People sometimes tell me they have a peregrine in their backyard, perched in a tree.
For as many times as I’ve seen peregrines, I’ve never seen one in a tree except in Maine – rarely – at Acadia National Park. Pittsburgh’s peregrines seem to prefer buildings, bridges and other man-made structures even though we have plenty of trees, so when I hear of backyard peregrines I usually suggest the bird was a Coopers or red-tailed hawk.
Imagine my surprise when I found this picture by Chad and Chris Saladin of Diana, the adult female peregrine at Tower East in Shaker Heights, Ohio, perched in a tree in the cemetery near her nest.
Peregrines always surprise me.
(photo by Chad and Chris Saladin)
And doesn’t she look regal! They are such a gorgeous bird.
Oh, how beautiful. I often watch the webcam at the COL here in Pittsburgh and almost everyday I see a peregrine at the nest. I’m not sure if its the male or female – but its so reasurring to see. Yet it almost feels cold in tone, compared to this image.
There is something very beautiful about seeing this falcon in that tree. Seems somehow more natural to me. There would be trees on or near a cliff in a natural nesting area, wouldn’t there? This isn’t so surprising to me. It is beautiful. Thanks for the picture.
I live right next to Highland Park and I could swear I have seen peregrines perched in trees near the park! One day there was a either a falcon or a hawk in the tree in my back yard. (The breast patterning looked very much like the picture above.) Needless to say we have very few chipmunks and the small birds at my feeder eat quickly and nervously!
My office window overlooks Mellon Plaza, behind the William Penn Hotel. Most days I can see a peregrine perched in a tree in the park. Sometimes she sits there for hours, while the pigeons hide on the nearby window sills. I have seen her grab a mouse from the bushes and eat it in the tree. Once, a lady who often feeds the pigeons was angrily waving her umbrella at the peregrine, who at the time was eating one of her “pets” on a landing near the steps of the park. The peregrine was not intimidated.
It amazes me that the people walking through the plaza don’t even notice the “big bird” a few feet above their head. When they do, the invariably take out their cell phones and snap pictures.
Funny you should say that they are rarely seen in trees near the city… I found this picture & post as I was searching the internet trying to identify the raptor that has been in & around our back yard for a couple of years. (We are in the Cincinnati, OH area.) It has nested in a very tall pine tree in one of our neighbor’s yards, and we’ve seen it eating squirrels – which is a GOOD thing since they are a nuisance.
Today, he (she?) perched in a pin oak tree in our own back yard and graced us with a perfect view of the head, throat & chest coloring & spot pattern. I also googled the sound it makes. There is no question that it is a Peregrine (& not a Cooper’s Hawk, also common to our area). He was looking at us and cocking his head, as though he was listening to us talking about him. Very cool!
CincyCAt, one big clue on the identity of your hawk is that it nests in a tree. Peregrines never nest in trees and never use sticks to build their nests. Have you considered a red-tailed hawk or red-shouldered hawk as a possible match? Here’s information on peregrine nests
http://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/peregrine-faqs/question-why-doesnt-the-nest-have-sticks/
and here’s a comparison of “falcon versus hawk”
http://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2011/04/19/falcon-or-hawk/
p.s. Red-tailed hawks love to eat squirrels. Peregrines eat birds.
I have absolutely been seeing perigrine falcons near the top of tall trees near my house in downtown Bemidji,MN for the last two weeks of July. It’s at least a pair. I think it’s a pair with offspring. I’ve been trying to get a good look to count when they are up in the sky. There are enough trees to make that a challenge. They have been doing a lot of screeching. I’ve seen them chasing plenty of pigeons and today they really upset a robin that was voicing out for quite a while this afternoon.
Last weekend I saw at least one of them in a tall red or white pine all day long screeching from that same spot. I saw at least one coming and going. I was participating in an art fair and couldn’t devote my full attention. Also it was difficult to see even though it was almost right above me because I didn’t have my binoculars.
I’ve seen Cooper’s hawks and I double checked pictures of them and sharp shinned hawks. They have broad wings. The raptors I’ve been observing have skinny pointed wings. To be frank, it would be almost impossible to mistake these for red tailed hawks unless you really don’t know much about them. They are hugely different from each other.
For the past two or three years I’ve been seeing a single perigrine chasing pigeons downtown. It’s quite a site to see. They fly like a bullet.
Tom Daly, because you’re located in Minnesota you might be lucky enough to have merlins (Falco columbarius)! They nest in trees, look a lot like peregrines and are loud the way you describe. Check out the link for more information on merlins. I wish they nested here in Pittsburgh but we’re too far south!
I have had a pair of peregrine falcons nest in my neighbors tree for three years now. Last year there were four chicks and I have a video of them playing in the sprinkler and on the fences etc. the tree in my yard is one of the tallest in the area and they sit at the very top daily. They came back two weeks ago and are using the same nest again this year. I live in north Denver just a quarter mile from clear creek and they can see the creek from the top of the tree. The only sad part is I used to get a backyard full of male robins early in the spring but not anymore as they avoid the area
Kevin, great observations of bird behavior! Since the hawk is nesting in a tree, take a closer look at it. Peregrine falcons don’t nest in trees but a similar-sized hawk that also eats birds — the Cooper’s hawk — does nest in trees in backyards and would definitely be avoided by songbirds. Here’s info on a Cooper’s hawk nest & family in a backyard: https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2017/12/12/coopers-hawk-family-life/
And here’s info on peregrine nests: https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/peregrine-faqs/question-why-doesnt-the-nest-have-sticks/
Despite the lack of songbirds you’ll get some good looks at Cooper’s hawk family life.
I think I saw a peregrine in a winter tree without leaves at the side of the motorway in Kent in the UK. I saw a bleak backdrop of twigs and a beautiful bird of prey just quietly surveying everything. The majesty of the bird was something to see for the few seconds driving before it was gone. Wow, sometimes life is beautiful enough to take your breath away for a second or two. I love peregrine falcons and have done since we read the book “Kes” (about a boy who hand reared a peregrine chick) at school 40 years ago. I have 2 bengal cats so I am fortunate to see beauty every day, but this was just different somehow, maybe because it was totally free. Peace and love.