Lake Clear Nature Notebook (February, 2014)

One of the great joys associated with the lake and cottage life is the sight and sound of the many birds that share the lake with us. While Lake Clear is home to a great variety of wonderful birds, probably the lake’s most distinguished bird is the Peregrine Falcon.

We are fortunate to have had pair of breeding Peregrine Falcons (perhaps two pair) nesting on the steep face of Big Rock for almost a decade. The Peregrine, also called the Duck Hawk because of its preferred meal, is considered to be the world’s most widespread raptor and can be found in most regions. The rocky face of Big Rock and an abundance of ducks and shorebirds make Lake Clear an ideal nesting spot for Peregrines.

Once an endangered species, Peregrines have made a great comeback from the days when DDT and other pesticides almost destroyed them. On most days from late June until late August the Big Rock Peregrines can be easily seen and heard with their noisy screeches soaring high into the sky and demonstrating why they're considered the world's fastest bird, capable of reaching speeds of 322km/h (200mph) during a steep dive.

On July 9, 2013 two peregrines landed in this Big Rock tree with the larger female doing a lot of screeching while the smaller male sat quietly for about fifteen minutes, posing for photos, and then flew off.

Lake Clear is home to a wide variety of other birds, many of which can be found on the islands protected by the Lake Clear Conservancy. A future Nature Notebook will feature some of the other birds to watch for this spring.