Photographing Peregrine Falcons

Peregrine Falcon In Flight

camera settings: f/8, 1/2000 seconds, ISO-400
Single Point AF AI Servo

Peregrine falcons are probably my most photographed birds. I simply enjoy watching them. Photographing them in flight is a big challenge though, as they are not only very fast, they are the FASTEST ANIMAL on earth. They could dive up to 200+ mph when taking their prey. Oftentimes, my camera and lens is not fast enough to focus on them. The happiness however, of capturing them in flight is un-explainable, no words could describe, haha!!!

Lately however, I have learned some strategies when photographing birds in flight. That is to observe their behavior. When birds are perched on a cliff and on a tree, I watched them til they poop, which is a signal that soon they will leave and fly.  I prepare then my camera to be able to catch them in flight.

Sometimes, when I see them flying, I aim my camera at them, even it has difficulty focusing right away because of their fast speed. I however, still continue to follow them with my camera because I know there is a chance they could slow down, or find a place to perch, where my camera would have greater chance of focusing. Patience on following them while they are in flight until the camera and lens focuses do pay off. :)

Peregrine Falcon About to Perch

camera settings: f/8, 1/2000 seconds, ISO-400
Single Point AF AI Servo

So Much "Me" Time and Joy of Capturing Osprey Family

So much "me" in the above picture. :)  Probably  the very reason why I hardly have the motivation to write or update this blog since I don't know when is because I am spending so much time out of the doors. I hardly have time to look at the pictures I captured. I hardly have time to get to computer when am home. I have been so busy in such a very joyful way, enjoying so much me time outdoors. Haha!

Anyway, let me share with you my most recent joy. It is this joy that motivated me to spend some time sitting down to enjoy the pictures I took. Since I have been drawn to birding last year, I kept on wishing to catch an osprey with a fish. It's not at all easy, but no wish, no carrot on the stick to keep us going. Since finding the joy in birding, I had been doing a lot of yoga exercises to strengthen my shoulders and back because of the heavy weight of the camera + fast telephoto lens I carry in my backpack when we hike. Yesterday was finally my lucky day. I was able to witness male osprey bringing fish to his family. Here are some of the pictures of osprey from yesterday.

osprey with fish

Monday's Hiking, Video and Photo Birding at Lake Hodges

Lake Hodges

Though I usually add music to my videos, but in the video above, I chose to not add music since I prefer to listen to the natural music of the wild. The sound of pure joy in nature. I could sit there forever watching the wild and be thankful about this wonderful life, I wish! :) But then of course, life goes on a cycle. Work....home chores....taking care and nourishing physical, mental and spiritual health. That is where the hiking and nature wandering comes in after work, as I get my rejuvenating energy from nature's inspiration.

Lake Hodges is one of the local afternoon hikes we frequent after work because of its amazing wildlife within city limits. Sadly though, we have not been back to this place since Monday because of the smoke from the wildfire Northwest ( Carlsbad, San Marcos, Oceanside ). Praying for the safety of the firefighters and everyone, and praying that the wildfire will be contained soon, and not spread out South. As you could see in this video, there are baby hawks, which are still not capable of flying, matured wildlife may be able to fly away from danger like humans, but the chicks may not. Hoping and praying they stay safe as well.

Anyway, here are more pictures from Monday's rejuvenating in the wild at Lake Hodges.

 Grebes in Courtship Dance

Weekend Wanderings (7): Hiking and Birding, Rain or Shine

Saturday, April 26, 2014 Wanderings

Not rain nor strong winds could stop us from hiking and enjoying our wonderful world. Here are some pictures from today's hiking, morning @ Lake Hodges, and afternoon @ Ocean Beach.

Here are some photos of our Saturday wanderings.

Wildflowers @ the trail

 Happy Egret with Fish

 Osprey with Half A Fish ( the other half was with his family )

 Osprey Enjoying His Fish Meal

MEET THE OSPREY FAMILY

Weekend Wanderings (2): La Jolla Cove and Lake Hodges

Torrey Pine Cliffs from La Jolla Cove

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Initial Plan: Relaxing walk at La Jolla Caves towards Windansea Beach for surfing photography in the morning, then, tidepooling at La Jolla Shores Dike Rock Tidepool in the afternoon.

How The Day Went: 

We started at La Jolla Caves as planned. However, the waves weren't that very flattering for photography, unlike the previous weekend  ( weekend wanderings 1 ). Our walk to Windansea Beach went fast because we did not take any surfing and wave photos as planned. We were back to La Jolla Cove area fast and focused more our fun on La Jolla Cove's scenery and wildlife.

Green Mossy Rocks @ La Jolla Cove

With The Sea Lions

Birds

Some recent pictures of birds from our recent weekend wanderings here in San Diego. We were not into birding before, but somehow, since we had experienced the joy of young peregrine falcons spring of last year, we were hooked. :)

Juvenile Peregrine Falcon

Before, whenever we see birds in San Diego, we would just dismiss them as "just birds"! Now, they are no longer "just birds", they are BIRDS! Special creatures with wings, serenading us with soothing songs and chants. 

