Hello everyone
Today in the Noosa hinterland, I witnessed some spectacular flying as a
Peregrine falcon took to attacking a pair of wedge-tailed eagles. It
was stoop diving them and then pulling away at the last second as the
eagles turned their talons up to meet the attack. The attacks were
triggered whenever the eagles soared near the falcon's roosting/nesting
site. The falcon ignored a pair of black shouldered kites that were in
the same area. I consulted Debus - the peregrine laying season starts
in August so it is highly unlikely an actual nest was involved. Debus
makes the comment that peregrines "often harass larger birds". I
suppose for young falcons harassing larger birds is a way of practising
hunting skills. Has anyone seen a peregrine harassing a larger bird for
no apparent reason at all, or is it always associated with defence?
Andrew Thelander
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
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