canberrabirds

FW: [canberrabirds] Q: Peregrine or Hobby speed of flight?

To: "" <>
Subject: FW: [canberrabirds] Q: Peregrine or Hobby speed of flight?
From: Geoffrey Dabb <>
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2019 21:51:28 +0000

An interesting Q, Jean.  We are not speaking here of the fabled swoop of a plummeting falcon, but of birds in level flight.  The difficulty of recording speeds over a short distance means that there are no reliable comparative numbers.  A strong breeze can also affect apparent speed by 100kph or more, depending whether the bird is flying with or against the wind. I do not wish to appear unhelpful, but my own inclination would be to avoid apparent speed as the basis for a conclusion that an otherwise unidentifiable bird is a peregrine falcon rather than a hobby.

 

From: Jean Casburn <>
Sent: Saturday, 2 November 2019 8:25 AM
To: canberrabirds <>
Subject: [canberrabirds] Q: Peregrine or Hobby speed of flight?

 

This morning seen in the distance a dark bird with very pointed wings flying very fast and strongly – at first I thought Hobby, but on second thought the speed was so fast maybe Peregrine.  Do any watchers know if a Hobby can fly as fast as a Peregrine?

 Noisy Friarbirds have invaded my location, along with Red Wattle Birds noisy Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, Silvereye and of course Blackbirds – all calling, clearly heard with widows open.  Frequent chasing flapping of wings, snapping bills, and even screams of terror from the Friarbirds at times.

Jean

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