Here are some shots of birds we captured lately here in San Diego.

TERN ( SORRY, FORGOT WHAT SPECIFIC TERN IS THIS )

PEREGRINE FALCON, LA JOLLA 

Coopers Hawk's Life in The Dangerous Lane

top right picture - coopers hawk examines his surrounding; middle right picture - coopers hawk dangerously dodged cluttered tree stumps in high speed to surprise prey; bottom right - birds fly for their lives......silence, where did the hawk go? ; bottom left - coopers hawk's reality of life: squeezes his/her victim trying to drown the head of his/her prey; top left - coopers hawk after food, searching again for an opportunity?


It is said that coopers hawk lives a life in the dangerous lane because when hunting, coopers hawk pursues prey with a great burst of speed through tree branches, which is a dangerous style of hunting. Coopers hawk does not have a notched bill like peregrine falcons to kill its prey. Cooper's Hawk squeezes its prey with its sharp talons and strong feet, and if there is shallow water, drowning its prey in the water.

Lake Hodges Birds Christmas Eve 2013

Christmas Eve 2012

Joyful Fluttering of Wings @ Lake Hodges- San Diego, Christmas Eve 2013

Birds came rejoicing, spreading magic! May all your life be blessed with wonderful colors of joyfulness, happiness, peacefulness and more. Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Sand Pipers and Marbled Goldwit

Sandpipers and Marbled Goldwit, North Torrey Pines State Beach, San Diego, CA

 Sandpipers

Young Peregrine Falcons

Last weekend, these baby peregrines could hardly leave their nest.....they were trying to spread their wings, but still could not fly.

Their parents still had to bring them food. Look at their excitement on seeing what dad has brought them for lunch.

One weekend later, these young peregrine falcons, do not only spread their wings......

but had left their nest and are now enjoying their flight, to soon grace the air at fastest speed. 

How time flies. In a matter of one weekend, this young peregrine falcon was showing us already what mighty speed is, and why they are the fastest animal on Earth. We were told that these juvenile peregrines left their nest to practice flying for the first time Thursday. We went to Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve Sunday, and we were lucky to witness these young peregrines practice flying. They were flying very fast already it was almost hard for me to follow them. They will stay with their parents for about a month or two for survival and hunting training, then, they will fly away to build their home somewhere. Their hunting training with their parents are mostly on flight, since peregrines hunt by mostly chasing their prey in the air. The birds they chased have a 66% chance of escaping.
Hoping to bring you more of these young peregrines as we will try to follow them at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, my favorite hike in San Diego.
Here are some more photos of these young peregrine falcons that I took yesterday while hiking at Torrey Pines.

 Juvenile Peregrine in Flight, looking down 

  Juvenile Peregrine: ( you looking at me?) 

 Juvenile Peregrine, calling out to his/her siblings

Today, only hubby spent time watching them from Guy Fleming Trail North View Point of Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. In some of my next posts, I will share more photos of these falcons that hubby took while I and cousin were enjoying our own time together hiking, photo shooting, jumping, and boogie boarding. 

More about these juvenile peregrines later......

The Other Birds At Robb's Field

Robb's Field is not all about ospreys, which I featured previously. Aside from osprey, I also had featured in this post the white pelicans in synchronized diving and fishing. In this post, let me share with you the other birds we spotted at Robb's Field while watching for the ospreys.

A Heron Between Two Bird Watchers

Heron Caught Some kind of Stick Like Fish

Heron Excited to Eat the Fish

Heron In Flight

Little Blue Heron

Meet The Osprey Family ( part 2 of 2)

In part 1 of "Meeting The Osprey Family at Robb Field", there was only one osprey at the nest who later entertained us with his joy of discovering flight. In our second visit at Robb Field, we were greeted by two ospreys on the nest. From afar, we could not tell if they are all juvenile ospreys because the young (born around April of this year) now look almost as full size as the parents. However, on closer inspection with the aid of our lens, we found out that the two left on the nest were a juvenile and  adult pair. Our indicator were: the color of their eyes, and the white specks on juvenile's wings.

 Juvenile ( at the right, with orange eyes) and Adult ( left, with yellow eyes)

In a short while, the baby flew off the nest, then, followed by the adult. They flew across the San Diego River Estuary. Using our lens, we were able to spot two ospreys perched on the poles of the parked boats. We have not been to the north side of the estuary, so, we used the google maps apps in our cell phone to learn about Mission Bay's Hospitality Point Park at the other side of the estuary. 

Looking Towards The Other Side of Estuary From Robb's Field

We followed the ospreys to the other side of the estuary ( yes, we have become birds paparazzi now, haha ). It was only very recently that we got hooked on bird watching. What an added joy it is to our nature wandering. Thanks to the ospreys for leading us to discover another park in San Diego. 

