There currently seems to be a Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus residing at the Eirol landfill. It was observed yesterday, November 17 2014, while it hunted repeatedly on the smaller birds present at the site. In search for prey it was flying through the thousands of gulls above the landfill.
It’s a 1st winter male, which appears to have a remarkably dark plumage. The head and breast of this bird are extremely dark, making me unsure about what subspecies it would belong to.
Its favorite perch is a dead branch in the top of a Eucalyptus tree, overlooking a ditch with fresh water that attracts many of the gulls and other birds present at the site, including Black-headed Gulls Chroicocephalus ridibundus. And those Black-headed Gulls are of interest to the falcon. Throughout the day we noticed it making several unsuccessful attempts to catch one. We also found some remains of a Black-headed Gull that recently had been eaten by a peregrine.
In the morning, before we realized there was a peregrine present at the site, we already noticed there were very few Black-headed Gulls present. During the past few weeks their numbers had been increasing, as many northern wintering birds were arriving. Yesterday we counted only 75 Black-headed Gulls. The number of Black-headed Gulls on previous visits is shown in the table below. At the moment many of those Black-headed gulls probably realize it’s smarter to stay away from Eirol.
Thanks to Pedro Moreira for the close up photos of the falcon!
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