These photographs are free to download for educational or personal digital sharing, provided clear credit is given to the photographer (JH Kilbuck). In lieu of payment, please consider making a donation to the local SPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Monterey Audubon, or an animal rescue group of your choosing.

Peregrine Falcon

Known for extreme speed and agility, the Peregrine Falcon fiercely defends its airspace and nesting areas. The two photos—a juvenile with brown chest streaking and an adult showing horizontal barring—could be the same animal just one year apart. It is rare to get more than a glimpse of this cliff dweller. Saved by legal protection and the ban on DDT after coming as close to extinction as any species in California, just seeing one in the wild today is a rare privilege.