Recently I was scanning a wetland at Lawrence for
birds with Warren Thompson and Russell Jago when a Brown Hare scurried away from
us and ran towards the edge of the wetland. A short time later an unusual
animal was observed dog-paddling about 15 metres from the bank. On closer
inspection it was identified as a Brown Hare, presumably the one observed a
little earlier. The bird interest in this observation was that as it swam
in the wetland it was followed by a flotilla of 41+ waterbirds, comprising
Pink-eared Ducks, Pacific Black Ducks, Grey and Chestnut Teal and Eurasian
Coot. Although there was no obvious aggressive behaviour from the
waterbirds it did appear that they were seeing this strange aquatic animal
off.
Regards
Greg Clancy
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