Graeme - I am not responding as an eagle
expert, but:
1.
Hanzab mentions both carrion (from sheep among other mammals)
and lamb-parts (inferred from wool in stomach, query whether always carrion) as
occasional, minor items of diet of LEs.
2.
It would be a matter of speculation that your bird was attracted
to the lamb births in search of food. It might have just been watching
speculatively.
3.
12 kms seems a long way for your bird to be one of the FSP
pair. It seems much too far to be within a breeding territory, and there
seems no shortage of food around the Fyshwick/Pialligo area. Probably a
different bird, no reason why not.
4.
The FSP pair are reasonably distinctive. In the below the
above pics are of the (pale) ‘dark morph’ female and the below of
the light morph male. G
From: Clifton [
Sent: Sunday, 2 September 2007 10:19 PM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] Fw: Little Eagle Wanna Wanna Rd Area
I know we have Little Eagle experts in our midst.
We
are lambing at present and on Sat I was keeping an eye on a ewe that had
triplets. On checking her mid afternoon I noticed a raptor fly from the
general area to a tree about 20m from the ewe. I watched it for
a minute or so to see what was going to happen. It flew away through
the trees ( the area is old regrowth of stringy bark and gum),
I got a good look at it and decided it was a light phase Little Eagle, it had a
short tail that was quite fanned as it dodged through the trees. It
reminded me greatly of the photos that were recently posted of the Fyshwick
pair. I couldn't see a wing pattern as I lost sight of the bird above the
canopy. The only other option was a Whistling Kite but I am very
confident that it was a Little Eagle.
Why
was it hanging around the ewe and lambs. I don't believe it was to cause
harm to the lambs but there was afterbirth about so was this the target?
or was it just a coincidence. What does the literature say about Little
eagle's taste for lambs or afterbirth. I had seen a similar raptor
in this area a few years ago but not since and I don't think it coincided with
lambing.
Where
did it come from? Given the shortage of this sp in and around the ACT, is
it from a known breeding pair? My guess is that it is about 12 kms
to the Fyshwich Sewage
Ponds from my place.
The
afterbirth was untouched as of this afternoon (Sun).
