Birds of Prey Over the Estuary

Morro Rock is known around the world for its resident Peregrine Falcons. On any given day, groups of people can be seen in the parking areas below the Rock with spotting scopes, binoculars, and cameras pointed skyward, focused on the falcons and their young. The birds are clearly visible in front of their aerie, on the surrounding rock ledges, and in the airspace around the Rock. Even more remarkable is the second Peregrine Falcon pair established on the Rock's north and east faces a few years ago. 

Spring of 2007 saw two pair of falcons fledging three young per nest on Morro Rock Considering that in the late 60's there were only three breeding pair in the entire state of California (there are now over 200 pair in the state), a total of ten falcons on the Rock is a very cool thing.

The reintroduction of the Peregrine Falcons to their historic nesting site at Morro Rock, along with their reestablishment throughout much of their former range in North America, is a truly wonderful and ongoing effort. Most of the credit goes to a number of universities, organizations, and a host of dedicated individuals. The effort to save the Peregrine Falcon in North America was born in the late 60's at Cornell University under the direction of Dr. Tom Cade.  Following in the mid-70's, the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group (SCPBRG) was established at the University of Santa Cruz, modeled after the Cornell program. This program, headed up by Brian Walton, was key to the success experienced throughout the western United States.

Peregrine Falcons at Morro Rock

These photos are by Cleve Nash and are used here
with his permission. Click on any to see larger versions.

View a slide show of the birds listed below by clicking here.

The focus of so much attention on Morro Rock and it's attendant falcons is completely understandable. However, the entire estuary, the harbor, grass island, the marsh, the sandspit and all the surrounding habitats are rich with birds of prey. The list would include Peregrine Falcons, Osprey, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks, Merlins, Kestrels, White-tailed Kites, and Great Horned Owls. On a good day out on the estuary in the outriggers, it is not odd to see five or six of these species.

Click on any of the headings below for photos taken of that bird in the estuary.

American Kestrel   Falco sparverius

The estuary's smallest and most colorful aerial hunter. Smallest of the North American falcons, this females (males have slate blue wings) stopped by the Pasadena Landing to hunt the dune around the bench that looks out over the bay.

With the help of the onshore breeze, the little falcon was able to kite almost motionlessly over the dune. She dove down to the vegetation once and climbed back to her hover with what looked like a Praying Mantis clutched in her talons. While in flight, she ate the head and thorax, then grasped the abdomen in her talons and tucked it under her tail. She continued to hover and hunt the dune for about 10 more minutes, moving very close, seeming almost to pose. After a while she flew off with the rest of her meal.

Northern Harrier   Circus cyaneus

Once commonly called the Marsh Hawk, the "correct" name for this raptor is the Northern Harrier. Conspicuous with it's white rump, the Harrier is not easily confused with other birds of prey. When observing, it doesn't take long to realize the name is really quite apt, for the dictionary definition of the verb "harry" is: 1) to raid, especially repeatedly; to rob; to plunder;  2) to torment or worry; harass; 3) to force or push along. From the outriggers, we watch these behaviors on a daily basis. That being said, when we see that flash of white rump, someone usually blurts out, "Marsh Hawk."

We first saw this juvenile Northern Harrier (dark head and orange breast) featured in many of these pictures in the summer of 2006. For the next sixteen months we would see this bird almost every day we paddled. Whether soaring over the marsh, hunting the sandspit, or perched amongst the scrub on the spit, we would almost always see this bird.

A very bold bird, we have seen it on several occasions harry both Osprey and falcons with prey. Perhaps the Harrier best demonstrates its flight skills as it cruises over the sandspit searching for prey. It flies extremely low over the sandspit scrub, in between bushes, wingtips inches from the foliage just above the ground. Looking for small birds or mammals on which to pounce.

Spring of 2008 and we no longer see this bird in juvenile plumage, but we no see both male and female Northern Harriers in adult plumage in the same estuary haunts.