Kayaks and Boats at Hospitality Point Park

When we reached Hospitality Point Park, it was easy for us to find the ospreys since they were still almost at the same spots as when we spotted them from Robb Field. The closest to us was the adult below, which we soon learned must be the mom. 

MEET THE MOM OSPREY

Why we believe the one above is the mom osprey because of her size. She was definitely bigger than the other adult not too far from her. Female ospreys are generally bigger than male ospreys. She also has that brown pattern on her chest's feathers. Whereas, the other adult osprey (picture below) perched on the tree close by has an all white chest.

MEET THE DAD

Thankfully, the ospreys are not shy to humans, so it was easier for us to take them picture. In fact, these two adult ospreys were perched on a pole (female) and tree ( male) next to a lot of human traffic who were enjoying Hospitality Point Park. Some of them, followed us and also took pictures of these birds.

The DAD ( notice the feathers on his chest are all white, without brown streaks like the female )

Meeting The Osprey Family at Robb Field ( part 1 of 2 )

An Overcast Day at North Torrey Pines State Beach From Guy Fleming Trail North Viewpoint

Before you get confused, Robb's Field is not at Torrey Pines but at Ocean Beach. However, the first few pictures here were from Torrey Pines because that was how we found out about  the osprey family at Robb's Field. After hiking, we would spend some time at Guy Fleming Trail North View Point hoping for the baby peregrine falcons to give us another entertaining sky show. We knew they would not be around long, since soon they would be chased away by their parents once they learned to hunt on their own. We had been enjoying photographing the juvenile peregrine's behavior since maybe the Memorial Day Weekend. That Saturday however, it seemed the young peregrine falcons were not inspired to spread their wings in chilly air and overcast skies. For about 3 hours  at Guy Fleming Trail, the baby peregrine falcons did not entertain us. Three hours of waiting at Guy Fleming Trail may be that long for others, but for hubby and I, we could sit atop of Torrey Pines cliffs like forever simply watching the world go by.

North Torrey Pines State Beach ( from Guy Fleming Trail)

From the top of the cliffs, we enjoy watching the beach below us, the torrey pines swaying in the sea breeze, the wildflowers dotting the landscape, the squirrels,

the surfers, people walking on the beach, passing dolphins, and whatever more.

Dolphins As Seen from Guy Fleming Trail

Because of the time of year, there were a lot of bird photographers and enthusiasts waiting at Guy Fly Fleming Trail, so, learning some bird photography tips from them was an added bonus. It seemed everyone was wishing for the peregrines to show up, but they were simply not playful that time.

When I saw a lone bird flying below the cliffs above the water which I was confident was not sea gull, nor crow, nor cormorant, and of course, not pelican, the amateur bird watcher in me thought it was peregrine. :) I shouted, "THERE! below the cliffs!", which is what we usually do when we see peregrine so everybody could take picture. However, when one of the bird photographers saw the bird my lens was pointing at, he said, "nahhhh, can't be, that's just toooooooo slow!! that's an osprey!"

Osprey Seen From Guy Fleming Trail @ Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

Of course we laughed afterwards, because it seemed we all were hallucinating to be entertained by the peregrines again. Then, one of the bird photographers told us about the baby ospreys also at Robb Field in Ocean Beach. They said, they are much easier to photograph than the peregrines. With the aid of technology, the bird photographer was able to give me the exact location of the osprey's nest (through mobile google maps apps and gps locator). We were told there were 3 baby ospreys, and unlike peregrines, the ospreys eat together like one big family in their nest, the adults have yellow eyes, while the juvenile have orange eyes. So, we decided to leave Torrey Pines that time and we headed off to Ocean Beach. When we got there, with their detailed instruction, it was so easy for us to find the osprey's nest on top of the pole.

Great Horned Owl in a 180 Degree Head Turn

Great Horned Owl in a 180 Degree Turn

When it rains, it pours. It was only two days ago when I wrote about our overflowing joy on seeing nesting owl for the very first time during our hike in McDowell Regional Park. Perhaps the owl learned how elated and happy we were in seeing them, that soon with the help of visiting family we learned how to spot owls from the back of our house by way of their hooting sound. You can find my post on my observed behavior of the great horned owl as I got a chance to observe them more from home in my previous post two days ago. Today, we saw owls from home again.

I guess, our eyes had been trained now to spot them. Definitely, it was not easy spotting them since it seems they camouflaged with the surrounding.  At first, hubby saw from our bedroom window the owl below that looked like a ball since he was not facing us.

The Owl We Saw from Our Bedroom Window

I went out of the house to take a picture of the owl we saw. I was not so happy that the owl was not facing us, and obstructed by a lot of pine leaves. As I was about to go back inside the house, hubby pointed out to me another owl in another tree.

The Other Owl ( this is the same owl in the very first picture above )