The landscape of Alegranza

The landscape of Alegranza

Monitoring the breeding population from Alegranza

A pale female flying over the sea

The camp-site on Alegranza

Censusing the breeding population

A pale female sitting near her nest

A dark female sitting near her nest

A pale female

A flying dark male

Eleonora’s falcons breed on sea cliffs as well as on hillsides and ravines

Getting dark on Alegranza

The island is full of flowers after the rains

Pale female

Pale females have creamy cheeks and their cere and eye rings are blue-greenish

Maintaining balance

Monitoring Alegranza

Dancing on the mountains

Some nest-sites are difficult to reach

A dark fledgling

Eleonora’s falcons usually lay 1-3 eggs, rarely 4. In this case (2010) the four nestlings, all of dark morph, successfully fledged

Eleonora’s falcons usually drink and bath in fresh water sources near the breeding colonies

Dark female

A fledgling of pale morph

Plastic rings also help identifying who predated which nestlings

Females often predate nestlings from neighbor nests, but cannibalism is also frequent among siblings

Getting dark on Alegranza

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