Late yesterday
afternoon I was sitting on the front porch reading – appropriately
enough, Pizzey’s Journey of a Lifetime – glancing up
once in a while as birdwatchers are wont to do. Suddenly I noticed a flock of
c.100 Magpie-larks wheeling around interspersed with at least 10 Magpies. As I
watched they plied a broad arc across the sky sometimes landing in clumps of
trees only to take wing a few seconds later. In the distance I noticed and
heard flocks of galahs flying about haphazardly and could hear them calling but
don’t believe the Magpie-larks or the Magpies were calling. I scanned the
sky for raptors but didn’t notice any. The sun had set but sufficient
light was still refracting from below the horizon to flood the sky with subtle
light which nicely illuminated the black-and-white flashings of the underwing
areas. The performance lasted for 10 minutes before the protagonists faded from
the scene. But what was it all about? Was there a bird of prey patrolling the
area but, if so, why did they continually break from cover after landing in
trees for just a few seconds? Perhaps, as they landed at a potential roost they
found no room at the inn and had to move along?
John K. Layton
HOLT.
