peregrines!

Returning home from an enjoyable weekend in my hometown of Oakland, Oregon, Jess spotted this adult peregrine twisting and burning across the I-84 corridor in the Columbia River gorge. We love chancing upon wildlife during our drives and the wild peregrine is certainly one of the rarest and most enjoyable. This turned out to be a family with several fledged young still hanging about the eyrie cliff.Here is the eyrie. It is easily seen from the highway if you know where to look.

One of the fledged young hanging out just below the eyrie.

The same young falcon from a different angle.

I almost missed this bird completely as it took off from the rock cliff. I would have loved to capture the whole thing, but the picture still has a wonderful sense of motion as if the peregrine is flying completely out of picture frame, which is exactly what it is doing.

We were fortunate enough to spot four bighorn rams along the gorge, but were unable to get pictures. What a treat for the road weary traveler, wild sheep and wild peregrines!