My friend Sue had visited Malabar Headland on Monday, and had little luck seeing any action from the Peregrine Falcons. I was concerned that their nest may have failed – so after talking to Sue, we decided on a late afternoon trip to try and work out what was going on.
I walked in from Malabar, and Sue walked in from Maroubra Beach and we met on the cliffs. We looked carefully around the cliffs – but could not spot any Peregrine Falcons while we were there. It was quite windy – and we didn’t feel like staying too long.
I thought that if the Peregrine Falcons were feeding any chicks in their nest – then it would be likely that we would have seen one of them at least bringing in prey. And if there are chicks – then they should have fledged already or be very close to fledging by this time.
So I am starting to think that this season, their nest may be unsuccessful. This is not unusual with Peregrine Falcons.
We then started walking out to Maroubra Beach. On the way – we did spot three raptors. Thee first was a fleeting glimpse of a Swamp Harrier – hunting in the Rifle Range. The next was a hunting Nankeen Kestrel. It did stay around long enough for some photos.
The third raptor was a very distant Black-shouldered Kite –
Postscript – Sue made another visit on Friday 10 November – and met Dale, a bird photographer that we had seen a few times before on the cliffs. They did see at least one of the Peregrine Falcons.