This year at Torrey Pines there were four Peregrine chicks and they all survived. The Peregrines are regressing to the mean after the single chick last year. There was lots of activity starting in Feb and lasting until June when the fledglings dispersed. I spent a lot of time on the beach and the trail at the top of the cliff wall and took approximately 100K frames, mostly in bursts of 10-200 shots. I have culled it down to a few thousand shots, but I will not post them all. I am many weeks behind so this will be a pretty large posting of some of my favorites.
1. Peregrine Food Exchange - The male was active bringing food for the female as she attended the nest on the cliff wall.
ILCE-1 600mm f/4.0 1/5000s 500 ISO 0.0 EV
2. Peregrine Food Exchange
ILCE-1 600mm f/4.0 1/8000s 1000 ISO 0.0 EV
3. This was the first sighting of a chick in late April. Eventually four chicks appeared.
ILCE-1 1200mm f/8.0 1/1600s 500 ISO 0.0 EV
4. Peregrine Food Exchange. With four chicks to feed, there were frequent food exchanges.
ILCE-1 600mm f/5.6 1/2500s 500 ISO 0.0 EV
5. Peregrine Food Exchange.
ILCE-1 600mm f/4.0 1/5000s 500 ISO 0.0 EV
6. Mom Bringing Food to the Nest. The Peregrines were often bringing rather large birds to the nest, in this case a Tern. We saw them deliver birds as large as young Egrets, which must have been at the limits of their ability to lift.
ILCE-1 600mm f/4.0 1/3200s 500 ISO 0.0 EV
7. Peregrine Food Exchange
ILCE-1 600mm f/4.0 1/3200s 500 ISO 0.0 EV
8. All Four Chicks Pose for a Group Photo
ILCE-1 840mm f/5.6 1/3200s 500 ISO 0.0 EV
9. Mom Delivers Some Food to the Chicks. The chicks are very eager and food delivery results in a huge scramble to get some.
ILCE-1 600mm f/4.0 1/5000s 500 ISO 0.0 EV
10. Peregrine Attacks a Young Pelican. In addition to feeding the chicks the parents attacked any birds that got too close. Unlike last year, this year they did not kill any pelicans.
ILCE-1 600mm f/4.0 1/5000s 500 ISO 0.0 EV
11. Mom Delivers Some Food. One of the favorite foods was Phalaropes caught on the ocean. In this case the bird was not dead, and flew away when it was dropped. Mom pursued it, caught it again, and the second time killed it.
ILCE-1 600mm f/4.0 1/4000s 500 ISO 0.0 EV
12. "We Fledged!! Gimme a High Four!" These birds fledged just a few hours before this shot. They are immediately excellent fliers and start aggressive play. Just a few weeks earlier these Falcons were eggs!
ILCE-1 600mm f/4.0 1/4000s 500 ISO 0.0 EV
Edited on Jul 03, 2022 at 10:10 AM · View previous versions