It always happens. Since the raptor count the other weekend, an assortment
of the species we didn't see then have been flaunting themselves almost
daily.
In this last week we've had Brahminy Kite, Spotted Harrier and Little Eagle
at Abberton as well as several of the raptors we did see on the day -
Wedge-tailed Eagles, Collared Sparrowhawk, Whistling Kites etc.
Yesterday, on my way back from the mailbox, a really tight flock of maybe 50
or 60 Plumheaded Finches raced past me low in a straight line and at speed,
distinctly and uncharacteristically different from their usual looser, more
elevated wandering. Sure enough, a Hobby materialised above and behind them,
wings swept back as he bore down on any straggler. I didn't see an outcome;
the unfolding drama took a second or so to whiz past, culminating in who
knows what a few hundred metres further along its path.
Today is very mild for mid-winter, and very birdy. A little while ago I
heard a Restless Flycatcher and headed off into the garden to try for a
photograph. I didn't find the bird, but instead photographed all three local
fairywrens, Speckled Warbler, Azure Kingfisher and four Red-tailed Black
Cockatoos that passed overhead. No prize-winning shots in there, but it's
great fun. I'm determined to remain a birder first, and a photographer
second - or lower, subject only to getting a few topical shots to keep the
website relevant.
Elsewhere in the Lockyer Valley this last week we've had Black-necked Storks
(with beautifully green necks of course), Cotton Pygmy-geese, Banded
Lapwings and Ground Cuckoo-shrikes. Five Musk Duck out at Lake Coolmunda -
Emu nearby.
Bill Jolly
"Abberton",
Lockyer Valley, Queensland.
Visit our website at www.abberton.org
email:
ph: (+61) 7 4697 6111
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