I was out at Cape Alava on the Olympic wilderness beach earlier this week.
As the tide came in towards full, small squadrons of Western sandpipers
skittered along the edge of water and land. Down the beach I saw a
peregrine as it came flying up against the wind, low, maybe 6 feet off the
ground. I stood still hoping it would fly near me but it moved inland a bit,
flying over the logs at the edge of the forest. It passed by, went about 50
yards upwind then made a quick uturn and picked up speed with the wind. The
shorebirds flew in a panic around me, like I was a rock in a stream of birds
and the falcon passed by wonderfully close in pursuit of dinner. I got a
great view as the falcon closed on a the last straggler shorebird, talons
came forward for the strike and then there was a flutter of wings and
confusion and the shorebird somehow eluded the falcon and was heading out
over the water. The falcons momentum carried it downwind and it recovered
and briefly followed, but it was obvious the shorebird had won that round.
The falcon soared up catching the wind and then slowly floated down to a
perch on a log providing a wonderful opportunity to admire this handsome
bird.

The next day I was poking around in a tidepool when I heard that primeval
screech of a Great blue heron. I looked up and there was a peregrine
stooping on the flying giant. Each time the falcon stooped the heron
screeched in protest, at one point the big bird flipped sideways as if to
use its wing to bat the pesky attacker. After 4 short stoops the falcon
flew straight up, pumping its wings until it was almost out of view, then it
came down at a steep angle very fast and went out of view.

There was a large flock of gulls, maybe 200 in a group and at one point they
all rose into the air with considerable noise. I remarked to my companion
how much their flock shape in the air reminded me of Shorebirds. She had her
binos and pointed out that the bird circling outside the flock was a
peregrine and I assume the flock behavior was to thwart an attack, just like
shorebirds do, only with an added cacophony of sound.

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer, Teacher
Snohomish County