Little Falcon

Gavin is three weeks old, and he’s very excited about going on his first photo adventure with Mom and Dad.

Gavin is a Celtic name with Scottish roots, and it’s said to mean, amongst other things, ‘little falcon,’ so it seemed only appropriate that we took this opportunity to introduce the fastest animal on the planet to the sleepiest.

In the past couple of years, we’ve had the pleasure of watching a pair of peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) raising their family along the California coast through courtship, hunting, feeding, and lessons in aerial acrobatics. The peregrine chicks have now fledged, but as we’re still very much in the early days of raising our little falcon, we made some additions to our usual adventure preparations.

It was a foggy day on the coast, without much of the regular avian activity, but it meant a lot to us. It’s so easy as a new parent to find yourself at home for days on end in a cycle of feeding, sleeping, and changing. Building the confidence to return to nature, taking everything in, and ensuring everyone got some valuable fresh air felt like a huge win.

For now, Gavin still prefers birds of the high-contrast graphic variety, but I hope this was the first in a life full of adventures as our little falcon takes flight.