I went out to west Macgregor again today after the rain,
getting there at 1.15pm. 4 Zebra Finches were sitting in the clump of dead
bramble that is about half way along the gravel track to the old sewage works.
I went over to the south side of the sewage works to look
for the chats and Flame Robins, but no sign of them. Around 2pm, I spotted a
large dark falcon with broad, pointed slightly drooped wings fly low past the
northern end of the sewage works, and alight on one of the power poles along
the track on the western side. It looked like a Black Falcon, but I
wasn’t 100% certain it wasn’t an immature Peregrine. I made my way
back, keeping the bird in view. At one point a second dark falcon with similar
jizz flew along the creek, past the bird on the pole, and disappeared behind
some trees, but I was too busy trying to keep the bird on the pole in view. I
got back to the northern end and sat watching the bird, still some distance
away, for about 20 minutes. Then I decided to hop the fence and go down to
within about 30 metres of the bird. It was clearly a Black Falcon, and it
watched me for a minute or two before taking off and circling around for
several minutes before heading off in a north-westerly direction. Ian Fraser
turned up – he had been independently watching the bird for several
minutes as it circled around.
This was an ACT first for me – a species that has long
eluded me, and I got to watch it for about half an hour, and there were almost
certainly two birds. Now all I need is that Pied Butcherbird!
Other species of note – 1 Wedge-tailed Eagle, c.10
Dusky Woodswallows, c.20 Double-barred Finches, c.20 Red-rumped Parrots. 1
Black-shouldered Kite when I walked over to Dunlop, and I was surprised to find
a solitary Hardhead on a small pond near the houses in Dunlop.
Regards
Frank
