This guy reaches diving speeds of 321.8 kilometers per hour!
I was fortunate enough to get him sitting, taking off and returning with supper on my camera. The Peregrine Falcon has always fascinated me, especially with his blinding fast attacks on birds in flight. He strikes so fast that the poor victim has absolutely no chance to duck or swerve.
This is what Wikipedia has to say about the Peregrine Falcon.
"The bird with the greatest airspeed velocity is the Peregrine falcon, able to exceed 321.8 km/h (200 mph) in its hunting dives"
Taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_by_flight_speed
Here he was preparing himself for the hunt!
And here he took off to go and find something to eat!
In all honesty, I didn't expect him to return, but look at this!
I had the feeling that he knew where I was, as he kept on looking at me!
The background color change in the last 3 photos because of the sun moving behind his high seat!
Finally, before I go, can you believe that the fastest bird in normal flight is the homing pigeon?
"This is a list of the fastest flying birds in the world. A bird's velocity is necessarily variable; a hunting bird will reach much greater speeds while diving to catch prey than when gliding. The bird with the greatest airspeed velocity is the Peregrine falcon, able to exceed 321.8 km/h (200 mph) in its hunting dives.[1][2] The greatest self-powered horizontal speed is achieved by Homing Racing Pigeons. They can fly 1100 km (700 miles) in a single day, and they have been recorded flying at 177 km/h (110 miles per hour), making them the birds with the fastest speed ever recorded on a self-powered flight, and the fastest endurance flight".
Have a look at the list at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_by_flight_speed
Note: The photos are my own and all paragraphs in "exclamation marks" were taken from Wikipedia.
As usual the photos are unedited, except for cropping to allow for the uploading.
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You are fabulous! Thank you!
Blessings!
In my last job there were some peregrines nesting above my office window. This was 18 floors up, so they probably treated it like a cliff. I could hear the chick and would see the parents swooping around. It just was not easy to get pictures of them. Amazing creatures
Agreed Sir Steve, they are very difficult to get in flight.
Must have been a wonderful experience to have them there.
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@featheredfriday Apologies as I seemed to have lost an "e" somewhere in the spelling of your tag.
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Its great shot and very enjoy the scenery of this bird. blessing
Thank you and glad that you liked the post my friend!
Blessings!
Great falcon photos.That's a hard bird to photograph around here.ive only seen 2 in the last couple years and always too far away.
Thank you and I was standing on the front verandah of a house built on the mountain side. We were visiting in the Cape and lower down was some huge trees that reached up tp eye level. The distance was about 200 yards, which was no problem for the super zoom.
Ae first I thought that it was a pigeon so I think you can imagine my surprise and delight when I zoomed and saw that it was a Peregrine. The real McCoy.
Oh, and I also got a Harrier Hawk in the same tree.
Just a matter of being in the right place at the right time my friend.
Blessings!
Fantastic shots of it and WOW I knew they were fast but never knew they could reach such amazing speeds
Thank you JJ, it explained a lot of things to me as this guy is more difficult to get on camera than a dragonfly.
And besides they are never around.
Blessings!
I am so glad you were able to get these great shots and I knew little about them so I appreciated all the information you shared about them
I don't think we have the peregrine falcon in Alaska, but I do know we have the gyrfalcon, I got to see one once. Very nice pictures you were able to capture.
Thank you and I think that I saw a gyrofalcon in the list of the link that I posted.
I was indeed very fortunate to get the pictures.
Blessings!
You are very lucky to have gotten such close shots @papilloncharity, these raptors are amazing!
Thank you Lady Lizelle and the heavens smiled upon my delight to get this rare guy.
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Incredible pics. You must have a fantastic zoom lens! I think it’s so great that you provided all those interesting facts about peregrines.
Thank you and I have a super zoom that can take clear shots of the moon, so thankfully the distance was not a problem. I use a Canon Powershot SX60 HS.
The facts certainly tell us what a magnificent bird this is.
Blessings!
Gulp, down went dinner. What an extraordinary viewing late in the afternoon. Captured his graceful ability perfectly, right time right place once again Stephen!
Thank you Lady Joan and I was so happy to get this speed merchant of the sky again.
Haven't seen him again since we moved to this province, but maybe one day when I don't expect it.
Blessings!
That looks like a nasty bird if you get on its bad side. I wonder if he can help me hunt?
Never heard of the being tamed for hunting my friend and it would certainly be a first. Maybe you can catch one and become famous hahaha
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I have a special place in my heart for raptors, and this guy is a beauty! That first shot is awesome, and how cool that he came back to have his dinner with you! Excellent captures, @papilloncharity!
Thank you Lady Traci and this is such an amazing bird.
I was gobsmacked to see his return and of course very happy.
Blessings!
These are great photos of an amazing creature!
Peregrine Falcons are so cool!
Thank you and an amazing creature indeed my friend.
Glad that you liked it!
Blessings!
Great pictures!
Very beautiful bird. True, when in your other posts you show those he hunts, I always feel sorry for these victims ...
Very curious information. I didn't know about pigeons.
Thank you my friend and he is indeed a nice trophy in my collection.
Sadly there will always be victims and the same in life.
I was also surprised at the pigeons taking the honor.
Blessings!
I wish i Made thes ones, that would mean that we had these beautiful creatures in Holland too,
Great catch,.... ehhh capture
Britt
Thank you my friend and I don't think that they like tulips as much as I do hahaha
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You are invited too
Thank you!
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Such amazing photos! Well done! Beautiful bird
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Thank you and glad that you liked the post my friend!
Blessings!
Oh, you're seem it live! I am a great admirer of them. Nice shots on that branch.
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Thank you and they are indeed terrific birds my friend!
Blessings!
Love them always wanted them but stocked to the owls.
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Thank you and I also love owls my friend.
In fact I have some nice daylight shots of owls.
Blessings!
What fascinating creatures! So amazing when you look at the abilities of different animals. I love the second shot where you can see all of those beautiful feathers. Lovely to catch such a speedy bird at rest. :)
Thank you and I couldn't believe my eyes when I zoomed and saw that it was not a pigeon, but the real McCoy. Very difficult to get Peregrines on camera and it was a great honor indeed.
Strangely I have many shots of him and only picked the second shot because I also liked the feathers!
Glad that I can share him.
Blessings!
This is beautiful. He surely loves to be photographed and he's showing his angles. :)
Thank you and it is indeed a wonderful bird!
Blessings!
Very inspiring wildlife photography Zac. The ones with the glint of sunlight on the falcon are my favorite.
Apologies Sir @julianhorack for the late reply.
The sunlight definitely enhanced the photos.
Thank you and blessings to you guys!
Wow @papilloncharity, these are great capture of the bird all around.
Thank you Lady @rosatravels and I was very fortunate to get these shots.
Blessings!
Howdy sir paplilloncharity! what amazing birds and facts and pictures of the falcon! wow. Very impressive camera work, did you have to wait for the falcon to show up or did you see it and get closer?