A Pair of Preening Peregrines

It was a beautiful morning down along the river: crystal clear, blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds, 45° with a stiff breeze. And there, in the tree where I’d seen them off and on for years, was a pair of peregrine falcons. Both birds were vigorously preening their feathers, a fitting activity for a species that is, if not the fastest bird on earth, then the second fastest.

The tree is a black locust not far from the riverbank, within sight of both their nest site and the place where they spend their nights. This pair has apparently been together for several years; as in most birds of prey the female is the larger and in this case she’s noticeably darker than the male, making them easy to identify. When I saw them the female was on the right side of the tree, the male on the left, but they were somewhat obscured by branches –

After maneuvering to a spot with a better view of both birds I began taking both videos and still photos –

A branch cast its shadow on the female and her head was usually hidden by another limb, but the male was in a good spot as he spent some time nibbling on one of the tree’s seed pods –

For the entire time I’d been watching and photographing the pair, I’d been wishing I had my longer lens, so I unlimbered the cellphone and called H to ask if she’d bring it to where I’d parked. Then I began walking back to the car and arrived moments after that nice lady pulled in. After trading cameras and lenses I returned to to the peregrines and found that they’d both moved from one side of the tree to the other, in essence they’d traded places. More photos and videos were taken, between the two cameras 1,233 in total.

The female peregrine continued to preen, giving special attention to her feet, and repeatedly opened her mouth as wide as it could go, apparently she was trying to cast a pellet of indigestible material (feathers, fur and bones) as do all hawks and owls –

While the male seemed to nap as he covered his eyes with their nictating membrane – 

 

After an hour and a half of watching and photographing the peregrine falcons, and futilely waiting for them to take flight (I wanted to take photos of them flying) the camera's battery was down to 9% and the spares were at home, so it was time to leave.