A large aggregation of 50 Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus ) during migration in the western Gulf of Mexico

In October 2017, we opportunistically observed up to 50 Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) on a ship moored in the western Gulf of Mexico. All birds we aged were juveniles, and they hunted from the ship, frequently perching extremely close to one another (<1 m apart) on cables. Both the number of birds and also the very short inter-individual distances when perching make these observations unusual among the published reports for this species.

Keywords: Peregrine Falcon; Falco peregrinus; aggregation; Gulf of Mexico; inter-individual distance; migration; prey; social behavior.