Keith Fisher | Guest Contributor
While conducting a regular bird survey at the Cairns Airport on 20 February 1997 at 5:25pm, I observed 48 Magpie Goose Anseranas semipalmata flushed whilst foraging in sedge ponding.
As the geese rose into the air and began circling at a height of about 20m, a Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus took off from a nearby aerial tower where it had been perching.
The falcon climbed up to about 40m before going into a dive and hitting one of the geese, which lost a few feathers but kept on flying. The falcon then gained altitude and went into another dive hitting a second bird with the same result. Once again it climbed up before going into a third dive. This time it levelled out and hit another bird from behind: this bird also continued to fly on. The geese then landed and the falcon returned to its perch on the tower.
After a period of about five minutes, 21 of the geese again rose into the air and the falcon launched into another attack. Once again it climbed up and attacked from above on three more occasions, striking geese each time but failing to bring any down. The falcon then flew with the flock of geese a short distance, before making yet another attack. This time it flew up and dived down before levelling out about a metre above the ground, behind the geese, then attacking the flock from below, where it flipped over and struck out with its talons. Once again this was unsuccessful and the falcon beat a retreat to its perch, whilst the geese landed and carried on like nothing had happened.
Peregrine Falcon are certainly capable of bringing down a Magpie Goose (weight up to 3kg). They have been recorded preying on large birds such as Australia White Ibis and Cormorants (Marchant, S & PJ Higgins (Eds) 1993, Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Vol. 2: Raptors to Lapwings. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.
I have seen a previous attack, at the Cairns Airport, by two falcons trying to catch an Eastern Curlew Numenius arquata. This time the curlew was wise to the falcons’ tactics and stayed on the ground. The two falcons worked in tandem taking it in turns to swoop down to the curlew. The curlew stood its ground each time turning to face the falcons with its wings outstretched not daring to take flight. The falcons lost interest after about 15 minutes and flew off.
The falcons did have some successful catches, mainly Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus moluccanus, as they flew out of a night time roost in the airport and across the Barron River, heading towards the northern beaches of Cairns. The falcons always caught them by approaching from underneath before flipping upside-down and grabbing them with their formidable talons.