One of the most impressive birds we’ve got flying around North Carolina is the Peregrine Falcon. I haven’t seen many over the years but was lucky to spot three of them last week while birding in eastern NC. It was really neat to be able to observe this large falcon in the wild as they tend to be a bit skittish.
With long pointed wings and a tapered body, Peregrine Falcons are built for speed. And speed is required since their favorite food consists of songbirds, pigeons, ducks and shorebirds nearly all of which are caught on the wing in midair. While hunting, the Peregrine will fly high above their prey, and cruise the thermals in search of a likely target. When they spot something to eat down below, they’ll fold their wings tightly against their body and perform a hunting stoop. Like a dart to a bullseye, this hunting stoop is a high speed dive, during which they can reportedly reach speeds up to a blistering 242 miles per hour! The impact of the falcon on it’s prey is usually enough to stun it as the raptor locks it’s talons into the body of it’s quarry at moment of strike.
Peregrine Falcons are found across the state of North Carolina. They are permanent residents of western NC, transient visitors to the Triangle and wintertime regulars in our coastal regions (especially on Bodie & Pea Islands). Yet, another unique characteristic of Peregrines is that they are quite adaptable with choosing the territories they inhabit. Their preferred habitats are in the mountains where they may be observed nesting on the cracks and crevasses of sheer cliff faces. That being said, Peregrines are showing up in downtown cities across the United States where they’ll nest on the ledges of tall buildings and feed on a steady diet of pigeons, starlings and sparrows which are plentifully found in urban areas.
Last month I found something truly special in the Triangle area of central North Carolina, a Peregrine Falcon! I was pretty surprised to see it. There is an adult who’s known to spend the winter here in the fields of Mid Pines Rd. but I’d never seen it so early in the autumn before. So freak’n cool!
Peregrine’s are the fastest bird in the world, capable of reaching 150 to 200 mph in their stoop dives and their average cruising speed is 24 to 33 mph which can increase to an astonishing 67 mph when chasing prey.
They are year round residents of the mountains of western North Carolina but also are found wintering along the coast during the coldest months. The species range stretches from the Arctic tundra to South America. The aptly named “peregrine” means wanderer, and the Peregrine Falcon has one of the longest migrations of any North American bird sometimes traveling up to 15,500 miles in a single year.
This morning I got to see something truly special in the Triangle area of central North Carolina, a Peregrine Falcon! I was pretty surprised to see it. There is an adult who usually spends the winter here in the fields of Mid Pines Rd. but I’d never seen it so early in the autumn before. So freak’n cool!
Peregrine Falcon- September 10th, 2020 Mid Pines Rd. Raleigh North Carolina
Peregrine’s are the fastest bird in the world, capable of reaching 150 to 200 mph in their stoop dives and their average cruising speed is 24 to 33 mph which can increase to an astonishing 67 mph when chasing prey.
They are year round residents of the mountains of western North Carolina but also are found wintering along the coast during the coldest months. The species range stretches from the Arctic tundra to South America. The aptly named “peregrine” means wanderer, and the Peregrine Falcon has one of the longest migrations of any North American bird sometimes traveling up to 15,500 miles in a single year. Amazing!
If you’d like to go find this bird for yourself, check out the map below. I spotted him on the left side field, slightly northwest of the Pecan tree grove on Mid Pines Rd.
I set out today to find a rare White-fronted Goose that had been recently reported in the Mid Pines Rd. area of Raleigh North Carolina. Driving along the gravel road , I searched the fields and ponds. But, to no avail. This Goose was nowhere to be found.
Not finding anything interesting, I turned my truck around. Maybe I should check out nearby Yates Mill Park to see if the Goose might turn up there. As I made my way back down the road, a raptor perched on a far away tree caught my eye. I pulled over, grabbed my camera, and hopped out of my truck.
The skies were still pretty dark at this time. It was very difficult to focus my lens on the bird in these lighting conditions. I snapped off three shots. I reviewed the first two in camera and was disappointed with the quality of the images. They were so dark and grainy and absolutely useless for ID purposes.
