Birdchick did a post last week about the peregrine falcons coming back to nest at the
Colonnade building in Golden Valley. Since I was out and about running errands in the area I decided to see if I could spot them. I couldn't see anything from the freeway side so I drove around to the top of their parking ramp on the north side. (If you click to enlarge the picture above you can see the peregrine on the ledge jutting out on the left of the building.)
There she/he was! I drove up about a hundred yards or so to the closer end of the ramp top.
I cranked the 10X optical and 4X digital zoom on my
Coolpix S10 to its limit and got this shot. From the bit of glare in the first distant picture you can see that I was shooting into pretty bright sunlight. I
tweaked the contrast on the picture in Picasa and came up with this! The wind on top of the parking ramp was very gusty and you can see the ruffled feathers on this bird. I wonder how she hung on. Wouldn't it be amazing to have a desk in a cubicle on the other side of that window?
Birdchick had blogged about the banding of the peregrine chicks at this site for the last few summers. This year I'm determined to find out when it is and be there too.
Birdchick did a post last week about the peregrine falcons coming back to nest at the Colonnade building in Golden Valley. Since I was out and about running errands in the area I decided to see if I could spot them. I couldn't see anything from the freeway side so I drove around to the top of their parking ramp on the north side. (If you click to enlarge the picture above you can see the peregrine on the ledge jutting out on the left of the building.) 
There she/he was! I drove up about a hundred yards or so to the closer end of the ramp top.
I cranked the 10X optical and 4X digital zoom on my Coolpix S10 to its limit and got this shot. From the bit of glare in the first distant picture you can see that I was shooting into pretty bright sunlight. I tweaked the contrast on the picture in Picasa and came up with this! The wind on top of the parking ramp was very gusty and you can see the ruffled feathers on this bird. I wonder how she hung on. Wouldn't it be amazing to have a desk in a cubicle on the other side of that window? Birdchick had blogged about the banding of the peregrine chicks at this site for the last few summers. This year I'm determined to find out when it is and be there too.
17 comments:
That is AWESOME! I don't think I've ever seen a Peregrine falcon. Good job, Lynne.
Cathy- Thanks! It was really neat to see.
OMG Lynne - this is sooooo cool! This is interesting because I was just talking to my friend about the peregrine falcons on the Kodak building here in Rochester. blmiers2 has photos on her flickr account here from the cameras up there if you'd like to see them:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blmiers2/
Pam- thanks for the link to blmiers2 flickr pix. What gorgeous irds!
Wow, Lynne! I'm glad you got that shot! Especially after driving around the parking lot (tee-hee).
When I was a young girl working in a high rise in Baltimore City, there were falcons nesting on the 30th floor of my building. I used to go there to see them but I really didn't have a clue as to how special they are...
Very cool, Lynne!
BTW, would you like to receive that Kaufman insect field guide? Drop me a mailing address if you do (c:
-Glad you got to see it.-Now you have to give it a name.- I actually like the picture of the building too.
I would never get any work done if that bird were in the view outside of my window. Very cool!
Mary- I was glad no one chased me off as I was the only car on the roof of the ramp!
Amy- Cool beans!! Thanks for visiting and my snail mail is on the way!
Larry- Thanks. I'll be stopping there again.
LauraH- I know what you mean- I'd be looking out the window all the time!!
Whoot!!!!!!
I have yet to add a peregrine to my life list. I work with Lucy all the time, but I can't add her because she is most definitely "confined"...like tied to my glove!
I'm so glad you got to go out there and see it!!!
How totally cool Lynne! I do hope you get to be there too when they band the chicks (with camera in tow)!
That is so cool! I guess there are some advantages to living in the city. :)
Awesome. What a beautiful thing to see in the city.
Susan- I thought of you and Lucy!
Jayne- You can bet I'll get pictures if/when I watch the banding!
Deb- Yeah, maybe...but Idon't have a neighbor across the road riding his bike in circles...
James- I am always amazed at the variety of wildlife found in the city. Thanks for visiting!
How awesome you saw this amazing bird! It is funny, every time I go pass downtown buffalo, I always wonder what our falcon's are doing! Last summer one of my fiend assistants and I were up in Rochester checking out the banding station. He was saying that he wished he had seen a peregrine! So, we stopped downtown and boy did they put on a show for us! This year if we do the trip, I want to make sure to bring my camera with me!
There is a video camera on the nest, and you can view it in the building lobby. They do the banding as an event sometime this summer. You can check with the building mgt on when it might be.
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