...nor does one fine day. But the Gyrfalcons back on the nest? I'll take that as a sign of Spring and a very fine day, thank you very much.
In some ways it has been a bit of an unusual year for birds thus far. In mid January a Gyrfalcon was seen in town, and about the same time another (perhaps another, perhaps the same) was seen out on the land. Then came one, then two, then four reports of Snow Buntings in mid-April, about a month before we'd expect to see them.
The Gyrfalcon reports have lead me to wonder if some of them actually over winter here in the High Arctic, not farther south. So I've made a point of heading out to the aerie, to see if they'd show up earlier than expected. And they hadn't, at least there were none there when ever I went out. But this time of year, one would expect them to return to the nest. Gyrfalcons breed early, and late April/early May would be when we'd expect to see them.
Sure enough, today the pair was there. It was a dull, cool day, but I took advantage of an available sitter this afternoon and filled the thermos with coffee (a very nice Peaberry from an estate in Kenya if you must know) and the snowmobile with gas. Even as I was approaching the spot where the aerie is I was sure I could see the male on his favoured perch, and as I stopped I could clearly see the female, standing at the edge of the small cave where they nest. Given where she was standing I'm assuming there are no eggs yet (much like I'm assuming that she is the female of the pair).
I watched them briefly with the binoculars but as I fumbled with my camera bag she launched herself and flew down along the cliff face. I watched her go and then went back to the camera, finally extracting it and changing lenses. When I looked back she had returned and was now perched above the male. I sat and watched the two for awhile, occassionally snapping photos but usually just glassing them. After a couple of cups of coffee I decided I'd disturbed them enough for the time being, finished the thermos and headed back to town.
The photos leave a lot to be desired but here are the (heavily cropped), best of the bunch.
The darker male.
The female.
Another shot of the male.
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