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Nature reflects our nature
and placidly perched was so immense : the fact that I still could not tell which raptor it was did not matter . While I could go on watching the magnificent bird , an approaching passerby in the field caused the bird to set off in a gentle dive downslope . It is also possible that the bird swooped after having located prey in the distance . I managed to get a few more shots before it was soon out of sight . I later confirmed that it was a Peregrine by consulting with a few senior birdwatchers . Finally , the fastest creature on Earth in my camera !
I always wondered if I would ever get to see a Peregrine . As I started birding , I did not have the remotest expectation that it would happen so soon . The National Geographic documentaries watched during school days informed me that the peregrine is the fastest in the animal kingdom reaching vertical speed up to 389 km per hour while on its hunting stoop ( 1,2 ). Peregrine falcon ( also called Shaheen falcon in English , ‘ Shahi Baaz ’ in Nepali ) is a formidable bird
The falcon taking off
( 4 ). Possibly , this sighting is the first photographic record of the species outside protected area ( Manaslu Conservation Area ) in the Gorkha district .
Peregrine Falcon perched on a branch
of prey reared and trained by falconers across the world and possibly historically in Nepal . A peregrine soars to great heights to scan for and locate prey with its acute vision . It then dives with its characteristic stoop ( pointed wings folded behind ), cutting through the air and takes down birds sometimes even larger than itself mid-air with a pounce .
Peregrine falcon is a bird with a cosmopolitan distribution . Once threatened with extinction over much of its range ( classified as Endangered in the 50s to 70s ) due to DDT use ( 3 ), its population recovered in the succeeding decades , largely due to a widespread ban on DDT and partly due to captive breeding success . As a result , the species is now categorized as Least Concern by the IUCN . In Nepal , peregrine falcons are known to be frequent to uncommon residents , partial altitudinal migrants , and passage migrants in protected areas , winter visitors of uncertain status , and uncommon outside the protected areas
Photographing the peregrine has been the epitome of my brief birdwatching experience so far . The next feat would be to get a shot of this majestic bird in its hunting stoop !
Bibek Shrestha B . Sc . Environmental Science ( 2014-18 ) bibek . shrestha195 @ gmail . com
References :
• Harpole , Tom ( 1 March 2005 ). “ Falling with the Falcon ”. Smithsonian Air & Space magazine . Retrieved 4 September 2008 .
• “ Terminal Velocity : Skydivers chase the peregrine falcon ’ s speed ”. Public Television ’ s Wild Chronicles , from National Geographic Mission Programs . 27 January 2012 .
• Cade , T . J .; Enderson , J . H .; Thelander , C . G .; White , C . M ., eds . ( 1988 ). Peregrine Falcon Populations . Their management and recovery . Boise , Idaho : The Peregrine Fund . ISBN 978-0-9619839-0-1 .
• Inskipp , C . H . S . Baral , S . Phuyal , T . R . Bhatt , M . Khatiwada , T . Inskipp , A . Khatiwada , S . Gurung , P . B . Singh , L . Murray , L . Poudyal and R . Admin ( 2016 ). The status of Nepal ’ s Birds : The National Red List Series . Zoological Society of London . Downloaded from www . himalayannature . org
36 Year Book of Environmental Science