Gyrfalcons at Wolf Tors

On day five we hiked to an amazing green ridge with an almost endless line of sharp rocky outcroppings. The guides called it stegosaurus ridge, after an armored dinosaur from the Late Jurassic. The Parks Service called the rocky projections the Wolf Tors.
 
As we moved along, two gyrfalcons watched us carefully from a lichen-covered rocky tor on which they had a nest. The gyrfalcon is the largest falcon in the world, and a fierce predator. It lives in the high Arctic and chases down ptarmigans in flight or plummets from the sky to strike prey on the ground.  Gyrfalcons have to be good hunters. In order to raise their family, a pair needs the equivalent of about 200 ptarmigans in a season. The gyrfalcon couple ignored us as long as we did not come too close.  
 
Further down nearer our camp, we walked by a rock ptarmigan, one of the Gyrfalcon’s favorite preys. For the time being, this one seemed alive and well, but we were in the wilderness where tooth and claw rules. I was told that the gyrfalcon does not have the best table manners. It apparently devours its prey very quickly without sufficient discrimination between the edible and nonedible. Then, some time later, it regurgitates the indigestible feathers and bones.
As we moved along, we had fine views of the river and its rapids below us. It had been a perfect day for a long hike. Tomorrow we would be back on the river for more adventure.