Unidentified Raptor

© victor maldonado

Above is a mature (unidentified) raptor perched on a cliff edge overlooking the Pacific Ocean which I see on my daily walks & bike rides around the Palos Verdes & San Pedro Peninsula in California. These majestic birds have not been fully established in this area for a very long time. They are making a comeback though.

I shot this photograph (below) using a Nikon D70 with a 300mm, 4:5 manual focus lens & handheld so the image is not as sharp as it could be.

The raptor (I'm guessing a hawk) above is making a bank turn over palm trees located along the south side of the cliffs. if you look closely below the raptor hovers motionless. These birds have complete command in the wind currents, banking, stopping and then diving.

This same raptor is looking for a gopher (below), snake, field mouse, squirrel, rabbit or lizard.

In the mornings I walk on the east side of the peninsula where the raptors first fly along the cliffs since the cliffs are illuminated there at sunrise. At midday they move over to the southern parts of the cliffs looking for prey.

— victor m maldonado