The mate of the Sea-Eagle mentioned in my earlier email was
found dead this morning. Whether it died from the same prey item or a second
prey item is not known at this stage. The second bird was washed up on the opposite
shore to the nest site. It may have fallen onto the mudflats among the
mangroves and only just floated out on the tide as it couldn’t be found
on Sunday. If the birds shared one toxic fish or other item from the river it
would have been pretty potent. This appeared to be the case in 1992/1993 when a
pair were found dead close to each other. The two birds will be analysed and
the results made known some time in the near future.
Phil Straw
Editor, The Tattler,
Newsletter for the East Asian-Australasian Flyway
P.O. Box 2006
Rockdale Delivery Centre
NSW 2216, Australia
