The Falcon

I have always been fascinated by birds.  In reality, what's not to be fascinated about?  They come in a variety of sizes and can fly!  Insects and bats can fly, but for the most part, most of them aren't nearly as colorful as birds.  And I can honestly say, that like probably most of us, if given the chance to be any other animal on this planet, I'd choose to be a large bird that could soar the sky.  The ability to fly would be awesome.

While walking on the beach at San Simeon State Beach this week, we spotted this large raptor sitting on a fence up on the bluff overlooking the ocean.  At first I thought it was a hawk, perhaps the standard red tail which we see all over the place over here, but it was just posing up there, so I took several shots.  When I got home I realized the beak was shorter than a hawk's bill and that this bird was probably some kind of falcon.

The bird book I have, based upon the descriptions and the photo I took indicates this is a Peregrine Falcon, the fastest bird on the planet.  I can now add another bird to my life list of birds I've seen in the wild.