Birds of prey active at Cheltenham Park at 0800 this morning with hobby,
a definite first year Brown Goshawk and 2 of the first-year ?Collared
Sparrowhawks.
With no dog and binoculars I didn't manage to get as good views as
yesterday when at 0930 I (with dog and no binoculars) perhaps blundered
into a roost area. And my "bird call thingy" had no effect (it's just
one of those Audobon bird calls).
However did get a good size comparison between a ?Collared Sparrowhawk
and a Red Wattlebird which later used the same perch. About the same
length. And the ?Sparrowhawk has a long (but possibly not long enough)
middle toe.
Other birds recorded were Brown Thornbill, White-browed Scrubwren,
Little and Red Wattlebirds, Grey Fantail, Common Myna (2), Blackbird,
Spotted Turtle-dove, Common Bronzewing (3), Crested Pigeon, Grey
Butcherbird, Magpie-lark, Magpie, Little Raven, Musk and Rainbow
Lorikeets, Spotted Pardalote, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, White-faced
Heron (pursued by 6 Galahs, 3 Eastern Rosellas and 4 Noisy Miners),
Black Duck and 2 Eastern Spinebills (rare in Bayside at this time of
year) feeding on mistletoe blossom.
Not bad for a small suburban park (which for some reasons almost always
lacks Willie Wagtail, Welcome Swallow and Silver Gulls flying over).
Michael Norris
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