Yes other birds of prey take rabbits (Little Eagles, harriers, large kites, maybe even goshawks & Brown Falcons and large owls). Though maybe the younger rabbits.
I wouldn’t rule out that Wedge-tailed Eagles are also taking rabbits, even beside Lake Burley Griffin when the opportunity is there. However actually getting to see any of this happen is infrequent. (How often does anyone get to see the actual moment of predation
by Wedge-tailed Eagles? The frequency of the predation by all of these birds combined is barely sufficient to significantly reduce the rabbit population. I suggest, very likely fox and cat are the greater predators of rabbits than birds, in the area you are
asking about.
Philip
From: Canberrabirds [
On Behalf Of Fleur Leary via Canberrabirds
Sent: Saturday, 9 October, 2021 12:17 PM
To:
Subject: [Canberrabirds] Why no rabbit predators?
Question for the chatline: there is a proliferation of rabbits living beside Lake Burley Griffin from Molonglo Reach through to the ANU but they don't appear to be preyed upon by Wedge Tailed Eagles. Is this because this area is too built
up? Do other birds of prey take rabbits (owls?) ? Or is it just that the rabbits breed too fast for predation to make an impact on their numbers?
