Late this morning, a neighbour and the resident magpies
alerted me to the presence of a raptor on the ground, devouring what turned out
to be a Galah. Juvenile Collared Sparrowhawks turn up in my neck of the woods
(Page) most years and have enjoyed, variously, House Sparrows, Crested Pigeon,
starling and now a Galah. What surprises me – and perhaps the local
raptor experts can enlighten me – all the young sparrowhawks which have
visited have a varying number of whitish spots on their backs, a feature not
mentioned in any field guide. Is it likely that this is an inherited
characteristic and that they are all related? Today’s juvenile is perhaps
the least spotty of any to date. A good start to the GBS year. b
