The Peregrine Falcons of Cabo da Roca, Sintra.

The Peregrine Falcons of Cabo da Roca, Sintra.
We now have dog called Chance and on our walks across the headland we often see a beautiful sight in the skies above, the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus brookei).
I never get tired of watching these amazing birds of prey, they can reach speeds of over 320km/h in a stoop, making it the fastest animal on the planet. The Peregrine Falcon is a raptor, or bird of prey. Adults have blue-gray wings, dark brown backs, a buff colored underside with brown spots, and white faces with a black tear stripe on their cheeks. It has long, broad, pointed wingspan and a relatively short tail and they have hooked beaks and strong talons. Their name comes from the Latin word peregrinus, which means "to wander." They are commonly referred to as the Duck Hawk. We see at least one nearly every day and I love to watch them hover in the sky and suddenly they will stoop reaching amazing speeds to catch their prey.
Sometimes we see one close up perched on a telegraph pole at the side of the road.
They were on the endangered species in many areas in the 70's and now thankfully the populations have recovered.
One of the many species of wildlife you can see on the walks in Sintra.