At 7:43 this morning I heard my local Peregrine Falcon crying out angrily/threateningly. It sounded like a pretty awful commotion so I grabbed my camera and raced to my kitchen window to see what the fuss was all about.
I saw what looked like a Raven on the Falcon’s regular perch. It was pecking at food the Falcon had stored up there:
It brought a pigeon wing to the railing:
The Peregrine passed by overhead a couple of times but did not fight for its stash.
All of a sudden a second bird joined in.
I’m not expert at telling Ravens apart from Crows but these birds looked Raveny thanks to their huge size (as big as Red-tails), stoic demeanor (Crows are more nervous/jumpy), and tell-tale heavy throat hackles (which Crows do not have):
The two had eaten for half an hour.
A nimble Kestrel showed up 10 minutes later:
The Kestrel flew away after 6 minutes.
Although it was a shame the Peregrine lost a bit of its food, it was entertaining to see all the new bird drama unfold on a building corner I scarcely noticed before last week when I first spotted the Peregrine.
I only hope the scavenging by the other birds didn’t spook the Peregrine from using that perch again in the future.