Denis and tweeters,

We had a remarkably similar experience from our front deck along Scatter Creek on Saturday, Aug. 9. An immature Peregrine that had been diving playfully on a Turkey Vulture suddenly folded its wings and stooped toward us, passing within 25 feet of our faces and continuing on across our pasture to the marsh, hundreds of yards in a couple of seconds. The loud "whoosh" it made was startling, an incredible experience. I am no longer skeptical of the 200 mph cited for a Peregrine in mid-dive. The falcon rose again in a minute without prey and circled upward. It was a very heavily marked immature, possibly a Peale's Peregrine. I see a few here every year, mostly in early fall, sometimes in mid-winter, but this was by far the most exciting encounter.

I wonder if it may have been the same bird. Roy isn't far in falcon flying terms.

Bob

----- Original Message -----
From: Denis DeSilvis
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 8:49 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Notes from Roy - 8-11-2008: Nighthawks, Falcon, Quail,and more


Tweeters,

I heard Barn Swallows making their "I see a predator" call just before 6 PM, looked out back expecting to see the local Cooper's Hawk, but when I spotted the predator, it turned out to be a PEREGRINE FALCON circling over the wetland. I grabbed the bins, and glassed the bird just as it turned and folded its wings, looking as if it were power-gliding directly at me. It passed right over me and the house, close enough for me to hear a "whoosh" as it went by. After running to the front of the house, I spotted the falcon circling to the south, with a bunch of swallows nearby; it kept circling and gliding south. I usually don't see peregrines until late fall or sometimes during the winter - this was the first time in the summer.



After spotting the falcon, I decided to go out back on the deck to read, and had just settled in when I heard the distinctive "peeent" of a COMMON NIGHTHAWK nearby over the wetland. There appeared to be more than one bird calling, and when I finally spotted them, there were 4 nighthawks flying close together, heading south. This is the first nighthawk sighting I've had here since July 2006; and the 88th species at the property this year.



A third family of California Quail showed up about a week ago. I'd seen one pair without a family, but likely they were nesting nearby. At any rate, we now have over 30 juvenile quail here of three different ages. The oldest hatching was feeding on the back lawn early this morning as I was sipping coffee in the family room. I heard a "whir" of wings and when I popped out of my seat to look, five of the youngsters were standing on back deck. When I raised my head up high enough to see them all, at least one of them saw me and they all scooted south, hopping off the deck and joining their hatch-mates.



I've seen one Turkey Vulture each of the past five days - I usually only see one a couple of times a week.



A YELLOW WARBLER still sounds off as it forages in the early morning and late afternoon, and WILLOW FLYCATCHERS and WESTERN WOOD-PEWEES are persistently vocal, especially in the morning for the flycatcher, and mid-day for the pewee.



Yesterday, 11 COMMON RAVENS were circling over the area at the south of the property, where someone had just hayed the field. The two juvenile Red-tailed Hawks were also in the area, likely because the lack of ground cover gave them good visibility of some prey. Three ravens and both hawks were back this afternoon.



May all your birds be identified,



Denis DeSilvis

Roy, WA

Mailto: avnacrs4birds at q.com





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