This juvenile Peregrine Falcon had just fledged.

John Landon and family from Bozeman, MT were vacationing here at the end of June. John wrote, “One afternoon we hiked a short distance into a Sonoma coast cove to hunt for beach glass and abalone shells. We spotted an aerie on the cliff face above the cove with two well-feathered Peregrine Falcon babies. Also, on the cliff face above the beach was a just-fledged Peregrine on top of a Tan-oak.”

The Landons watched the parents feeding their offspring and encouraging the other two chicks to fledge. John came back the next day to find the nest empty. He brought his long lens and got some wonderful photos of one of the fledglings.

Peregrine Falcons used to be a rare sighting, but we have had successful nests for the past several years. It's good to see them thriving here on the Mendonoma Coast!

Thanks to John for allowing me to share his photos with you here.