Peregrine Falcon at the Beach

Last Sunday, we were on the beach at 7:00 A.M. despite rain showers.  We hiked below the cliffs of Leucadia, the next community to our south.

Do you see what I see sitting above the bush in the center of the picture?

 While walking on the beach, we saw a large raptor alight on the cliff with a small bird or animal, which it proceeded to devour.  We were close enough to see that it was definitely a peregrine falcon.  It flew low out and back several times, and sounded its "reek, reek" alarm call.

Of course, I decided not to bring my good camera with telephoto, a sure guarantee of seeing something very cool.  The above cropped photo is with my pocket camera.  When we got home, I did a google search and found the website of a most interesting man, Will Sooter, who lives in Solana Beach, a few miles to the south.  He has been at his post 7 days a week, 4 to 5 months a year, all day for the last 10 years photographing and studying a breeding pair of peregrines that nest on the cliff at Black's Beach, about 15 miles to the south.  He has the most amazing pictures of falcons at their nest.  There are photos of a peregrine attacking a paraglider and a rattlesnake, and all sorts of other fascinating situations.  He has filmed for National Geographic and the film series North America.  Check out the various pages of his site - you won't be disappointed!     Will Sooter's Website

 Natural cliff art.

 As we walked further, we felt we were being watched.

Just before we got to this house at Moonlight Beach, we saw an osprey perched on a stair railing.  It flew out over the ocean and did an osprey dive, but missed its target.

Well, we've got to go back to these cliff areas - early mornings can be awesome!