Peregrine Falcon Chicks

Coral Harbour, Nunavut - EvilGentleman - Tuesday, February 14th, 2006 : goo

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One summer day in 1996, I was out for a ride around the tundra with my common-law wife, when we started getting dive-bombed by peregrine falcons. The pair of falcons kept swooping down at us at incredibly high speeds, which the peregrine is noted for. Peregrine falcons hold the record as the fastest living things on Earth, having been clocked at speeds up to 217 mph (349 km/h).

We knew the falcons must have a nest nearby, so we went to investigate. Sure enough, we found the nest located halfway down a steep 200 foot high riverbank below a sand dune. The descent from the top of the dune was quite dangerous, as we had to slowly creep from one grassy hummock to the next, and the angle of the land was about 60% vertical. Below the nest, the riverbank goes vertical, becoming a cliff.

The nest contained 2 or 3 peregrine falcon chicks, and so I quickly took a few pics, all the while dodging the angry parents, and then we began the ascent back up to our ATV on top of the sand dune.

I feel I should mention, for those who may be concerned, that at no point did any part of us or anything associated with us get within a 3 feet of the nest. We wanted to be sure that the parents would not abandon the chicks. Anyways, here are the pics. Sorry about the poor focus on one of them.

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CartLegger: I am learning more about Nunavut already!

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