Mostly Solo Seneca

Upon my arrival around 7:30 this morning, early shift watchers Danand Jeanne pointed out a pair of fledglings near the falls. Seeing Don already out on the observation deck working his camera I headed that way forthwith. Perched next to the watery cascade, Seneca made for the cable she'd spent yesterday morning perching on:

          

Perhaps a new favorite perch? Who can ponder the inscrutible depths of the Peregrine brain? Not I, certainly. I turned back to the remaining fledgling. I thought this was Susan B. It was not until I reviewed my pictures on my computer screen that I realized it was Quest sitting on the old building at the eastern edge of the falls:


She didn't seem particularly interested in flight. Seneca was not so reticent:
          

She treated us to some truly incredible solo aerobatics, skimming the water and even flipping upside down before curving into a sharp dive:
     

     

She made plenty of fly-overs before landing on a railing at the top of one of the Genesee Brewing Company's buildings:
          

Don and I walked back up the path toward the bridge for some closer pictures:


Seneca was off again before we got very close though:


Back into the gorge she went for more flying:
          

We had to shoot from the path because she was moving so fast. I grabbed one snapshot of Seneca being pursued by one of her sisters but by the time I got back up to the observation deck the other fledgling was nowhere to be seen.

Seneca kept up the flying for another few minutes, then landed in almost exactly the same spot on the Brewery building:
     

What was I saying about favorite perches?

Anyway, Linda and Jeanne had joined us, and once again we made our way up the path. This time Seneca was more accommodating, sitting patiently, letting the cool morning breeze ruffle through her plumage:


As we crept closer, Seneca began working her bill as if to vocalize, only she wasn't making any sounds:
     

Then she dropped her head and really opened wide:


And then-- EEWWWWW! She regurgitated a sticky gray pellet! I didn't catch a shot of the actual incident, though I got to watch it through my viewfinder... We looked for the compact mass of injested feather and bones, but no one could see where it had hit the ground, so we figured it probably fell right below her onto the roof of the building. That definitely pegged the YUCK meter, but Seneca looked entirely nonplussed:


An 8:30 meeting meant that I had to leave earlier than I wanted to, but I don't think I could have topped that last scene anyway, so I said my good-byes and took off. I was back out at lunchtime but there was no flying in the noontime heat. I'll check out the action tomorrow morning provided the rain holds off.