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0700 this morning we arrived at McDermott Place, Lake Ginninderra for a
birding / biking whiz around the lake. As we pulled up, we saw a White-bellied
Sea-Eagle standing on the shore 40 metres away. Apparently, Mr / Ms Eagle wasn't
in hunting mode because all the local waterfowl were quietly pottering about
their business as if the big predator wasn't present.
Watched in awe for a minute before getting out of the ute and sneaking
towards it. Got to within 30 metres before the eagle took wing and eventually
climbed out of view heading west.
Saw an iron-woman type of lady jogging by with a German Shepherd on a
leash. Suddenly, they were Stuka-ed by an agro magro. We stopped at a safe
distance and watched the fun. The Shepherd leapt and barked and tugged iron-lady
off balance while she shouted and shook her free fist at the magpie which
pressed home its attack for some fifty metres until athletic woman and dog
sought sanctuary beneath a clump of trees. Great entertainment.
Shortly afterward, we were Stuka-ed by a feisty Willie Wagtail. Saw a Noisy
Friarbird building its nest in a casuarina tree, an Olive-backed Oriel carrying
strips of bark and a Magpie-lark in situ on its nest. At John Knight Memorial
Park, a feeding raft of eighty Little Black Cormorants. "There must be a lot of
fish in the water," Sami Jane shouted, "What kind of fish are they?"
"Slow down and stop carping about it!" I puffed, struggling to keep pace
with my pedaling little pinafore. As we rode across the outdoor carpark of
Belconnen Mall, en route to a breakfast of hot cakes at MacDonalds, we saw a
Masked Lapwing sprinting across the bitumen preceded by a tiny, fuzzy chick. In
all my birdwatching days I've never seen a Masked Lapwing chick before. We hope
it survives. Anyhow, we survived Old Macdonald's hot cakes (yummy) and
bituminous coffee (yucky) and pedaled contentedly and burpingly back to the ute
where we saw Tree Martins, Fairy Martins and Welcome Swallows all nicely arrayed
for our inspection in the one dead tree.
John & Samantha Layton
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