July 6th 2025
Our MRC Nagar Shaheen falcon - christened Maya - arrived this year on 30th May 2025, two days after I left the city for a stint in Bangalore. So, I finally got a live Darshan this morning! Thanks to Hrishu and Aaditya's message that she was sighted.
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| See that little black blob on the railing? Well that is the falcon who has turned her back on us. |
MRC Nagar's Leela business centre building may be abandoned and unoccupied by humans, but for the birders of the city, it is a very happening building -
Vismaya the peregrine is a resident in the winter.
Maya the Shaheen is there through late summer to monsoon. She was here in 2023, '24 and now '25!
As GK, our Raptor Guru says, "It's a Shaheen female based on the longer moustachial stripe & the overall build. Shaheen Tiercels are quite compact & small, with a short broad moustachial stripe.
And we assume it's Maya based on the perches she take, her routine, all that. If another female reaches here & follows all that of Maya, it's practically not possible to find out unless they're a permanent visible clues in non-feathered parts."
June 15th pictures
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| Photo by Hrishu. Falco peregrinus peregrinator |
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| Photo by Hrishu. Falco peregrinus peregrinator |
She comes in with the monsoon winds, and every year we watch her movements - her hunts, preening, her ramp walks on the balustrade. We provide much curiosity and amusement to the citizens of MRC Nagar who are bemused at our fascination with a bird.
She's the bird with the fastest dive. Falcons are awesome. Ask GK. Ask Sanjeev.
Here's the Ebird list for the morning, from Hrishu.