Feeling deflated, I did not even bother looking at the third photo assuming that it was garbage too. In fact, I almost deleted the photos off of my camera right there and then. Left thumb planted on the trashcan button, for some reason, I hesitated. Something inside me said “look at these photos later”. So, I kept the RAWs anyway.
Standing there in the cold field, I debated weather or not to keep trying to get a better shot of this mystery raptor but ended up deciding to move on with my search for the White-fronted Goose. After all, this bird was really far away and the lighting was not looking like it was going to improve with all of the clouds moving in. Besides, my first thought was that this was likely a Red-Tailed Hawk and I’d have plenty of other (and better) photo opportunities to see one later.
So, off to Yates Mill Park I went. I did not give this encounter a second thought. Especially after how my birding at Yates Mill Park went. Let’s just say that I was not dissappointed. More on that later, stay tuned!
When I got home, I uploaded the photos onto my Mac. I could not believe my eyes! Yes, the first two photos of the mystery raptor were indeed absolute hot digital garbage but that third image… this third shot did not show a Red-tailed Hawk.
No.
My one, the only good shot of the Peregrine Falcon I spotted this morning at Mid Pines Rd.
It was a freak’n Peregrine Falcon!!!
This is a particularly nice find. You see, up until the 1950’s, Peregrines nested regularly here in North Carolina. Then, they were nearly completely wiped out, almost to the point of extinction. Their rapid disappearance from the eastern U.S., (as well as their decline in areas of the western U.S.) were caused by man-made environmental contaminants, including the pesticide known as DDT.
These pesticides got into the water and were absorbed by insects. Small birds ate the poisoned insects, and became contaminated themselves. Peregrines ate the contaminated small birds, and by now the multiplier effect of the pesticides in the food chain caused concentrations high enough to kill many birds directly. Worse yet, the pesticides interfered with calcification of eggshells, resulting in thin eggshells which were crushed as the parents sat on them during incubation.
In 1970, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Peregrine falcon as an endangered species. Recognizing the effect of DDT, the E.P.A. banned this pesticide from use in the United States back in 1972. Attempts at restoring the peregrine falcon began in 1974 with the first release of captive bred falcons.
The N. C. Wildlife Resources Commission began releases in 1984. Eighty juvenile peregrines had been released in the state by 1991. An additional 12 birds were released in 1996 and 1997 to increase the population in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the peregrine from the Federal Endangered Species list in 1999, it remains protected under the N.C. Endangered Species law and at the federal level by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Although, the survival of peregrines in N.C. still remains tenuous due to a low rate of successful nests, the species does appear to be recovering (slowly) here in the Tar Heel state through the efforts of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission breeding and nest monitoring programs.
This bird is a lifer for me as I have never photographed a Peregrine in the wild before. I’m absolutely thrilled and am honestly wishing that I could leave right now to go back out to this birding spot to get another crack at photographing this bird. Unfortunately, my family has other plans for the rest of my day.
But, that doesn’t mean that you cant try instead!
Ok, here are the details of where I saw this bird along Mid Pines Rd. Below is the Google maps link to get to the general area…
Here is a screen shot of the exact location where the Peregrine was sighted. I spotted him in the treeline that lines the field to the north-east of the dog-leg.
Hope that you get a chance to see and photograph this impressive bird too!
Happy Birding!
-Sally
References: Phil Spivey, Allen Boynton. Updated by Chris Kelly, NCWRC Johnsgard, Paul A. Hawks, Eagles and Falcons of North America (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991).Ratcliffe, Derek A. The Peregrine Falcon (Vermillion, SD: Buteo Books, 1980).Scott, Shirley L., ed. Field Guide to the Birds of North America (Washington, D.C.: The National Geographic Society, 1987).Terres, John K. The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds (New York, N.Y.: Wings Books, 1980
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