The Three Capes

 Tasmania

A four day, three night trip around the Three Capes Walk on the Tasman Peninsular. 

Cape Raoul lies behind Mount Brown at sunset on the first night.

The sand dunes of Crescent Bay by Mount Brown seen from Arthur's Peak on the morning of day two.

Tasman Island off the tip of Cape Pillar, with the jagged rib of the Blade rising towards the island.

The lighthouse on Tasman Island is picked out by sunshine. The rocky pillars on the right form the Blade, a spectacular highpoint above the sound. The island is mostly bare of tall vegetation since its forest was cleared for firewood by the lighthouse keepers and eaten by their stocks of sheep, goats, cattle and pigs. The light was first lit in 1906 and automated in 1977. Shrubs and small trees are slowly reclaiming the land, and the island's breeding populations of Short-tailed Shearwaters and Fairy Prions are recovering after near eradication by feral cats, which were descendants of the lighthouse keepers pets.

A single block of rock lies on the tip of the Blade, with wrap-around views of the peninsular and the ocean beyond. The main rock in much of the Tasman Peninsular is dolerite, which fractures along straight vertical lines to form crude hexagonal pillars. Hence the name Cape Pillar, although all three capes have these rock formsations.

Day four began with a view of Cape Hauy from the Cape Pillar. The trees are much taller on this eatsern, leeward side of the peninsular.

The view back south to Cape Pillar from Cape Hauy, with Tamsan Island peeping over the ridge. The rock stack is Cathedral Rock.

The view from the end  of the third Cape, Cape Hauy with the pencil thin stack of the Totem Pole, the thicker and taller Candlestick, and the Lanterns. The lanterns are two tall rocky islands off the tip of the cape, one is behind the other.

The Totem Pole is a remarkable 65m tall rock stack. It can be climbed at trad grade 24, although timing access is critical as can be seen by the tide swirling around its base. 

Most people simply enjoy the view. A magnificent view of a wonderful wild place. 

 Black Mountain Peregrines

This is the Telstra Tower which stands on top of Black Mountain, a hill, about 1km from the city centre of Canberra. It is surrounded by Red Stringybark/Scribbly Gum forest which holds lots of nest holes for various animals including Galahs, Crimson and Eastern Roselas.

Two days ago, I was walking through the woodland at the base of the mountain, when I saw an adult female preregrine soaring low over the canopy, obviously hunting. It is usually Brown Goshawks that I see hunting there, so I was a bit surprised.

The woodland canopy was busy with migrating Silvereyes and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters on migration down from the higher Brindabella Mountains several kilometres away. And there were numerous rosellas sitting outside their nest holes, staking claim prior to the next breeding season. So there was abundant food for the peregrine.

Then, the next day, I was walking around the summit of Black Mountain when I heard the distinctive harsh calls of a peregrine coming from the tower. Sure enough, there were two adult birds perched on the second top section, on the supporting struts for telecoms antenae. Yes they are in the picture above, but it is not the best of shots, taken with a phone.

The tower is 195 m tall (640 ft) and an obvious man-made feature to attract peregrines. Yet, this is the first time I have seen them there, or heard any. The tower has been closed to the public for a few years, so perhaps the quietness has helped to attract the peregrines. Although the visitor pviewing platform is a long way below where the birds were.

Now, the question is, will the peregrines stay to breed on the tower next breeding season?