Peregrine

I saw a Peregrine Falcon today at Neary Lagoon in Santa Cruz.

I've never seen a Peregrine before. I've seen silhouettes with tapered wings high in the sky, flashes of grey flying past, dark shapes chasing small birds in mid-air, and a nearly black falcon at Wilder Ranch that was probably a Peregrine but may have been a Merlin. I've never, though, seen a Peregrine and known it for sure, and I wanted desperately to see one.

I wanted to see one like this, too. Not being unsure, getting an unclear look, thinking "maybe", finally deciding to count the bird as seen on probability. I also didn't want to have the bird pointed out to me by someone on a guided trip, even though the last guided trip I went on was awesome; the Peregrine was something I wanted to see for myself. I've wanted to see a Peregrine so badly that at times every crow, kestrel, redtail, or oddly large-appearing Scrub Jay made me grab for the binoculars. The Peregrine is not an uncommon bird anymore, but it remains a noble bird. The need to see one was a monkey on my back.

Deafened by the noise of tule-removing machinery, I stopped on a path and got out my binoculars on the off chance that a lump on a bare branch, seen through willow thickets, might be alive.

It was a large falcon with a dark helmet-marked head, white cheeks and collar, dark back and dark-streaked underside.

I watched it until it flew away in a graceful blur of grey, taking the weight from my shoulders as it went.