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During the weekend we visited a grazing property just north of Cootamundra.
Despite a busy social agenda including attendance at a bush polo match we
did some birding Sunday morning, although after the post game BBQ I was
like the erstwhile Dunlop ... weary.
Seven sightings of Black-shouldered Kites perched and hovering, another
five seen hovering along the road between the Olympic Way and Harden. In a patch
of maturing eucalyptus regrowth on the property we saw a pair of Yellow-plumed
Honeyeaters, have seen them near Weethalie but never any further east until now.
Flushed three ground-feeding Superb Parrots and they entered the canopy of a big
Yellow Box. We located them again plus five others in among the
branches. Patches of woodland were rife with Eastern Rosellas. Three or four
Rufous Songlarks singing in flight and while perched on deadfall.
A shadow raced across the paddock and we looked up as a darkish
raptor at least the size of a Whistling Kite described a long shallow
descent, leveled out and glided along ten metres above the ground as
if quartering the area before flapping up, up and away. Our immediate reaction
was to wonder if it wasn't a harrier. But no. The legs weren't dangling and
the livery wasn't right. As it descended we panned our binos and it
was in good light so we could discern a squarish tail, very dark under body,
rear half of under wing areas seemed grey-brown with front half a darker brown,
also highly obvious bright white wing patchs at the base of long black
primaries. A few times while low down it rocked its
wings à la a bataleur.
"What is it?" les petites shrieked in unison. "Pipe down and let me think,"
I said. "That means he doesn't know," Junior muttered. I ignored the gormless
cub and concentrated on the bird, but couldn't tell what is was.
Thus followed much discussion and speculation. "It sure reminded me of a
bataleur," I said.
"Absolutely impossible," Elder Brat said, "they're an African
species."
"I saw a bataleur eating a dead rat on TV," Junior advised.
"Old Harold MacMillan once said, 'The winds of change are
blowing through Africa.' Maybe they blew real hard and lobbed a
bataleur clear over to Australia," I commented.
"Don't be silly!" someone admonished. Tsk ... tsk.
Back home I checked HANZAB Vol. II, assumed a sober, sensible mien and
announced that I believed our raptor was a Black-breasted Buzzard Hamirostra
melnosternom. After voicing counter opinions (as usual) the erudite
brats acquiesced and consensus was reached. Phew.
Anyone have other suggestions? Yes, it does seem too far south east for the
species but vagrants, like birders' luck, happen.
John Layton.
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