Sue and myself decided to visit Malabar Headland to see how the Peregrine Falcons were going, and also to look for whales.
We met at Maroubra Beach at 9:30 and then slowly walked out into the National Park. Early on we spotted a hovering raptor. It was a Black-shouldered Kite.
And once on the headland, near Magic Point, we spotted some Humpback Whales.
That was a good start to our day, but then things went quiet. We scanned the cliffs iwht binoculars, but could not see and Peregrine Falcons. And the whales seemed a lot quieter too. Those we did see were very distant.
Australasian Gannet
Welcome Swallow
Australasian Gannet
New Holland Honeyeater
Red Wattlebird
We had lunch and still no Peregrine Falcons. It was now about 2:30 pm. I then photographed this very distant whale boat near a pod of whales –
All of a sudden a Peregrine Falcon flew past. I didn’t see it until it had passed by.
But we later spotted it perched lower down on the cliffs –
It was the female. We waited for it to take off. It then flew past.
It headed towards Dead Mans Gulch. So we slowly walked that way to see if it was near the landslide area.
When we arrived there, we spotted a Peregrine Falcon a fair way away on the cliffs –
It was the male, and it had prey.
We watched it sitting there not doing much for at least 30 minutes. We hoped that the male was waiting for the female to appear, and then it would give the female the prey – in perhaps a mid air food exchange. But the female seemed to be absent, so the male eventually started eating the prey. It was a Rainbow Lorikeet.
Sue spotted a distant White-bellied Sea Eagle –
The Peregrine Falcon did not seem worried by the Sea Eagle. It kept eating.
Then the male took off.
It flew off with the remains of the bird towards Boora Point. We headed that way.
Back at the nest area, we spotted a Pergeine Falcon perched in one of the usual spots on the cliff.
It was the male, and it didn’t have the remaining food, so perhaps it had given it to the female? We watched it for a while.
It was now getting quite cold, so we decided to walk back to Maroubra Beach.
Many thanks to Sue for great company during the day.