Philip,
I noticed that behaviour last year at “my” kestrels’ nest while Mum was still sitting on eggs. She didn’t have the appetite to accept all the mice that Dad brought her and sometimes he would stuff around with it for up to an hour before hiding it in a crevice in a nearby tree. These shots show Dad hiding a mouse in a fork. From the time he went into the fork on one side and came out the other without the mouse was only 20 seconds.
Margaret
From: Philip Veerman [
Sent: Friday, 2 November 2012 12:00 AM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] COG's bird blitz & Kestrel nest etc.
Further to this. Today I went past this Kestrel site (at about 4 p.m.). No sign of them for about 10 minutes, then observed male Kestrel hunting about 100 metres distant. Another several minutes later he flew up to perch near the entrance of the hollow, carrying a long skink (close to its own body length). Female Kestrel quickly came out of the hollow and flew up to a branch next to him, but he flew away still carrying the skink and I couldn't see where he went. She flew off to a nearby tree, where she stayed (silently) for next about 15 minutes, apart from three short flights around the few trees. Twice returning to same perch but the third time she flew to the tree hollow and went straight in. Whilst there I noticed a Starling carrying food into another hollow in the same tree about 2 metres away and a pair of Galahs, one entering a hollow on the opposite side of the same tree and a S-c Cockatoo at a hollow in the next tree up the hill. Plenty of other suggestions of breeding by two Rosella species and several pairs of Starlings & Mynas there also. I don't recall if I noticed or included these others on the COG Blitz datasheet on Sunday.
Another unconnected thought. Whilst driving home from Fyshwick yesterday, I saw an Echidna close to the road at the intersection of Hindmarsh drive & Mugga Lane (near the big tank).
