Diary 1999

Brian Latta and Craig Himmelwright from the Predatory Bird Research Group of the University of California, Santa Cruz played stork to our Peregrine Falcons this year, delivering three chicks - 2 females and 1 male - to the aerie on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22. The chicks were 25 days old. This is the first time chicks have been fostered into the Morro Rock aerie since 1992.

Last year Morro Rock's resident adult Peregrines experienced at least 2 nest failures and had already experienced one this season. Though it hasn't been determined the exact cause for their inability to produce young, it is likely that thin shells and/or the age of our female Peregrine are likely reasons. Our female wears a band on her leg indicating that she was fostered out of Morro Rock in 1985, making her 14 years old. Whatever the reason, there appeared to be little likelihood there would be chicks this year.

However, we got lucky. Brian Latta called me and asked, "Would you like some babies?" I, of course, responded quickly with, "Absolutely!"

Three chicks that had been intended for release from a hack site were suddenly in need of a home. Of the two possible hack sites available, one was unexpectedly closed down and the other was taken over by a pair of nesting birds. Another site couldn't be readied quickly enough to be used. After a bit of consideration, it was determined that these babies and the Morro Rock Peregrines were made for each other and plans were made to deliver them right away.

Early Thursday morning Brian and Craig met a group of volunteers in the south parking lot at Morro Rock. The volunteers, Steve Schubert, Elizabeth Hoyt, and Martine Lynch, were there to help carry the chicks and needed equipment up the rock. Each chick was removed from the container it had traveled in, banded, and placed into special wooden backpacks. A female and the male were in one pack; a particularly aggressive female was in the another. Before being carried up to the aerie , the chicks were fed a meal of quail pieces.

Once the climbers reached the area just above the aerie, ropes were dropped and Brian rappelled down. After the aerie was inspected for any viable eggs (there were none) or shell fragments, the decision was made to go ahead and place the chicks. Craig moved down the ropes, both packs secured to his back.

There had been some concern that the adult Peregrines might not accept chicks as old as these. The situation was watched closely. The female Falcon had been quite agitated as the chicks were being delivered, flying at the Craig and Brian, screaming at them in an attempt to protect her aerie. But once the ropes were pulled up, the Falcon made a few passes, then landed at the entrance of the aerie. She was observed stretching to look in at the chicks, her tail fanned out. Then she settled right in and took over raising her adopted family.

The tiercel, who had been absent throughout most of the fostering effort, returned soon after the Falcon had taken up caring for the chicks. He sat on the end of the diving board, looking into the aerie for a moment, then looking up, as if wondering if anyone else was going to be dropping in. Within 30 minutes he had flown out, brought back a small prey item, and delivered it to the chicks.

Things couldn't have gone more smoothly. Our Peregrines immediately took up the task of feeding three very hungry mouths. Each Peregrine Falcon chick at 25 days of age will eat the equivalent of 3 quail a day. Suddenly there was a lot of hunting to be done for some very demanding babies. Consider this - what would it be like to come home to find 3 new ravenous teenagers in your house? You'd have a lot of hunting of your own to do. And quick!

It has been amazing to watch how quickly they changed from little fluffy white babies to full-sized, brown birds. Of course, they were 25 days old when we first saw them. The chicks no longer have white, downy feathers on them. Look for a regular Peregrine-sized bird with, for now, mostly brown coloration.

Want to watch the action and see the new Peregrines? Come to the south side parking lot. The chicks have fledged and can be observed flying. They are very vocal, so chances are you will hear them before you see them. The most obvious way to tell immature Peregrines from the adults is coloration. (That and their often awkward landing techniques.) The immature Peregrines are darker on the underside, with little barring on their chests and a white stripe at the bottom of their tails that is easily observable in flight.

Check back regularly for updates on the progress and well-being of the chicks. If you have some observations you would like to share with other site visitors, please send them to me in email by clicking HERE.

May 6, Thursday - Right on schedule - this morning at 8:55 the immature male Peregrine fledged. After much flapping of wings, he took to the air. Momentarily. He flapped enough to get himself away from the face of the aerie, then his flight became more of a drop. He landed in a bunch of sage about 70 feet up from the foot of the rock and about 10 feet from a pair of nesting gulls. The gulls squawked a bit, but left him alone. He stayed where he was for about 30 minutes, looking around and occasionally stretching his wings. He was so well hidden in the plants that I would have never found him if I hadn't seen him land.

