Hi all,
We spent the weekend with some friends who live just north of the Hunter
Valley near Dungog. The bird highlight of the trip was undoubtedly a pair
of nesting Pacific Baza (Crested Hawks) with two downy young in the nest.
I had read with envy earlier in the year the various reports that came in
to Birding-aus about bazas in the Sydney region, but finally saw my first
two (separate sightings) when up in Bundaberg in July. Now, in the same
year I've been lucky enough to find them nesting!!! Certainly is the "Year
of the Baza".
Looking through HANZAB last night I gathered the impression that they are
not particularly common, (contrary to the feeling I was beginning to form
from the reports from Sydney!) south of about 30 degrees, ie around
Grafton/Coffs Harbour, and that nesting was only sporadic in the southern
part of the range. HANZAB also states that there are only 12 records from
the Bird Nesting Project or whatever it is called. So I have three
questions directed mainly to RAOU staff and locals to the Hunter region...
1. How can I get hold of a nesting record report form?
2. Is there anyone in the Hunter region who would like to follow up this
nesting attempt so that we could write up a more explicit record of the
event for the Hunter Bird Group's journal or whatever? The nest is very
easy to locate and observe and is about 50km due north of Newcastle.
3. Alan Morris, do want further details of this for your records?
Other nice birds we saw over the weekend included the resident household
Grey-crowned Babblers, a pair of White-faced herons placing the first twigs
of their nest in a tree beside the house, and a flashy Rufous Fantail in a
dry rainforest remnant at Pilcher's Mountain.
Cheers,
Harvey
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Dr Harvey D. Perkins
Divn Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Faculty of Science
Australian National University
Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia
ph:(02) 6249 2693; fax:(02) 6249 0313
email:
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