Northern Beaches Peregrine Falcons – 28 October 2025

I mentioned to my friend Sue that “you have to strike while the iron is hot” meaning that if you want to observe and photograph juvenile Peregrine Falcons, the best time is soon after they fledge as they tend to stay close to the nest area and can be easier to spot.

So we travelled up to the sea cliffs of the Northern Beaches again and spent a fair time there. And you do need to spend a fair bit of time as the young Peregrine Falcons only fly for 5 or 10 minutes every hour or two, and you need to make the most of your opportunities.

It took a while to spot one of the birds, and then a second appeared at the same ledge. During our visit it was quite cold and windy – with the  wind coming from the south east. Not that pleasant for us, but also for the young birds. Their flying on this day was certainly a lot less than on our previous visit two days before.

It was interesting to watch the Juvenile Peregrine Falcons being quite affectionate to each other. Here they have been touching their beaks together.

Some Sooty Oystercatchers flew past.

Then the third juvenile Peregrine Falcon flew past.

It was pursuing an adult Peregrine Falcon – probably the father.

Then some nice flying –

Another of the juvenile joined the flying –

The young birds do not know good from bad places to land. This one landed in a bad place.

Later, a long way off, we spotted a Nankeen Kestrel have an altercation with one of the juvenile Peregrine Falcons –

It was time for this one to rest –

It suddenly took off –

Some food must have been delivered. Not much though….

Now time for a rest. At least it has a feather bed.

The Nankeen Kestrel took advantage of the lull in Peregrine activity and flew closer – hunting for prey.

And one of the juvenile Peregrine Falcons landed on a close ledge.

The Juvenile’s mother was perched close by –

Here the ads female is being harassed by a Welcome Swallow –

And then the adult male flies in and perches –

It was getting too cold to comfortable on the cliffs, so we started walking out along the track. On the way, we spotted one of the juveniles-