It was time for another visit to Malabar Headland to check on the progress on the nesting Peregrine Falcons. The weather forecast was not the best (some rain) – but there is some shelter available.
This turned out to be a most interesting visit. For the first time this season, I was able to observe a chick – but it was in a bit of a predicament. More on that later. For most of my visit, and adult Peregrine Falcon was near the nest area and I was able to photograph it taking off and flying around the cliffs.
On my walk out, I photographed this White-browed Scrubwren –
As on my previous visits, I have had to walk in from Malabar due to the track work between Magic Point and Boora Point. It was scheduled to be completed by October, but I think it has been delayed due to the Covid lockdown.
When I arrived around 10:30 am at the Peregrine Falcon nesting area, I saw one of the adult birds (the female I think) perched on the clifftop. This is a good spot for the bird to be in for the photographer, because it means a better angles for a take-off sequence. Also, the birds don’t often sit perched for hours on the one spot on the top because people walk past not that far away.
I was ready with my camera when it did take-off.
The reason it took off was to get out of the rain, and I was keen to seek out shelter myself. The birds flew to a cave high on the cliffs.
I had to leave it and find a refuge cave. It was out of sight of the bird, but the rain did not last that long and when it stopped the bird was still in the same place. I moved closer and had my camera ready.
It took off and then wheeled around.
It perched on one of its usual spots.
It didn’t stay too long.
By this time another rain storm arrived. I sheltered in a small cave. The storm became quite violent – windy and wet, and I settled as far back in the cave as I could. I was only partly sheltered from the wind. The rain was quite heavy this time and waterfalls poured down the cliffs. I could see the Peregrine Falcon perched in a nice cave on the far cliff. But I could also hear some calling out. It sounded like it may be from the chicks in the nest scrape. It was not that far away. But when the rain stopped, I looked down and saw a Peregrine Falcon chick. It was on a ledge a lot lower down.
The cliffs are about 60 m high here. The nest level is about 10 m below the top. The chick was on a ledge directly below the nest, but about 20 m below. It was pacing about and calling out.
The chick appeared to look wet from the storm. It was above the level that waves would hit. It then started making some short flights. The flights would only be about a metre or so. It seemed that the chick was not yet a competent flier. I thought it probably was unable to fly back up.
The adult then arrived with some food.
After that things settled back down for a while.
Then Roscoe, the other bird photographer arrived. I saw him pointing his camera into the bush near the track. He signalled for me to come over. There was a nice Red-bellied Black Snake there basking on the warn sand.
Roscoe told me he had seen the chick on the lower ledge the day before. He thought it may have either fallen down from the scrape, or attempted a flight too early, before its flight muscles had developed sufficiently. The other chicks were still in the nest area.
The parent then did some nice flying around the cliffs nearby.
The chick was still calling out.
It looked like the parent was doing the fly byes to reassure the chick that it twas still around and also perhaps to encourage the chick to fly.
The parent would settle for a while, then soon take off again for some more flying.
By this time the snake had moved.
Back to the Falcons –
The chick had at least stopped panicking and was now resting on its ledge.
I think that the second parent arrived while I was photographing the other one flying. It may have flown in with food? At one point, another raptor arrived. It looked like a Collared Sparrowhawk. It flew right over the best area, and all of a sudden one of the adult Peregrine Falcons arrived and encouraged it to leave the area. It flew off very fast. Too fast for me to photograph (and I had chosen that moment to put my camera down and eat my lunch).
The adult Peregrine Falcon I had been watching then flew away towards the Golf Course on the far side of Long Bay. I think i twas the only adult near the nest and I was surprised to see the nest and the vulnerable chick below left unguarded. But perhaps the other parent was perched nearby out of our sight?
Some more of the snake –
I left around 3:30 pm. This was just after watching the chick on the lower ledge do some more flying attempts. Again – only very short flights.
The flights took it back to where the food was, and it the resumed eating.
I hope this chick can build up strength to get in the air and fly back to a safer place. If it takes off and can’t fly higher then it can only fly into the sea. There are no more lower ledges.