Wildlife Preservation Autumn 2012.indd - Wildlife Protection Society ...

Peregrine falcon nestlings
I inched my way forward on all fours,
gaining about two metres, then
stretched further forward onto my
belly for a closer look at the nest. I
could see at least two falcon chicks,
but I was fairly sure there was a third
one tucked behind its siblings. They
were adorable! Plump, white balls
of u , tucked away into their nestscrape,
protected from falling by a
small lip formed by a mound of rocks
and scree at the front of the cli ledge.
One chick, struggling to hold its head
Wildflowers at Coalseam Conservation Park in the Shire of Mingenew
up, craned its neck and peered over
in my direction. I poised my camera
and snapped a few frames, rst wide
to show the nest site, then closer,
focussing in on the tiny falcon’s head.
Its eyes were milky white and blurred,
and I suspected it could not yet see
very well. I could still hear the frenzied
attack of its parents, screeching calls
and air whooshing over their wings,
but now, being so focussed on the
nestlings, these sounds faded into the
background.
My shutter clicked as I took several
more frames, making sure I’d get
one that was clear. Then, in another
awkward stretch, I pulled my stomach
backward and resumed the crawling
posture, and backed away to the other
end of the cli ledge and out from
under the overhang. My body was
sti as I squatted and stretched my
arms forward to inspect my elbows,
which were tingling and covered with
pimpled impressions from the gravelly
surface I had just lain on.
I looked over the edge once more,
peering down at the water in the river
below. The golden hour had now
arrived, and as I glanced across the
river, I could see the landscape of
breakaways blanketed in gorgeous, soft
light. I took one last wide shot of the
nest ledge, then stood carefully and
hugged the cli face, ready to climb
back up. Peregrine chicks! What a
thrill!
This little story was just one moment
in a tremendous two-week adventure
that I was lucky enough to go on
during October 2011. My girlfriend and
I had taken a break from Perth and
travelled on a big loop, heading north
through the western Wheatbelt region,
up the west coast, then east into the
Murchison Catchment, admiring
dazzling carpets of wild owers,
Adult peregrine falcons swoop past me on the
nest ledge!
34 Australian Wildlife Vol 2 - Autumn 2012