>On Saturday 4 April Marleen Acton, John Maddy and myself travelled to
>Lucinda NQ to conduct a wader count. On the outward and return legs we
>noted the numbers and types of raptors seen along the Bruce Highway for the
>Birds Australia 'Birds of Prey' monitoring program; and also kept a log of
>all species seen throughout the day. We were totting up the total species
>seen (88) when we realised that we had observed 10 different raptors in a
>radius of 65km of Ingham.
>
>Is this an Australian record? How many raptors were noted on Andy Anderson
>'Big Day Birding' and at what radius? How many other countries can equal
>or better this?
>
>Cheers
>
>Alex Appleman
>Townsville.
>
Or maybe a list from suburban Sydney which, with the exception of the
Hobby, have all been seen during the past couple of years.
The municipality (City) of Willoughby lies about 6 km north-west of Sydney
Harbour Bridge and covers an area of 25-30 sq.km. It is mainly residential
having been heavily developed since the 1930s and includes an area of light
industry and has a major commercial centre where high rise buildings
predominate. There are the inevitable sporting and "dog-walking" reserves
but the area is fortunate in having fingers of native bushland along the
creeks and rivers. The area is bounded by a short section of the Lane Cove
River to the west and by part of Middle Harbour to the east.
My personal list is:
1. Black-shouldered Kite
2. Black Kite
3. Whistling Kite
4. Collared Sparrowhawk
5. Brown Goshawk
6. Grey Goshawk
7. Osprey
8. White-bellied Sea-eagle - nesting
9. Brown Falcon
10. Nankeen Kestrel
11. Peregrine Falcon
12. Australian Hobby
13. Powerful Owl - resident
14. Southern Boobook (why can't I call this an owl?)
another resident has added
15. Pacific Baza &
16. Wedge-tailed Eagle also within the past two years.
A pretty good list from an avian backwater where approximately 50% of the
species have become locally extinct within the past 200 years. (No more
Bristlebirds, Emu-wrens, Beautiful Firetails etc.).
And of course none of this would have been possible without the constant
attention of the Noisy Miners giving their raptor warning calls. Even the
riff-raff has its uses!!!
regards to all, Andy Burton
Andy Burton
Andy Burton's Bush Tours
703/4 Francis Road
Artarmon, NSW 2064
Email
Ph 61 2 9904 8468 (home and bus.)
Fax 61 2 9904 8768
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