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Hi Birder's,
Good Friday has proved appropriate as instead
of putting on the suit and tie and driving to work i was walking around Blue Gum
Lake(BGL) in Perth suburbia.
Suspected an Owl was in presence due to the
scolding calls of Red Wattlers, Grey Butcher Bird, Ravens( approx 40, one of the
largest gatherings i have ever seen) , Mudlark and Australian
Magpie.
Within a few minutes i spotted the Owl
about 10 metres up a Eucalypt. However to my pleasant surprise this was not
the Boobook I was expecting but a much larger Owl with mainly
white breast with limited black streaks mainly confined to the upper
half of the underparts.It had powerful talons and left its perch after a
couple of minutes whereby the noise from the other birds reached a
crescendo. Due to its large size all the birds appeared very wary and did
not approach closely like they do when buzzing a Boobook.
Suspected it was a Barking
Owl and this was confirmed when i
checked the field guides.The BGL Owl had very little streaking on its underparts
compared with the field guides.
This is a new species to me and is rather
appropriate considering this is where i started birding many years
ago.
For the record i have recorded over 70
species at BGL and the Barking Owl is a definite
highlight, along with an Osprey sighted in the
80's.
Perth is in drought mode at present with little
rain for six months and this is showing at BGL as the western half of the
lake is practically dry.
Finally, on the subject of White
Ibis saw over 3000 roosting at Booragoon Swamp this morning
before some commenced to leave at 7 15am local time. Were roosting
where Black Cormorants usually breed so hope they don't cause
any significant problems.
Regards
Wynton
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