Peregrine at their Peak

During the planned study of a pair of Peregrine mating on the south Cornish coast the ten images posted below were part of a burst of 102 images taken in just over 10 seconds this morning.

I worked at a distance of around 100 metres using a Nikon 500mm F4 lens and 1.7 Tele-converter on a Nikon DX D500 all setup on a fixed position using a sturdy Gitzo tripod and fired the sequence by remote shutter release.

To capture this sequence involved many hours and days of watching and waiting for the birds to perform in the right location but when they did ever single exposure was correct and focused which demands credit where it is due to the performance of the equipment used

A female Peregrine flies into a regular perch point on the south coast,

The female is immediately followed by a male and both birds move skillfully into a mating union with the male landing softly on the females back

The pair go straight into mating mode with the female balancing the weight of both birds on a small 150 foot high cliff ledge

The mating sequence lasted just over ten seconds from start to finish with the female calling encouragement to the male throughout.

 The male dismounts at the end on the sequence without his feet ever having touched the ground during his entire impressive performance and the female was still shouting encouragement to him after he left