The DanHaas.com Severn River Peregrine Falcon Photo Page
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The bridge is being worked on at the moment.
Here is the female who flew in after about twenty minutes of watching the male perch, preen and do a few drop-in dives to the water below.
The female.
My view from Brian and Sarah's beach. Thank them yourselves... they are the owners of 49 West, where I play music on Mondays.
Thankfully, the folks at SHA were now aware of the bird's presence.
Together. This is (I believe) the male on the right and the female on the left.
My photo skills leave a lot to be desired, but I think this one came out ok.
I pished a little and did a few owl calls.
It got a few glances and some head nods.
I'd like to think he could hear me.
Yeah, maybe not.
From the chick's first rescue: more excellent photos thanks to Allison Albert, Program Director for the Severn River Keeper.
Allison and Craig from USFWS rescue and band the Peregrine chick.
The SRK have decided to name her Charlotte. It's a beautiful name. Say, didn't I write a song called "Charlotte," that will be on my newest CD set for release on July 21st? I believe I did. Coincidence?
She sure looks impressive on the concrete base of the bridge's massive pier.
Peregrines love boat rides.
Allison holding Charlotte.
My friends Sarah and Brian live here, at the foot of the bridge on the Annapolis side.
Notice the painting work being done on the bridge?
I was lucky enough to find the two of them perched in the same lense shot.
It was an amazingly clear evening.
The birds were relaxed during tonight's visit.
After all that preening, they flew from perch to perch to stretch their wings.
The American Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus anatum
Status: Recovered; removed from the endangered and threatened species lists.
This is Mom (Madrigal) with her little girl. She's not yet ready to fly.
But she is trying. All day long, she paced the catwalk under the bridge, stretching, pretending to fly, preparing to break her first law: to defy gravity.
Both parents watchful and extremely patient with the chick. Throughout the day, the parents took turns keeping an eye on her. I even sensed some encouragement and coaching from the adults.
It's always nice when I can get both in a shot. I like the contrast in this one (above).
Honey dear... oh little one, hellooooo... just flap... like this... see.
This grainy shot below is the female. Mom (Madrigal) looks like she is indeed banded. Ironic, since I found her while I was playing with my band on a boat in the river.
Gimmie five.
Almost...
Dad, I'm not so sure about this. Really? You want me to just drop and flap. It's only like a zillion feet to the ground below Dad. (Dad is smaller and stands on his left talon most of the time).
Ok, here goes...
The Peregrine family even got the attention of the Severn River Keeper.
Maybe tomorrow. When I left the family at 5:20 this afternoon, the chick was asleep in this corner (photo below) and Maestro and Madrigal were out (probably hunting).
The Rescue
The chick was hungry and pacing back and forth on this girder, from one side to other, asking Mom and Dad for food. No luck.
From Matt's boat, I snapped this shot of one Mom (Madrigal).
Dad (Maestro) perched on the other side of the bridge. Unbeknownst to Matt and I, their chick (Charlotte) was mere feet away, lying motonless in the water.
I dove in. I think the chick mistook these containment floats as a safe place to land (for the 2nd time in her life). Craig rescued her from this spot the other day.
It's blurry, I know. But I felt like this accurately displayed the frantic chaos of the situation.
Here she is, up close and getting dry. I was starting to feel some relief at this point. I knew Craig was on the way. Help was coming.
Adorable.
Little, but not really so little.
I apologize for the 'musician's tan' as we like to call it in the industry. The chick didn't seem to mind.
A little heart to heart talk here. I was telling her all about lift and wind and wing flapping. She was a good listener.
Always try to fly in this general direction when taking off...
On the rock jetty.
Here she is hopping along the jetty, getting further away from where we were quietly observing. She soon flew back towards us, over our heads...
And she landed on Uncle Frank's hot red roof. A temporary stop for the chick this afternoon. Mom is in the trees behind the house with food.
A stunning bird. I am, at this point, quite attached to her.
Peregrine chicks do this wing pulled back display thing when asking for food.
Uncle Franks satelitte dish makes a good take-off spot.
Madrigal is banded. See?
It was humid and overcast, so the distant shots reflect all of the moisture that was in the air today.
Above: This is Madrigal, the female. Below: She is banded and at the moment, intensely focused on the underside of the bridge.
The male, Maestro, is on the right and seems to be more intersted in a lot of various things, the chick included.
I'd been spotted!
Maestro, the Male Peregrine landed in this tall dead tree after circling behind the gazebo where I was observing.
The Arnold Mockingbird, we'll call him "Arnold", laid out a nice welcoming display for this visiting falcon!
Yeah, uhm, there were no warm greetings being offered up during this interaction.
I had another shot where the mockingbird appears to be on the peregrine's head. It's an illusion of course, but the real problem was that the photo was too blurry.
Being that my band and I sing other artist's songs, I personally admire, love and respect the Northern Mockingbird.
I have a white stripe on my wings and tail. You?
"What? You're outta here? Was it something I said? I... I uh.. well, I do apologize." N. Mockingbird
The last look for the day at the Maestro. The rest of the day was slow and falcon-less.
The last look at the male Peregrine.
