p.1 #1 · Peregrines at Torrey PInes are Attacking Pelicans (again)
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The Peregrines at Torrey Pines are nesting on the cliff wall again this year. As was the case last year there are two nests at Torrey Pines, the north one near the parking lot and the south one near the steps at Flat Rock. As was the case last year the northern nest is further along and it appears their eggs have hatched. It's not possible to see into the nest since it is too high on the cliff wall, but the parents are feeding something, must be chicks. The southern nest is still being sat on continuously, so no chicks yet. It is good that they don't overlap their peak activities too much.
As has been the case in prior years the female at the northern nest, banded 16AC, is pretty aggressive about keeping other birds, mainly pelicans, away from her nest. The male is participating some too. Below are some photos from last year, which I have been tardy to post. Gives you some idea what can be seen.
They are also doing a lot of other interesting activities, including in-flight food transfers. The activity is pretty high now and increasing.
I will try to do a better job posting some photos from this year soon.
p.1 #14 · Peregrines at Torrey PInes are Attacking Pelicans (again)
Wow, those are fun to look at, especially the one where he has a grip on the pellis head, heh.
I dont have a lot of sympathy for gulls and pellis, not that I want any harm to them, they are just greedy opportunists and I've seen them be lazy and try to steal others catch more than secure their own. Mark Smith has a great vid of a pelli with a whole Osprey in his bucket when he tried to grab its catch he got the whole Osprey... the Osprey did get out.
Eric
louie champan wrote:
What a spectacular series, excellent!!
Thanks Louie
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Erictator wrote:
Wow, those are fun to look at, especially the one where he has a grip on the pellis head, heh.
I dont have a lot of sympathy for gulls and pellis, not that I want any harm to them, they are just greedy opportunists and I've seen them be lazy and try to steal others catch more than secure their own. Mark Smith has a great vid of a pelli with a whole Osprey in his bucket when he tried to grab its catch he got the whole Osprey... the Osprey did get out.
Eric
Thanks Eric
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sum1sgrampa wrote:
Amazing stuff Bob. I'm guessing the flight was very erratic. Good job keeping them in frame.
Gary
Yeah, they zig and zag a lot. These are the one where I got lucky and got something in the frame.
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kdacharya wrote:
wow how awesome is this. nicely done, Dave. Voted.
Thanks for commenting and thanks for the vote.
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The Peregrines are putting on a good show at Torrey Pines, so if you're in the area it's good and going to get better over the next few weeks. I will post some images from this year soon.
p.1 #19 · Peregrines at Torrey PInes are Attacking Pelicans (again)
Erictator wrote:
Wow, those are fun to look at, especially the one where he has a grip on the pellis head, heh.
I dont have a lot of sympathy for gulls and pellis, not that I want any harm to them, they are just greedy opportunists and I've seen them be lazy and try to steal others catch more than secure their own. Mark Smith has a great vid of a pelli with a whole Osprey in his bucket when he tried to grab its catch he got the whole Osprey... the Osprey did get out.
Eric
I've seen that video -- the images are quite amazing -- especially the shot where you can see the Osprey's talons poking through the pelican's pouch!
