Seeing a Peregrine Falcon is one of the most exciting times in a birder’s life.
Known as one of the fastest birds in the world, the Peregrine Falcon is not a common bird.
They were endangered during the mid-twentieth century from the effects of DDT and other pesticides, and are slowly increasing in population.
In southeast Michigan, we see them occasionally in downtown Detroit as well as the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where they nest in tall buildings.
I usually see them from far away, perched on the edge of a building.
Never close enough to get any good photos.
That changed this past week, when I had the incredible experience of seeing a juvenile Peregrine Falcon in flight as it pursued a gull over a nearby lake.
It dove, curved, and careened quickly over the lake as it hunted its prey.
Somehow the gull escaped getting caught.
The falcon returned to its spot overlooking the lake. A few minutes went by when I checked again for the falcon, but it had disappeared.
And I managed to not get any photos!
Why?
Because it was so amazing to watch the bird through my binoculars as it chased the gull.
Three days later, I returned to the same location.
When I saw the Peregrine Falcon perched on a pole, I quickly took some photos.
From the swollen crop, the area near the falcon’s throat where food is stored, you can tell the falcon recently had a meal.
