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I know I'm taking a bit of a risk posting
this given the recent exchange of views, but I flushed what I expect was a
black falcon along the southern boundary of the former Narrabundah Hill pine
plantation (about 2/3 of the way down from the Hindmarsh Drive end) with
the horse paddocks about 16:30 yesterday afternoon.
I first thought it was a very dark phase brown
falcon as it glided past me quite close and low on flat broad wings
(definitely not a dihedral) but with noticeably very pointed tips. The
tail was long but held narrow. It alternated the glide with some rapid
wingbeats and then perched in a dead tree, unfortunately directly into a setting
sun. While the profile was definitely was not
pot-bellied, I could not clearly discern the characteristic broad shoulders
and small head under the viewing conditions (and with no binos and two dogs on
the lead).
When I approached closer it took off again with a
very similar pattern of alternating a glide with some rapid wing beats while
very keeping low before it appeared to settle on the ground on the other side of
a low ridge. At the time I didn't think this was black falcon behaviour
but consultation of the literature does not rule this out. Certainly
the jizz was very different from all the familiar local birds. Has
anyone seen it in the area too or does anyone have any ideas as to what else it
might have been (definitely not an A raven)?
I'm hoping it wasn't cleaning up the diamond
firetails which I have been seeing in this area regularly for the past 6 weeks
or so, the first time in nearly 30 years here that this has
happened.
Jack Holland
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