You are browsing the archives of falcons.

As you all know, “brown” can be quite good on a bird and it comes in all colours and sizes! For those of you familiar with shorebirds there is a lot of “grey” out there, so I thought I should share some “brown” with you. One of the best places to find “brown” around Broome [...]

For with a lark’s heart he doth tower, By a glorious upward instinct drawn; No bee nestles deeper in the flower Than he in the bursting rose of dawn. -From “The Falcon” by James Russell Lowell If one were to combine the word “bird” with the word “superlative” the result would be the Peregrine Falcon. [...]

A friend of a friend named Daryl Cavallaro took this stunning shot of a Merlin snagging a snack recently at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.  Bonus points to anyone who can identify the dragonfly.  The photo is copyrighted to Daryl and, no, you can’t use it without permission. Merlin with dragonfly by Daryl Cavallaro (click [...]

This last week I was out with a falconer that had an absolutely stunning pale form Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) and the beauty of this wonderful bird really touched me. Well, to be honest, seeing this stunning raptor with jesses on a pole in an SUV wasn’t exactly the happiest of moments, but as soon as [...]

Last month, I wrote about hypothesized relationships between passerines, parrots, falcons, and seriemas, noting a need for further research on the subject. The post stimulated some great discussions but not really any additional commentary on the science behind these proposed relationships. But later in August, Alexander Suh at the University of Münster emailed me about [...]

Kestrels may be the coolest raptors nobody knows of. In North America, everyone recognizes hawks on the wing, even the ones that aren’t Red-tailed Hawks. Obviously, Bald Eagles are a pretty big deal too. Those bigger birds of prey command respect, but it’s not like falcons are unknown. Even outside of Atlanta, Peregrine Falcons spend [...]

What do you think when you hear the word raptor? Those of us from generation Jurassic Park can’t help but think of the terrifying dinosaurs nicknamed “raptors,” horribly Hollywoodified versions of Velociraptor that were as it turns out, way too naked. Yes, Velociraptor had feathers, and arguably, it and the other dromaeosaurs could even be [...]

So much of the US is getting dumped on with snow.  At first it seemed like a nice holiday treat until you realize that your city has called its sixth Snow Emergency and it’s still technically autumn.  I love snow, I wouldn’t live in Minnesota if I didn’t, but you have to have a plan [...]

It was not too many years ago that it was questionable if Peregrine Falcons would continue to exist in several locations around the world, including the eastern United States, where it was actually extirpated.  It has already been well-reported that the banning of DDT, captive breeding and hacking programs, and careful monitoring of the recovering [...]

Many a lifelong birder picked up his or her first field guide because of raptors. Bird of prey like eagles, hawks, and owls inspire a level of interest or even passion that most other types of birds can only envy. And as cool as the raptor suite seems to casual observers, it reserves some of [...]