WALKING in Morden town centre one morning in early November, I looked up to see, some way above, a peregrine falcon flying in a wide circle.

Suddenly it flipped over and dived at incredible speed for about four seconds before zooming up again, clearly having missed its intended prey, probably a feral pigeon, of which many frequent the town.

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I considered it a real privilege to watch the fastest creature on, or I should say above the planet for the falcon has been recorded diving, or 'stooping', at up to 200mph.

Way back in the 1960s, peregrines almost died out as a result of pesticides leaching through the food chain but since then its population has escalated and pairs now nest on high-rise buildings across Britain.

Peregrines employ a very different vertical hunting technique to, for example, sparrow hawks and kestrels. The sparrow hawk uses a smash and grab approach, flying fast horizontally, skimming just above the grass through a flock of starlings, for instance.

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Once I watched a sparrow hawk speed low down across grassland in a park and grab a juvenile sparrow, much to the consternation of the remainder of the flock which erupted in a frenzy of twittering.

The kestrel is a master of hovering, peering down into the grass below and metre by metre, gradually lowering itself, as if being let down on a piece of string, before plunging to earth to pounce on an unwary vole.