998
From: Jerry Blinn - 76506.3100 at compuserve.com


>> <snip>
>>I'd never heard a Peregrine vocalize like that except on tape, and had
>>always thought that call was associated with nest defense.

>During the summer, Peregrines are quite noisy on their breeding
>territories in my experience, especially when the kids are on the wing. <

On Jan. 23, 1997, up at the Samish (~east~ 90 <G>), I watched an aerial
battle between a Peregrine and a Gyrfalcon precipitated by the Gyrfalcon
moving to a telephone pole that was apparently in the Peregrine's
"territory." The Peregrine had been sitting on another pole about 1/8 mile
away and the Gyrfalcon had been sitting peacefully on one pole and then
moved to another closer to the Peregrine (because my car creeping up with
binos sticking out of the moon roof made him nervous. <G>).

The Peregrine attacked, circling the sitting Gyrfalcon three times with
a continuous, literally ear-splitting, "kak - kak - kak - kak . . . !!!"
Flushed from his perch, the Gyrfalcon stood his ground (stood his air?
stood his pole?), resulting in a talon-to-talon aerial battle, frequently
tumbling toward the ground. By whatever means or occurrence, the (big!)
Gyrfalcon "won," and the Peregrine returned to his distant pole. The
Gyrfalcon returned to the offending pole and shook out his ruffled feathers
-- so to speak.

During the entire battle, the Peregrine was screaming -- I'm sure he could
be easily heard a mile away -- and the Gyrfalcon was absolutely silent.

I was screaming because during all this my Nikon was in the trunk!

Jerry Blinn
Silverdale


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