After the Tempe Bird Survey, and then voting in the referendum, I made my way to the Northern Beaches to see more of the family of Peregrine Falcons. I was after more photos of the newly fledged juvenile Peregrine Falcons, and in particular photos of them interacting in the air.
Things were quiet when I arrived, with only one other bird photographer being present. But during the afternoon more arrived including Sam, Fred, and Gavin, who I know from previous outings to the cliffs.
One of the juvenile Peregrine Falcons was perched on the clifftop nearby.
It soon took off.
In the air, it seemed to try and catch insects.
And it landed in the fronds of a palm. Not a good place to land. I had a feeling it would take-off soon.
It did.
This time it landed in a cave nearby. It had the remains of some food to finish off.
It was eating parts of a Rainbow Lorikeet.
Then it looked up.
What it had seen was a parent bringing in more food.
The parent dumped the food on a ledge, and then flew back.
The juvenile was still in the cave.
But outside, another of the juveniles was doing some nice fast flying.
The juvenile in the cave decided to join in.
And now there were three Peregrine falcons flying together.
And now there were four!
The adult female was showing the way with this steep dive.
And now some of those interactions I had been hoping for took place.
This close flying is how the juveniles learn skills they will later need to hunt for prey and to perform mid-air food exchanges.
A lot of the action was a fair way off.
This juvenile has come in for a rest.
The other two juveniles were still flying.
And another rest.
And two still flying –
The third one joins in.
Then things quietened down. A bit later another raptor entered the Peregrines nursery. It was a Black-shouldered Kite, and it was hunting for food. kit was slowly coming our way.
On a trip a few years ago to these very cliffs, I had seen a Black-shouldered Kite stray into the Peregrine’s territory. One had attacked it and driven it off.
Fortunately for this Kite, it was only bothered by Welcome Swallows.
Perhaps the Peregrine Falcon were all too tired?
Anyway it had been an outstanding afternoon. It is a real privilege to be able to observe the flying shows of these young Peregrine Falcons.