Both adult Falcons had been absent from the area when the little male took off, but both returned about 10 minutes later. The female swooped back and forth across the face of the aerie, vocalizing as she flew. She finally landed in a cave to the right of the aerie and perched there, seemingly looking down to where the young male was.

When the young tiercel did fly again, both gulls chased him around to the west side of the rock. In the course of the next 30 minutes he made several short flights, first staying about 100 feet up in the air and on the rock, then began making his way back toward the aerie. Gulls chased him one other time, but all in all, things went very well.

Afternoon - Dean and his group of kids from Camp Keep were visiting Morro Rock to see the Peregrines. Dean spotted another of the Peregrine young out of the aerie. This means a female has fledged. Two in one day!

May 9, Sunday - All three immature Falcons are out and making short flights. The adults are taking food to wherever the juveniles are perched.

May 13, Thursday - What an exciting thing to be able to look into the air over Morro Rock and see five Falcons in flight. There is a lot of interaction between them going on, especially when one of the adults appears with food. There will be no better opportunity to experience the joy of watching these amazing birds than now. All of the young appear to be doing well. They will be here until early fall, when the parents will send them off to find their own territories. I encourage everyone to take this opportunity while it is available.

May 16, Sunday - Dean, his family, and I were observing and discussing the babies. A couple dozen gulls and other birds were circling over the bay right where the road narrows as it goes around the Rock. We had been following two of the juveniles as they chased each other over the ridge in that vicinity when suddenly one of them darted into the gulls and seemed to smash directly into the side of a gull. Grabbing it with her talons, the Falcon and the gull tumbled down toward the beach. Right before hitting the beach, the gull escaped for a second, only to be grabbed again. The two sank out of our view behind a rock. We don't know what happened, but it was certainly interesting to watch. This wasn't either graceful or even likely successful, but we enjoyed the show.

May 21, Friday - A very sad day. Our adult female Peregrine, known to some of the local Falconers as "Morro Mary," has died. She was found by a jogger at the Rock in the afternoon. Her body will be transferred to the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group for an autopsy; it is likely she died of natural causes. She was fostered into Lucia in 1984 and came to Morro Rock in 1991 - 92. That first year her eggs were removed from the nest and 2 chicks were fostered in. In the years following that, she successfully fledged 6 chicks of her own, plus the 3 foster chicks this year, for a total of 11 chicks raised and fledged by her in 6 years. As detailed above, she has been an excellent mother. She was a beautiful, fierce, wild, and proud bird who provided us with the opportunity to witness nature in its most elegant state. Those of us who have had the honor to observe her over the years will miss her greatly.

May 23, Sunday - Having been alerted to the death of the adult female, several Falconers and Peregrine watchers gathered to access the situation. Merlin Felton, who served as nest attendant in the early 70s and who knows Morro Rock and its falcons very well, spent the day at the Rock observing. The immediate concern is, of course, the survival of the babies. All have fledged, but while they do make attempts to capture food, they are not at all ready to sustain themselves yet. It is assumed the tiercel will continue to hunt for them, but this is quite a job for him to do on his own.

May 24, Monday - Brian Latta stopped here today to pick up our female's body. Even in death she is a beautiful bird, an excellent specimen of the anatum Peregrine Falcon. Her body will be tested for toxins, then possibly returned for display at the natural history museum.

May 30, Sunday - The juveniles, having pretty much reached full adult size, are showing their individual personalities and looks.

The tiercel looks amazingly adult, with a lot of cream coloration on his underbody. This is unusual at his age. In flight, however, he still has a white band at the base of his tail - a giveaway. At this point he seems to show little interest in serious hunting, so is likely well fed by the adult tiercel. He will take up the chase when he sees the aggressive female after a bird. He is spending most of his time on the south side of the Rock, often perched on the tall spire or the ledges directly above it. (See the rock photo.)

The aggressive female is very dark - front and back. She has been observed grabbing dove-sized birds from the air and feeding on them. She is quick and intelligent, learning early on to look for and capture prey. Her sister, smaller and lighter in color, shares in the feasting. It is quite possible that it is because of the aggressive female that her sister is surviving.

