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Hi, you all,
Early yesterday arvo, as I hiked up the north-eastern side of The
Knoll on Lake Ginninderra Peninsular, a covey of at least 12 Brown Quail flushed
from grass about 15 metres short of the summit.
I watched a Black-shouldered Kite flying back and forth, hovering here and
there. It descended in two stages, and landed in long grass. It was on the
ground for about five seconds before it ascended and resumed hunting. Three
minutes later, it descended again, five seconds on the ground and up, up and
away. Due to the distance, I couldn't discern if it was carrying prey. I watched
it as it flew along and, suddenly, another kite hove into the field of view of
my binoculars. It flew up beneath the hunting kite, flipped over on its back and
the birds' talons appeared to make contact. An aerial exchange of prey?
Don't know. Thwarted by the tyranny of distance.
Anyhow, the kites flew off and perched on a small eucalypt tree about 70
metres away. Five minutes later, one kite flew up and appeared to mount the
other kite. It stayed in this position (wings flapping all the time) for some
seven seconds. I don't know if this was a successful or attempted
copulation, or some other mating ritual. The dominant kite resumed its
perch and, five minutes later, took wing and I lost sight of it.
Then COG member John Brenan (sorry, John, I've probably got your surname
wrong) and his dog emerged from the woods behind me. We watched the perched kite
and then John spied two raptors doing some contour hunting over a distant
wooded area.We had a good view of one as it perched but we were too far away to
say if it was a sparrow hawk or a goshawk.
Bye
John Layton.
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