Extract from ABC News
This photo of the world's fastest falcon, the Siberian Peregrine Falcon, was captured as the bird flew over Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary in Central Australia. (Supplied: Australian Wildlife Conservatory/Tim Henderson)
In short:
The Siberian Peregrine Falcon has been caught on camera in Central Australia for the first time, marking the furthest inland sighting of the bird on record.
Ecologist Tim Henderson says the birds are sometimes spotted on Australian coastlines and mountain ranges but are rarely seen inland.
He says the unusual outback visit could be linked to recent heavy rainfall in the region.
The world's fastest animal has been spotted soaring over the Central Australian outback for the first time, setting two new records.
Over Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary, ecologist Tim Henderson was shocked to recently capture a clear photo of the Siberian Peregrine Falcon — which can fly as fast as 300km/h, more than twice the land speed of a cheetah.
The bird was moving too quickly for Dr Henderson to identify the species, but, upon a later review of the photos he'd taken, it became clear how rare the sighting was.
Tim Henderson was shocked he snapped a clear photo of the falcon. (Supplied: Australian Wildlife Conservatory/Kaitlin Formosa)
With the photo taken on Ngalia-Walpiri and Luritja country near Alice Springs, the sighting sets a new record for the furthest inland sighting of a Siberian Peregrine Falcon, and for its first recorded sighting in Australia's arid zone.
Speaking on ABC Radio Alice Springs, Dr Henderson said he was amazed the photo didn't look blurry.
"That was pretty exciting, and pretty hard to get, given how fast they are,"he said.
He said there were more than a dozen subspecies of peregrine falcons, including one that captured hearts further south in Melbourne thanks to livestreaming technology.
The Siberian Peregrine Falcon typically flies south after spending summer in the northern hemisphere, so Dr Henderson said sightings can be "quite common" on Australian coastlines and up in the ranges.
But they typically breed in the Arctic tundra, meaning nobody actually knows how often they visit Australia.
"We sometimes get rare migrants or vagrants, that come from elsewhere in the world," Dr Henderson said.
"So I'm always keeping an eye out for any sort of interesting facial patterns that might be different [between subspecies]."
Why was this falcon in the desert?
It was a thin stripe below the bird's eye that first piqued Dr Henderson's interest, he said, and confirmed his photograph had made history.
He said the falcon's unusual outback visit could be linked with heavy rains in the region in recent years, which transformed the typically dry landscape.
Rains over the typically dry Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary could be linked to the bird's usual migration path. (Supplied: Brad Leue/Australian Wildlife Conservancy)
Dr Henderson said the wet weather created temporary wetlands, becoming home to prey that attracted a diverse range of raptors.
He said the region wasn't "a very often birded place", but — with birdwatching growing in popularity and digital cameras more accessible than ever — that was changing.
"I think the more and more people that are out and about taking photos, the more likely you are to see a bird like this," Dr Henderson said.
"So they might actually be more common than we think in Central Australia, but they've just never been seen or confirmed before."
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