Stow-a-way?

[Kathie44]

Amazing! I was expecting to see a sea gull. I have pics of a sea gull on the rail of the Summit(still in port) last year, stalking peoples' food trays on the deck near the Sunset Bar. At one point he swooped over to a table on the other side of mine and flew off with a piece of roast beef from a sandwich. The wife of the man (who'd gone to get drinks at the bar)whose sandwich had been raided, was horrified and clapped her hands over her mouth with her eyes bugged out. I got a good pic of her, but just the tail and part of the feet of the culprit in the far right side of the pic. It happened so fast, lol. After that the stalker switched to the other side ofthe deck, but those diners were onto him and he was out of luck.

I never knew peregrines went that close to the ocean.

[Fouremco]

I never knew peregrines went that close to the ocean.

Peregrine falcons are mostly migratory and winter as far south as South America, passing through Mexico or through Florida and down through the Caribbean. The following description comes from the Migration Research Foundation.

 

Habitat:

Breeding habitat for Peregrine Falcons was historically restricted to natural cliffs, especially those near water. However, since the 1930s, the species has increasingly settled in urban areas. Nest sites are most commonly recessed ledges near the top of tall office buildings, but smokestacks and the support structures of bridges are also used by many. For nesting, Peregrines simply require a (preferably sheltered) ledge, ideally with some loose substrate that can be scraped aside to create a very shallow bowl in which to lay eggs. The main requirement for the territory is that it provides adequate prey resources, thus in a city a fairly small territory may be more than enough, whereas in a wild setting, a pair may patrol a fairly large area, generally favouring wetlands and other open areas. In migration and on wintering grounds in the south, many Peregrines favour coastal areas.

[TravelerThom]

If it was a Med cruise, I would guess that the falcon came from Malta. Dating myself a bit.

Even though Silhouette is registered in Malta, and Maltese Falcons have first dibs on perches, there is a reciprocal program allowing Peregrine Falcons to land.

 

Since you are Bob AND Pinkie, it is allowable to date yourself.

 

Thom

[Tiggertastic]

oh wow and there I was thinking that the 2 pigeons that spent the entire norway cruise from Southampton with us and sailed all the way back - living outside the oceanview was brilliant

[TravelerThom]

... I have pics of a sea gull on the rail of the Summit(still in port) last year, stalking peoples' food trays on the deck near the Sunset Bar. At one point he swooped over to a table on the other side of mine and flew off with a piece of roast beef from a sandwich...

Seagulls are quite the bandits. We were camping on the Outer Banks of NC with steak cooking on a hot grill, when a gull swooped by and grabbed one right off the fire.:eek: The steak was too heavy for the gull to carry it far, so it ended up in the sand. It was many miles to anything open on a Sunday evening, so the steak got washed off and sterilized on the grill:cool:

[Shir Hayam]

Fabulous pics! I've never seen anything more interesting than seagulls.

 

Sheila

[Starry Eyes]

Certainly looks like a Peregrine falcon. If it is, you have just taken the photo of the fastest animal on Earth. They can do over 200mph in a stoop!

 

Simon

 

That's what I thought, too.

 

A year or two ago, an unhappy person posted a thread on one of the cruise critic forums. The poster was very upset that a huge bird was on their balcony...frightened the poster badly as I recall....I think she nicknamed it Igor or such. From the photos, it was also id'ed as a Peregrine falcon.

 

I might have enjoyed watching the bird had it been on my balcony.

[browneyedgirlnb]

Beautiful photo! On our last cruise to Bermuda on Explorer of the Seas out of Bayonne we had cute little sparrows that hung out on our balcony. One morning I was standing by the doorway watching one of them & a hawk swooped down & grabbed him! I couldn't believe my eyes! It was the first & only time I saw a bird that size that far out at sea (the sparrows I've always seen however), but I guess it's not that unusual after all. I wished I had gotten a pic too, but it totally caught me off guard. Thanks for sharing!

 

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