This small, dark, heavily marked, adult male Peregrine put on quite a show Saturday, January 28 when he sped into TVA Lake at Ensley Bottoms and created complete pandemonium. A few thousand ducks, dove, ducked and some took flight on the first pass as the falcon cleaved through the resting crowd.

After putting one flying duck into the water in what looked like an explosion, as the bird plunged in taking refuge under water, the falcon chased a DC Cormorant, then chased a Red-tailed Hawk that flipped upside down in the air to present a welcome of talons to this dark bolt of lighting.

Three of us were swept up in all the action and caught our breath only after the bird suddenly landed on a nearby tower. The bird rested a few minutes, then slipped off the perch and headed for virgin territory. What a way to start a day of birding.