Bird Watching

For the past two days, I have been watching falcons. Specifically, the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group’s Peregrine Falcon Web Cam. (Thanks to Cara Smith for sharing the link.) It’s fascinating to peek into nest life with young, fluffy falcons sheltered and fed in turns by their parents.

The Peregrine Falcon is a large bird of prey – they hunt small mammals, small reptiles, or insects. Falcons mate for life (unless their partner is killed) and they nest on cliff edges or tall buildings.

How many young do Peregrines have?
A female peregrine usually lays 3 or 4 eggs, occasionally 5. The eggs are slightly smaller than a chicken egg, and are mottled with a dark, reddish-brown pigment. The female falcon will do most of the incubating, which averages about 33 days. The male will incubate the eggs while the female flies off to eat food he brings her.

I always find whatever the birds are doing is very interesting. Spring is a fun time to see them developing nests, hunting for food and raising their little ones. Here are a few of the birds I’ve seen so far this spring.