Hobby vs Noisy Friarbird

[shorty <>]

Steve, i have no doubt the Hobby was treating it as prey. I have seen them take and consume Crested Pigeons at my place on a few occasions. I have also noted at Lake Eucumbene in the Snowy Mountains persue a group of Gang Gangs and single out one bird, although they ended up out of my view the Gang Gang became silent once they got to the shoreline.

Attached a pic of a Hobby eating a Crested Pigeon at my place and the Hobby in pursuit of the Gang Gang.

Shorty

On Sun, Mar 3, 2019 at 6:15 PM Steve Read <> wrote:

David Dedenczuk and I walked out to Yankee Hat this morning from the end of Old Boboyan Road (bird list at https://ebird.org/australia/view/checklist/S53311021). We didn’t see any Hobby (but we had seen a pair earlier on Nass Road). We did see four Kestrel flying as a group, a Brown Goshawk, a Brown Falcon (a very dark bird), two Wedge-tailed Eagle and two Swamp Harrier. The adult harrier was hassling one of the eagles, then one of the Kestrel joined in.

 

Shorty – seems as though you got the impression that the Hobby was treating the Noisy Friarbird as prey, and the picture certainly shows an attack. But I would have thought that a friarbird was rather large prey for a Hobby – I’m more used to them catching grasshoppers and dragonflies…?

 

Regards

 

Steve

 

From: shorty <>
Sent: Sunday, 3 March 2019 6:02 PM
To: COG Chat <>
Subject: [canberrabirds] Hobby vs Noisy Friarbird

 

After a visit to Mount Clear ( 6 Needletails seen ) I pulled into Old Boboyan Road for a quick look. 

 

After going across the low level crossings i noticed a Hobby so pulled up and got out of the car to get some pics. It turned out there were 2 Hobbys and i watched them flying around catching Grasshoppers often eating them on the fly. A Noisy Friarbird was calling from a perch in a nearby tree and soon took flight. A Hobby took off chasing the Friarbird and made contact but except for quite a few feathers lost the Hobby did not get his prey. The Friarbird continued with the Hobby chasing it but the Friarbird made it to a tree just in time.

 

During this time i also saw 3 Wedge-tailed Eagle, 2 Brown Goshawk (chasing Starlings) and a Nankeen Kestrel swooping the now perched Brown Goshawk.

 

A quick stop at the Yankee Hat carpark there were Dusky and White-browed Woodswallow with young.

 

Due to distance not a good pic but include the point of impact shot.

 

Shorty

 

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