May 31, Monday - John Edmisten, who has been doing a terrific job of assisting with monitoring and supplementing the juvenile's diet, saw a bit of a tussle between a skunk and a vulture over at the end of the sandspit. He couldn't see what they were fighting over, but I suspect there is one vulture in the air over Morro Bay that smells far worse than usual.

Steve Schubert discovered a family of great horned owls living on the east side of the Rock, directly across from Target Rock. There is an adult and three babies. They are very difficult to spot, as they blend in very well. Look about 100 feet up, at the bottom of a large, half-circle orange rock. Most likely they are enjoying many meals of ground squirrel. Great horned owls are one of the few threats (other than man) to the immature Falcons.

June 3, Thursday - This evening I saw our immature male come flying in over the sandspit, making the echup sound. At first I thought it was the adult tiercel offering food to the females. Instead, when the less aggressive female flew up to meet him, he hit her hard. It isn't unusual for siblings to interact in an aggressive way with each other, especially at a hack site (all of us who grew up with brothers or sisters know that), but this seemed unusually harsh. She quickly returned to the dunes; he flew on to the Rock.

June 4, Friday - It's becoming more and more difficult to sight one of the Falcons. This morning I went down to check out the 4 fledglings at Pismo Beach. If you want to see immature Peregrines, this seems to be the place to go. To see them, go to the tennis courts at the north end of Pismo Beach. Park in the tennis court parking lot or, for a more protected view, there is a gazebo just off the next parking lot south. You can't miss these babies - they are very active - flying around the cliff, over the ocean, over the tennis courts, and over the motel and restaurant just to the south.

One word of warning - the adult female there is quite boisterous in her defense of her young ones. I was watching the activities, heard a Peregrine screech, and looked up to see her coming right at me, almost level with my head. She scraped my scalp with a talon as she flew by. Nothing serious, but enough to give me a bit of a welt and a headache. A simple angry cak cak cak would have done it! Geez. As a friend said to me later, there is one more bird I need to learn - "Duck!" Another Peregrine watcher, Gary Gugliosi, told me he got buzzed by her also and others have commented on what an aggressive bird she is.

June 7, Monday - Spotted the smaller juvenile female at the aerie this morning about 9:00. She just sat there and still had not flown when I left at 10:00. My advice to you if you want to see one of the Peregrines right now is patience. I haven't seen any of them on the sandspit since Thursday. Before that it was Sunday or Monday. So I would guess they have given up sitting there. Watch the usual spots on the south side of the Rock. Look at the power plant stacks. They like to perch up there near the top. Listen carefully for the distinctive Peregrine call and keep your eye on the sky.

June 22, Tuesday - Our juveniles seem to have flown the coop, literally. Most likely they have moved on to other territories without the attraction of a mother and more regular feeding to keep them here. So, spotting Peregrines at the Rock right now is a very iffy business.

This has apparently been a good year for Peregrines on the Central Coast. In addition to the four babies that fledged near the Shell Beach tennis courts, 3 fledged at Avila and 2 at Diablo.

July 25, Sunday - An update on our immature Falcons. A few weeks ago the aggressive female was seen perched on the east side of the Rock giving a verbal attack on the four great horned owls that are living there. She was quite angry sounding and had a lot to say to them. A tiercel flew overhead at one point, but we were unable to tell whether it was our adult or the juvenile. I have been observing the immature tiercel perched on the south side of the Rock regularly in the mornings now. Look for him about 10 - 15 feet below the big heart shaped (laying on its side) boulder. He may confuse you at first, as he is quite light - both front and back.

October 28, Sunday - John Roser, one of the group leaders with the Camp Keep program, reports having observed two Peregrines in combat, talons locked as they tumbled out of the air onto the sandspit last week. He says a tiercel was flying nearby during the incident. The birds were too far away for him to tell who they might be, but we have been seeing the dark, aggressive female still staying at the Rock. I believe the immature male is still around, though if it is him, he is no longer as pale as he used to be. With all of the fog and grey skies we've been having, it's been difficult to get a good look at either of them.

If anything interesting is reported, it will be posted here. Otherwise, this is the end of semi-regular postings about this year's breeding season.