Lawrence Peregrines: male in liftoff mode!

October 31, 2016 in Near the Clock Tower

_w7i4188-001A Monday morning visit looking for the Lawrence Peregrines, and a joy to discover the banded (6/4) male perched atop one of the triangular pediments on the SE corner of the New Balance building.  the lighting was extraordinary and terrific views of the male.  After a while, something caught its attention, and he launched into flight.  It always requires so much patience to wait for one of those exciting “takeoff in flight’ moments…..but so worth the wait!

For those with an interest, a few more photos posted: http://www.pbase.com/birdshots/image/164473512            Click “next” in upper right corner to advance frames!

Lawrence Peregrines: male SE corner of NB bldg

October 31, 2016 in Near the Clock Tower

_w7i4147-001One of those beautiful mornings with bright sun and cobalt blue skies. Discovered the male peregrine perched on one of the triangular pediments located at the SE corner of the New Balance building just above the intersection of Union and Merrimack Streets.  It is always nice to have such nice looks under excellent lighting conditions.  A further bonus to be able to document a clear view of the 6/4 leg bands of this long-time resident and king of the roost!  This peregrine was a 2001 hatch year falcon from Manchester, NH and is still going strong!

Peregrine Woburn: male with full crop!

October 31, 2016 in Peregrine Falcon Woburn

_w7i3828-001Another bright sunny morning with blues skies and light winds.  The male peregrine was found perched on a rocky outcropping just to the east and below the nest ledge.  The best views were from the far east end of the back parking lot.  This looks like the continuing unbanded male based on the fine lateral chest barring.  The male appears to have a full crop from a recent meal.  A crop is the name of the part of the falcon’s anatomy that serves as a storage area for food until it is passed to the stomach – often seen as a bulge in the upper part of the bird’s chest area when it is full.

Lawrence Peregrines: both on Clock Tower!

October 26, 2016 in Near the Clock Tower

_w7i3197-001The Lawrence Peregrines have both been seen quite a bit around the Clock Tower.  They tend to perch in proximate locations and keep an eye out for each other.  This morning, found the male on an upper ledge above the clock face on the south side of the building basking in the bright morning sun.  The female was resting in the shade of the next box around the corner on the west side of the building.  She hears the ,male squawking and turns her head to the left and up.  The female has breast streaking that runs a bit higher than the male and the streaking runs toward the chin.  This helps with identification when leg bands are not seen!

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Peregrine Woburn: new kid hooked bill!

October 25, 2016 in Peregrine Falcon Woburn

_w7i2313-001Another bright sunny morning with blue skies and great light!  While stopping by to look for the Woburn Peregrines, discovered the new kid in the nest ledge.  It nestled in like the nest ledge has been home for some time.  Had a nice look at hooked bill. Raptors have sharp, hooked beaks they use to pierce prey, pull off fur, tug away skin, pluck out feathers, and tear meat into bite-sized, easy-to-swallow chunks. In addition to the specialized shape of their beaks, raptors also have a unique “tooth” tucked inside their upper mandible (upper beak). This “tooth” is shaped like a small triangle and is called a tomial tooth. The tomial tooth helps a bird kill its prey quickly by cutting the prey’s spinal cord. After the prey is dead, a raptor can fly away with it and eat in a safe place.

Peregrine Haverhill: female on rooftop!

October 24, 2016 in Peregrine Falcons Haverhill

_w7i2460-001As the sun was setting, made a late day visit to downtown Haverhill in search of the Peregrine Falcons.  After searching high and low, and with quite a bit of luck, was able to locate the unbanded female on a rooftop corner on the north side of the Merrimack River, just on the east side of Riverfront Park.  After a bit, it made a short flight to the rooftop to the west and joined the male who had been perching on the east side of that building….so BOTH!

Peregrine Woburn: new kid!

October 19, 2016 in Peregrine Falcon Woburn

_w7i1812-001After a short visit to scope out the Peregrines on a partly cloudy weekday morning in the middle of October, discovered the new kid in town Peregrine on one of the utility poles on the south side of the big parking lot.  This new Peregrine has no leg bands, but a clearly different pattern on its underparts!

Peregrines Woburn: new falcon in town?

October 16, 2016 in Peregrine Falcon Woburn

_w7i1543-001Made a short visit this morning looking for the Peregrine Falcons in Woburn. An unbanded male? was seen perched atop a utility pole, in the SW corner of the larger parking area. It was just basking in the sun with a few passing clouds. It took off twice in pursuit, and then returned, and landed back at same perch.  Both male and female have been seen with regularity over past many weeks, but this falcon was a bit different with dots on the chest underpart feathers and not the usual lateral barring on the regular unbanded adult male.

Had a chance to capture a nice clear sequence of takeoff photos…..

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For those with an interest, 4 photos posted:

http://www.pbase.com/birdshots/image/164307060

Click “next” in upper right corner to advance frames

Peregrine Woburn: male on perch

October 15, 2016 in Peregrine Falcon Woburn

_w7i0898-001A nice Saturday afternoon visit to look for both Peregrines.  It was just after 4 pm and the light was fading behind the west wall of the rock quarry.  The male was seen to the right and above the nest ledge in a regular perch location.  It was unbanded male with horizontal barred underparts and no leg bands.  After 20 minutes, it launched into flight to the SW and then out of sight!

Lawrence Peregrines: on the weathervane!

October 15, 2016 in On the Clock Tower

_w7i0881-001During an mid-afternoon visit to the Clock Tower, had a nice surprise finding both of the Lawrence Peregrines roosting on the weathervane atop the Clock Tower.  In past year or so, this has been a very infrequent happening.  In the past the weathervane was the most popular perch location with fantastic views!