Osprey    Pandion haliaetus

Fall of 2006 saw the arrival of perhaps as many as half a dozen Osprey to the Morro Bay area. Osprey are not really rare visitors. Indeed, according to Jim Kroll, Morro Bay's former Harbor Master, years ago a mated pair had taken up residence in a tree in the state park. This pair lived in the estuary for a number of years, but abandoned the nest when the tree was blown down during a winter storm in the mid-80s.

During the intervening years, Osprey could be seen occasionally in the Avila Beach and Morro Bay areas and also at our local lakes during the fall and winter. Since the fall of 2006, Osprey are a daily site on the estuary. They can be seen hunting the coastline of Estero Bay from Cayucos south to the beach at Cable Landing. From the outriggers, we routinely watch them fly in from the ocean over the sandspit with fish of amazing size clutched in their talons.

On any given day, a sharp eye will spot Osprey perched at any number of sites - on the masts of the moored sailboats in the harbor, on the channel markers, on the stumps in the marsh, or in the trees at Baywood Park. Given the fact that we have seen Osprey virtually every time we have paddled the outriggers since mid-September of last year (over 14 months), it would seem a pretty good bet that after an absence of over two decades, we might once again have resident Osprey in Morro Bay.

Peregrine Falcons   Falco peregrinus

On many occasions, we have watched the Peregrines at the north end of the harbor and on Morro Rock from the outriggers. It is common to see a pair of falcons flying to and from their lofty vantage point on top of the stacks. Paddle around to the south face of the Rock and you have an excellent view of an aerie and favorite perches (looking down from high upon miles of sandspit beach with all of those tasty little Snowy Plovers).

In any case, falcon watching at or around the Rock is best done with binoculars and a good neck masseuse. Watching at the Rock is great. In the springtime, you get to see falcons go to and from their aerie, nesting and raising their young. We prefer to watch falcons in the other areas of the estuary where they work and play.

The tall Cypress trees that grow in Los Osos from the Back Bay Inn around the point to the Pasadena Landing where we launch the outriggers, are favorite falcon perches. One day, while rigging the canoes, we heard the unmistakable call of a Peregrine in one of the trees. Looking up, we saw a pair of falcons flying in from the north to a juvenile in the tree. On another occasion, again at the Pasadena Landing, we observed a Peregrine flying in from the sandspit, prey in talons, with a noisy gull in hot pursuit. This just where we launch the canoes to "go birding!"

Once on the water, Peregrines can frequently be seen in the morning perched on top of the high dunes of the sandspit. From these promontories, they command views of both the ocean and bay beaches, where any number of plump little prey items might appear. Depending on whether the falcon has had breakfast yet or how close it is to dinnertime, that prey item could easily disappear, plucked from the beach by a grey blur out of the azure in, literally, the blink of an eye.

We once witnessed a Black-crowned Night Heron avoid being breakfast by the width of his crest, only a hard-diving right turn into a stand of bull rush saved him from the talons of the peregrine that came streaking down from the top of the overlooking dune. It was a very close escape. 

Sheltered from the prevailing wind by Black Hill and full of a plethora of juicy shorebirds and ducks, the marsh is the perfect amphitheater for a falcon. It doesn't take an ornithologist to figure out that it is the best place to watch them hunt.

Many people would think that the word "birding" would be out of place in the same sentence with "exhilarating" or "exciting." These people have never watched Peregrine Falcons hunt. A favorite falcon tactic is to soar over the eastern edge of the marsh or the Elfin Forest, then go into a stoop, diving in from the east or south. The chase is on as the sight of the diving falcon scares flocks of prey into the air. Many of these dives end with a meal for the falcon, but the majority of attacks don't result in a kill. There are times when the falcon gets out-maneuvered or the intended prey gets lucky. But, in many instances, the falcon will simply break off the attack at the last moment, zoom past the fleeing prey, and climb out over the bay.

