Saturday was about the same as the last few weekends at the blind - warm, with winds from the SSE. That is not great weather for convincing hawks to get moving out of town. Saturday was fairly slow, with only three Sharp-shins. And then Sunday came. And in came the female Peregine here. Folks - three words to describe Peregrines - believe the hype. There is nothing cooler than watching a Peregrine buzz your nets and take a stoop down at them. You can hear the feathers whistle. Seriously, seriously cool.
This passage, or hatch year, female, already had bands. I was thrilled to recognize the federal number sequence - it was from the Midwest Peregrine project, and I most likely had prepared the bands for whomever the bander was! This bird is a female with three siblings (two males, two females) banded at Pink Cove, in Beaver Bay, mid-June. She most likely just followed south along the lakeshore to get to us, about 50+ miles from where she was banded. She also has a black over green color band - b/g N/92. What a fox, huh? She has that distinctive brown plumage that will become a dark grey after her first year. Later that morning, a male passage Peregrine buzzed us, but did not come in.
This passage, or hatch year, female, already had bands. I was thrilled to recognize the federal number sequence - it was from the Midwest Peregrine project, and I most likely had prepared the bands for whomever the bander was! This bird is a female with three siblings (two males, two females) banded at Pink Cove, in Beaver Bay, mid-June. She most likely just followed south along the lakeshore to get to us, about 50+ miles from where she was banded. She also has a black over green color band - b/g N/92. What a fox, huh? She has that distinctive brown plumage that will become a dark grey after her first year. Later that morning, a male passage Peregrine buzzed us, but did not come in. 
Wow. Utterly spectacular. The Peregrine is one bird that is a total knockout at any distance, from the outer limit of vision right up to in-the-hand close; they never lose that regal and wild bearing. Thanks for sharing the pix and the vivid description.
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