A few photos of a very interesting Peregrine I had this morning. It arrived in off the sea and alongside me at 0614hrs this morning - pre-dawn, hence the grainy photos and ISO at about nine million - as I was down the cliff slope of Carr Naze here in Filey.
Ripping in and chasing passerines (variously like a Merlin, or a Hobby) and then cutting out over the bay, hassling a few gulls and disappearing into the mist, I have to say it had me at Def Con One.... sadly the photos don't do the bird justice (hey, it was before sunrise) but hopefully convey the general impression of the bird, as well as various features - pale, cold, whitish ground colour to the underparts, limited and fine streaking ditto, an obvious pale supercilium over an almost oversized bug-eye, proportionately large head, etc.
I'm aware of the minefield of subspecific Peregrine ID, but this bird represents a particularly extreme example in my opinion, even more so in the field. Where did it come from.....?