We once watched a falcon repeat this diving attack four or five times over the period of an hour and not make a kill. It seemed as if the Peregrine was just practicing and it looked like GREAT fun! Which makes me wonder if some of these chases are a matter of honing their skills or do they just enjoy "raising cane" over the marsh??

Even a kill doesn't guarantee a meal. One day we watched a Peregrine fly past (about 50 feet away) with prey in talons, land on a nearby stump, and start to pluck it's kill. As we drifted down-channel to a position closer to the stump, a Red-tailed Hawk swooped in and chased the falcon off the kill. The falcon took flight and began a half-dozen dive-bombing attacks on the Red-tail, but the hawk got the meal.

In another instance, while up one of the middle channels of the marsh, we watched a Peregrine fly close overhead with prey in talons. As it flew away from us, a Northern Harrier dived in from above, forcing the falcon to drop its prey onto the pickle weed. Before either bird could retrieve the kill, up popped a little coyote, which promptly dashed over, grabbed dinner, and trotted off.

Peregrines are difficult to photograph in flight. They tend not to loiter in any one bit of sky for very long. When they fly by, they are usually moving at a pretty good clip. When they go into a stoop (dive), they accelerate to speeds that your mind would have a hard time associating with a bird - or anything other than a jet, for that matter. Generally considered to be capable of over 200 mph - and some say closer to 250 mph - the Peregrine Falcon is, by far, faster than anything most people encounter in daily life.

Red-shouldered Hawk   Buteo Lineatus

A very vocal bird, Red-shouldered Hawks can be seen and heard throughout the estuary. Some of their favorite haunts are Sweet Springs Nature Preserve, the State Park Marina, the Museum of Natural History, and the rookery south of the Inn at Morro Bay. Red-shouldered Hawks favor hunting from a perch. All of these areas provide plenty of trees from which the hawks and the areas adjacent to the shoreline. On occasion, we see them soaring over the sandspit.

Broad-winged, stocky, and beautifully marked, Red-shouldered Hawks are frequently seen in pairs. Widely distributed throughout the county, they are commonly seen perched on the wires along Los Osos Valley Road.

Red-tailed Hawk   Buteo jamaicensis

North America's most widely distributed hawk is present from Alaska to southern Mexico, on both coasts, and virtually everywhere in-between. So it is no real surprise that we see Red-tailed Hawks from one end of the estuary to the other. We don't see them every day, but they are common throughout the surrounding countryside and SLO county.

We see them most often soaring over the sandspit and in the marsh area. As much as we love our big Red-tails, they are on our "Raptor non grata" list lately. A few months back, two renegade Red-tails (probably migratory birds with no ties to the local community) decided that the Black-crowned Night Herons roosting in the trees in the State Park Marina, were fair game. Over the course of a few days, the Red-tails plucked the herons out of the foliage at an alarming rate. The survivors decided that their traditional roosting area was no longer safe and left the area. We're not sure where they fled to, but hopefully the hawks don't know either.

A personal note to any Red-tailed Hawk reading this, "I mean, really, MORRO BAY is a BIRD SANCTUARY (you Bone-heads). Eat all the squirrels, gophers, field mice - ah heck, we'll even throw in a few (endangered) kangaroo rats, but PLEASE don't eat ALL the Black-crowned Night Herons!!!"

White-tailed Kite   Elanus Leucurus

Certainly one of the estuary's most striking birds of prey. We see Kites most often in the marsh and Los Osos Creek areas. Conspicuous with their white plumage and their frequent kiting and hovering, they are a most elegant raptor. A very interesting bird to watch hunt, they hover over an area and, when prey is spotted, they raise their wings to the vertical and drop out of the sky, talons first.

Most of the pictures here are of a young Kite (evidenced by the rufous chevron on the breast) that hung out in the trees and hunted the little wetland at the Pasadena Landing for a few days.