Spent most the day yesterday at Dungeness spit. Just about the perfect day
with sunshine, little wind and 65 degrees. While sitting on a log to enjoy
the surf I saw a peregrine swooped down on a small group of shorebirds. The
prey splashed out in all directions and one headed out straight to sea,
followed by the falcon. I quickly lost site of the shorebird (a snowy
plover or sanderling) but I was able to keep the falcon in view. It flew
out several hundred yards, then swooped up and then stooped on a raft of
bull kelp where a half dozen gulls had been resting. The gulls all went in
the air, circling and swooping and the falcon stooped 4 more times on the
kelp raft, where I assume that the shorebird had landed. By the fourth stoop
it was clear that the gulls had been joined by several friends, all of which
circled and swooped around the falcon. Keeping track of the falcon was like
one of those peas under a shell game and for a bit I lost the falcon. I
picked it up again this time flying straight back towards me and to my
astonishment, as it got closer to the spit, it stooped on a Common loon!
What in the world was it thinking? Maybe it was like a dog chasing cars. Of
course the loon dove and the falcon flew low onto the spit. I thought it was
going to hop over to the other side so I climbed up to get a better view
and the falcon put on the brakes, stopped on a dime and landed on a log. As
I got up to where I could see the other side I understood why it stopped.
There were hundreds of gulls on the edge of the spit, and lots of them were
now looking the falcon and kind of restlessly moving around and muttering.
The falcon hopped from log to log over to the western side of the spit and
then took off after a Harrier. It chased the Harrier and stooped on it
several times, then circled around and landed. The Harrier circled back and
went at the perched falcon, talons out and both birds went into the air,
squawking up a storm and kind of tangling loosely with each other in the air
several times. There argument had drifting into the airspace over the gulls
and at least two hundred gulls took to the air and made a swirling,
screaming maelstrom. The falcon dodged and danced around the gulls for a
bit then flew upwards at a high angle, getting above them. It then started
stooping on gulls and almost all the rest of the gulls took to the air.
There were hundreds of gulls all screaming and swirling. It was really
loud. I lost track of the falcon and put my binoculars down, and like a
magic act, there 20 feet in front of me, perched the peregrine, preening
itself as if all this swirling noise was all in a days work. After a bit it
made a short hop, and nabbed a savanna sparrow which it plucked the breast
feathers and ate right in front of me.

I saw either the same bird, or others 4 more times as I walked to the
lighthouse and back, and the aerial duel with the harrier was repeated, the
second time, after several bouts the falcon took off, leaving the harrier in
charge of that section of the spit.

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer, Teacher
Snohomish County