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Peregrine Falcon in Boston

Back when I was working in the John Hancock Tower I would see a peregrine falcon fly by, but could never get a picture of it. Now that I'm in a different building (also in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston) I've been able to see better views of the falcon, and I've actually seen it perch on the antenna of a building below us. I attempted to take photos with my new HTC Incredible Android phone (which has a 8 mega pixel camera), but it just couldn't zoom in enough.

Then last Friday my boss shouted out "look at that hawk" and sure enough- there was the peregrine falcon perched on the windowsill of our office (several stories up). Though far away, the first picture shows the bird looking directly at us. It was so close! And that last picture was taken right after it took a poop- hence the tail up. hahaha

Comments

Unknown said…
They are around Boston. I once had one hang out for an hour on the window ledge outside the Tufts Radio station news room looking at me.

Keep alert to crow mobs going crazy and dive bombing trees, chances are there is some kind of hawk or owl.
Cathleen Voss said…
@Chris- thanks for sharing your experiences with the Boston-area peregrine falcons! What a cool story- about the bird watching you for hours. Ours just stuck around for about a minute. They're fascinating to watch, and as a birder I'm always on the alert.
Chris Petrak said…
I am very envious of such up close and intimate contact with the peregrine - wow!
Dawn Fine said…
How exciting to have the Falcon checking you out at work.
Its great that you were able to nab a few pictures too.

Going to get a BwBTC outing together end of August. Not sure where yet..but prob. CT,RI or MA.
let me know if you are interested.
Cathleen Voss said…
@Chris Petrak: I know! I had to grab a shot (even with just my cell phone) because I didn't know when that would ever happen again.

@Dawn: Thanks for stopping by! I would love to be part of another BwBTC trip. I'd participate in any of those locations- just let me know where/when :)
James said…
was across the street from the Prudential on Friday afternoon and looked up to see what I was pretty certain to be a peregrine falcon so I came home and googled...bingo!
Anonymous said…
was pretty certain I saw a peregrine falcon near the prudential on friday afternoon. I came home and googled...BINGO!

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