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Bird of prey

I am hoping one of you forum members can identify this resident raptor.  This bird of prey and his mate show up to take a 9:00 AM siesta on the window ledge after a hard morning of eating critters.

They are very successful hunters as I have seen them many times flying with captured Iguanas and doves.  They fly to the top of the building to eat, sending a shower of feathers and body parts in the wind.

He is looking directly at the camera.  The small black spot in the center is his beak.  The distinctive "football helmet" may help identify him.  Is that a pair of toenails or what?
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What a beautiful bird! I love the raptors...always so regal looking. I think you posted a pic before but it was further away. He/she is a real beauty!

I looked for an ID for you but no luck so far. I'll keep trying.

BTW...I didn't know Florida had iguanas...
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sweet looks like a perigrine falcon to me from the pic.
 
We have lots of Iguanas down here in South Florida PAK.  They are not native.  Two, a male and a female, used to sunbathe on my back patio.  He was very close to five feet and showed no fear of full grown cats nor would he have anything to fear from the bird I took the photo of...he just picks on the baby Iguanas, anoles, doves and pigeons.

Rattler, are you serious?  A Perigrine Falcon?  Wow!  I would love that.  I have seen him do a power dive into the park across the street and there is no doubt he is flat cookin'.  He dissapears behing the trees and I keep thinkin' he must have crashed and burned but he always shows up the next day.

I am waaaay ahead of some of you...he is NOT an Atlanta Falcon.  
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im about 95% sure it is dont think ive ever seen one outside a zoo which is odd since im in their range. see alot of their smaller cousin the prairie falcon though. even saw a couple bald and golden eagles 3 or 4 weeks ago. see them all the time. harriers, redtailed hawks and kestrels are fare more common though. see harriers several times a week even when im not out in the hills.
 
Actually from the photos I've looked at, a peregrin was my closest guess. But the photos I've seen so far are not the best in the world so its kinda hard to tell.

I see hawks a lot here...both while driving on the highway, around my back yard and around the office. I have never been able to figure out what it is since I haven't had a camera handy to take pics.

Five foot iguana! Wow. Well at least I'm not totally ignorant...I didn't think iguanas were native to FL. But I am geographically challenged so ya never know.
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i aree with rattler...its a periguine falcon.....fastest animal on earth!
alex
 
dead ringer for a peregrine if you ask me... just google it
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moonflower, Great photo.  Sure nuff' that's my guy.  It is sooo neat to have a peregrine falcon around...and so close to my balcony.  Who would ever think I would have to sell my home and move to a seaside condiminium to see my first peregrine falcon.  Thanks guys for identifying him.  I did goggle him and saw enough photos to convince myself.

I wonder if they will migrate as the Ospreys did?  As soon as the mullet run was over in December they went back to the Everglades.

It truly amazes me how well some animals adapt to civilization.  The Iguanas, which got here in the mid 60's, are everywhere in Lauderdale now.  They love suberbia and all of the free hibiscus flowers to eat.  Kinda strange that I never have seen one in the 'Glades.
 
  • #10
Since the peregrine falcon was having such a hard time making a comeback here in the west, It was a treat when I moved here to have a mated pair living in the cypress tree next door. They NEVER miss their prey, nor go hungry, and the best parents I ever saw. A rare sight these days, but a pleasure to see here, everyday. Enjoy them Lauderdale. Not many even get to see them these days.
 
  • #11
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]They NEVER miss their prey, nor go hungry, and the best parents I ever saw. A rare sight these days, but a pleasure to see here, everyday.

Since they are such good hunters and obviously adaptable, I wonder why they are endangered.  The pair I see are always carrying prey off to eat, they have time to nap in the morning and I have seen them harrass vultures for what just seems to be the fun of it.

Do people shoot them?  And if they do, they are a whole lot better shot than I am...Okay, yes I could easily hit one with my .45 while they are napping across the way but when they are in flight...Even with a shotgun...I don't friggin' think so.

It doesn't make sense to me.
 
  • #12
It had to do with environmental problems originally. DDT in the eggs almost drove them to extinction. When that was rectified, I believe habitat was next, followed by the amazing adaptability of these critters. No expert, but that is as I remember it. I am sure the whole ball of facts are out there somewhere, and I need to go back to Bio Sci/Zoology class.
 
  • #13
I have not heard of a status report lately, but they had a few pairs released in Omaha years ago(captive bred, I think). I think they have done this in other cities, but the theory is the tall buildings mimic cliffs of their favored habitat.

Cheers,

Joe
 
  • #15
This bird looks PO'ed.

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HEY, WHAT YOU THINK YOU LOKKING AT?!?
 
  • #16
Cool pic's. here's a web site that has pics and video on NJ's DEP ongoing falcon project:  http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/peregrinecam/
 
  • #17
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Bugweed @ April 01 2006,10:08)]It had to do with environmental problems originally. DDT in the eggs almost drove them to extinction.
That's also my understanding. DDT made the eggshells very thin so the parents broke the shells while brooding (or before). Once the birds live for a year or 2 and learn the ropes, they are incredibly skilled predators. Before that - there is still a high mortality rate. Great horned owls are strong nest predators that have made moving from skyscrapers back to cliffs tough. The 1st times the people tried to introduce young birds into old historical cliff nests, GHO's ate all of them.
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Some get shot, some fly into windows and many die from unknown reasons....
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With the releases of all the captive-bred birds over the years, NJ still only has 19 nesting pairs in the entire state.

Even among raptors, Peregrines are amazing creatures. The bird-counters at Cape May in the fall would sometimes see them fly in from the ocean at daybreak and wonder... Once they started radio-tagging the birds, they discovered just how amazing they are. In the beginning, they thought their transmitters went bonkers... they'd find a NJ bird just took off across the ocean, flew to Bermuda for a day or two and flew back. One took a sidetrip to Georgia and back in less than a week. Another took a tour of New England for a few weeks... Some migrate to central & South America for the winter and others stay local. One that spent the winter in Peru(?), flew across the gulf and stopped in Cuba for a few days for a visit.

I'm not sure if they're still online but PA & VA radio-tagged birds for a few years and followed them. Looking at the maps of their travels makes for some good reading...

There was a recent study released that showed that several Peregrines even hunted migrating birds at night near the Empire State Building in NYC in the spring and fall.

Incredible predators. I hope they continue to make progress with their recovery...
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