I met the 'speed demon'

David Sibley calls the Peregrine Falcon the "embodiment of speed and power." It's known to hunt medium-size birds in spectacular dives and is sometimes seen in the Southern Plains the same time the ducks migrate through. The waterfowl, especially teal, are often the falcon's target and that's what I was fortunate to see on a windy, cold afternoon this week. It was the first time I watched a Peregrine Falcon at a close distance and it was exciting to see it manuever over the shoreline, dive at the ducks or pester the much larger Great Blue Heron. I was making my way through a lot of mud, trying to get close enough to photograph the bird but I did take the time to watch it through the scope and learn a little about its markings. I never got close enough for a good photo but did come away with a few shots that confirm the sighting. As a result, I've decided to get back into digiscoping (photographing through the spotting scope). My scope is an inexpensive Nikon and lacks the brilliant optics of Swarovski but I used it in the past to digiscope with an Olympus 730. I think it would work better to have a closer match in the sizes of camera lens and scope eyepiece so I purchased a used Nikon Coolpix 995 on eBay. The camera will be here in a few days and I'm hoping for an easy learning curve... foolish notion, I'm sure! But I'm truly motivated because Friday brought a chance to see my first Western Grebe and, once again, I was too far away to get good photos. Do these special birds ever hang around long enough for "do-overs" with better equipment?! I hope to find out!

Photos of juvenile birds

This summer was hot. It was way beyond hot, with temperatures 100+ for more than 38 days. Add outrageous fuel prices and a very productive business schedule and it
was very apparent that my birding adventures were going to be even more limited than usual. So I hatched a plan! If my chances of photographing new birds were low, I would shift gears and make this the summer for finding and photographing young birds of familiar species. Today then, I look back on this year's breeding and nesting season with a sense of accomplishment. I've added 13 juveniles to my
Photo Gallery! Here's the "new kids" list:

• Piping Plover
• Snowy Plover
• Semipalmated Plover
• Caspian Tern
  
• Marbled Godwit
  
• Stilt Sandpiper
  
• Tricolored Heron
  
• Franklin's Gull
  
• Great Egret
  
• Cattle Egret
• Eastern Meadowlark
  
• Common Nighthawk

I was fortunate to photograph adult and juvenile Piping Plovers, a new species for me this year and one of special interest because it's listed as Threatened. The Tricolored Heron was another new species for 2006. I saw my first adult in the spring, with a juvenile (pictured right) showing up in September. I'm looking forward to seeing what birds show up this fall. Gas prices have fallen, the temperatures are comfortable, and I'm determined to structure my business so I can have some time to chase birds!