Comments on: A Fishy Peregrine

By: Burks Oakley

Burks Oakley — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 10:40:46 +0000

I saw an adult peregrine falcon catch a fish off the beach in Naples, Florida, yesterday. I took a number of photos – unfortunately, the falcon was pretty far away from shore. I uploaded several photos to Flickr – if you login to Flickr, you should be able to view them:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/burkso2/6934642321/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/burkso2/6788529384/

It appears that the peregrine falcon is nesting on one of the high-rise condos on the beach.

I was quite surprised to find that such fishing behavior is rare. This falcon got the fish on the first pass.

– Burks

By: Glenn Nevill

Glenn Nevill — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 23:07:07 +0000

I once came across a pair of adults hunting over the surf, both birds made multiple passes touching the water each time. They were retrieving a shore bird that they had just killed. You can see that sequence at this page…

http://raptor-gallery.com/05-16-09-morning/index.htm

Regards,
Glenn Nevill

By: Kim Steininger

Kim Steininger — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:10:18 +0000

Kate, we saw a falcon catch a fish at the Conowingo Dam one day last winter too. Certainly surprised all of us, including Craig Koppie, who as you know has worked with falcons for many years!

By: Anne Curtis

Anne Curtis — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 05:01:00 +0000

I bow to much greater knowledge and experience than I have, mine being solely limited to casual observation! A question, though? 20 tries, with lifting up 30+ feet in between! That’s a lot of energy being used up! It had to have been an experienced bird!

In one of my favorite books, MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, by Jean George, peregrines are locally called “duck hawks”. Guess the mallards were lucky that day!

Anne

By: Glenn Nevill

Glenn Nevill — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:22:17 +0000

Could you tell what kind of fish it was?

By: Steve Tirone

Steve Tirone — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:13:42 +0000

Wow, that is just amazing. I would have guessed an immature and very hungry Peregrine desperately trying something different, not a visitor from the Arctic using established skills (as suggested, we don’t know for sure). Did Dan notice if it was an immature or adult? I wonder how many reports of fishing Peregrines are out there in the literature?

Fantastic observation, and thanks for sharing.

By: Marianne

Marianne — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:33:47 +0000

Thanks for sharing the great story, Dan. It is very interesting and informative!