Malabar Headland – 13 October 2022

Another visit to Malabar Headland – with the principal aim to photograph the local Peregrine Falcons, and also to look for whales and other sea life. This time I was accompanied by Valerie and Sue.

The Peregrine Falcons put on great display of flying while we were there.  We also saw some reasonable whale activity.

On the walk out, we could not help observing a great display of Flannel Flowers in bloom.

As well, we spotted quite a few  small orchids in flower. These are probably Microtis parviflora – the Slender Onion Orchid.

I was pleased to see these out, as I had not seen them for a few years due to lockdowns and tracks being closed due to track work. I am glad to see the track work was not detrimental to them.

When we arrived at the Peregrine Falcon nesting area, another photographer was there – Biggles. And one Peregrine Falcon, the female, was on a ledge.

The Peregrine Falcon seemed pretty settled. So we looked for whales. We saw quite a few passing Crested Terns. This one has a small fish.

And here is an Australasian Gannet –

And we did see some Humpback Whales –

The Peregrine falcon seemed to be getting a little bored, as it took off and went for s short flight.

She flew back at very  high speed.

Then a bit later, another similar short flight.

And later still, another short flight.

And some more Humpback Whales.

We went on a walk to Boora point, and there we spotted the male Peregrine Falcon.

It too, took off and did some flying, including some very fast passes.

It landed and settled down on the same ledge.

Below, another passing whale.

Then we saw a Humpback Whale breaching –

The female was still on its ledge –

So, we returned to the point, and found the male in the same place.

This time, I had moved to a better position to photograph it taking off.

We then headed around the south side to look for Sun Orchids. It seems that we have missed them again this season. All of the ones we saw seem to have been fertilised. Last time, we did spot ,any fertilised but also quite a few buds.

Back at the nesting area, we saw the female and male Peregrine Falcons interacting.

We think the female was telling the male to go off hunting for food.

The female did a few more flights to see what progress the male was making. One time she did return with food. She was only gone a short time, so she must have got it from the male.

The prey was dropped off at the nest, and a short time later she went back to her ledge. We assumed that the chicks can feed themselves. But the prey looked like small bird – so perhaps there is only one chick?

It was time for us to head for home. It had been a very interesting day. Thanks to Valerie and Sue for great company during the day.