It is very rare to see a Peregrine Falcon in Maui, Hawaii. But when all the birds at Kealia Ponds suddenly screamed alarm calls and took to the air I scanned the crowded airspace for the pair of laughing gulls I had seen earlier, suspecting it was them that had caused all the unusual commotion.. But they were also flying amongst the dozens of A’eo (rare Hawaiian Stilts) and behaving just as alarmed and panicked as all the spooked Golden Plovers, Sanderlings, Coots, White faced Ibis , Ducks and Turn Stones that had also taken to the air at the same time..
The sky was full of birds, and right in amongst them all was this Peregrine Falcon. I didn’t think there were any Hawks on Maui, so it was a huge surprise to me to spot this Peregrine Falcon. He then gained height and did what Peregrine Falcons do best – dive fast – too fast to photograph -(known to reach speeds of 180 mph in a dive), heading right down towards me and my lens. When he was about 30ft away from me he suddenly backed off, and watched me for a few moments, giving me plenty of time to hit the shutter on my camera, which fortunately had been set ready for the laughing gulls.
Spot the odd one out (hiding) in amongst the A’eo in the last photo – safety in numbers – but not invisible !!!
