The Peregrine is a ferocious falcon, often lauded as one of nature’s finest flyers. Falco peregrinus is a true wanderer; some North American breeders who winter far south travel over 15,000 miles in a year. It’s a speed demon too, the fastest creature with wings. When falcons dive for prey, a practice called stooping, from over 1/2 mile up, it can attain speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour. Yee-haw! Needless to say, what the falcon strikes at this velocity, it usually slays instantly.
Being such an icon of avian excellence must be hungry work. The peregrine falcon, no larger than a crow, enjoys a varied diet of waterfowl, shorebirds, songbirds, and trash birds. The bird blogger who has taken the peregrine as his totem seems to possess a healthy appetite as well. Craig Nash, the proprietor of Peregrine’s Bird Blog, has served up a tasty food-oriented edition for I and the Bird #40. Bon appetit!
I and the Bird is, if I may be so bold, like a big jam donut with cream on the top. Its arrival gives us pleasure and its departure merely makes us hungry for more. (I wish I had said that.) Help appease the insatiable appetite for quality wild bird blogging. Send a link and summary to your best birding-related post to me or our next splendid host, Snail (snailseyeview AT optusnet DOT com DOT au) of Snail’s Eye View by January 23. IATB #41 is scheduled for Thursday, January 25.
You will, Mike. You will.
Very witty, Seth. Very witty.
Good post…I also posted some video of the two peregrines that nest at Bway Bridge in Manhattan attacking one of the resident RTH’s. In this coordinated attack, one of the falcons comes level while the second dives at a speed that definitely approaches 100+mph.
That’s some great footage, Yojimbot. You should submit posts like that one to I and the Bird; the community would love it.
I knew we had peregrines around that area, but didn’t realize they nested in the bridge. Is it easier to spot them from the Manhattan or the Bronx side?