World’s fastest falcon swoops in to Umdloti
Peregrines are not common in this region as they typically roost on high cliffs and in mountainous areas.
Umdloti had an unexpected visit from a peregrine falcon – the fastest creature in the world – just before Christmas.
Able to reach ‘stoop speeds’ of close to 400km/hour when hunting prey, these speedy raptors have baffled scientists and even inspired aviation design.
A ‘stoop’ is a lightning-fast tactic that grants bird-hunting raptors an element of surprise, enabling them to outmanoeuvre their prey.
“It was at around 6am on a Saturday morning. We were having coffee in bed when the peregrine falcon landed on our bedroom balustrade, clutching what looked to be a Cape wagtail in its talons,” said Umdloti resident, Mark Smith.
“We have had a breeding pair of wagtails which lived around our pool for the past number of years. Sadly, this was the end of one of them but a bitter sweet moment to see a peregrine in our area, and so close. I had to do a lot of sneaking behind the blinds to get the shot and not spook it.”
As a keen bird and nature enthusiast, Smith said he had seen a pair occasionally flying over the open grassland behind his home.
“It is encouraging to note the number of raptors in the area. We regularly have a crowned eagle preying on the hadedas, and even very young bushbuck. Of particular interest has been the annual visit of a pair of European honey buzzards which migrate to Africa around November and then leave for Europe around May. The western osprey is often seen flying up and down our coastline in front of Umdloti around 200 metres off-shore,” said Smith.
There was some debate amoung residents around whether it was indeed a peregrine falcon.
However, having seen one of Smith’s photos, biodiversity consultant with The LionHeart Experience, Richard Mckibbin, confirmed this, saying it was probably just passing through.
“Peregrines are not common in this region as they typically roost on high cliffs and in mountainous areas. They are a lot more common in and around Cape Town,” said Mckibbin.
Peregrines have adapted to urban living to some degree, roosting on skyscrapers and mainly feeding on feral pigeons – a win for the environment.
Elaborating on their baffling aerodynamic design, Mckibbin said it was incredible how their feathers at the the back would raise up to create a vortex that reduced drag during hunting dives.
From studying the peregrine’s nostril, flight engineers found a successful solution to a flight problem called choking.
Choking occurs when an aircraft flies at supersonic speeds and the air moving in front of the engine appears to hit a wall, causing it to move around the engine instead of through it.
This results in a stalled engine.
Mckibbin said the cone shaped structure in the peregrine’s nostril has inspired aircraft engineers to add a metallic cone in the centre of the opening of large jet engines which caused air to enter and sufficiently feed the engine at supersonic speeds, solving the problem.
Unfortunately being such a special bird doesn’t safeguard it from man-made environmental challenges.
Mckibbin said habitat loss, the rapid development of wind farms, falconry and a reduction in prey were having a devastating impact on all raptors.
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