Evan one key to id-ing raptors on the wing is to compare tail length to wing
width. With a bit of practice you will soon pick between Whistling (longer
tail) and Brahminy Kite (stubbier tail). They also have characteristic ways
of holding their wings eg level, curved up at the tips or bowed and these
are shown in the guides. I get both Wedge Tails and Sea Eagles around here
(nth NSW coast) and at a long distance you can tell that you have one or the
other of them due to the V shape in which they hold their wings when
soaring. You can then tell at quite a distance if it is a Wedgetail because
the tail (which is wedged in both cases) is much longer.
It is much more complex than just the factors above (eg by also using wing
and tail shapes) and it all becomes easier with familiarity but the idea is
to not look for just plumage pattern/colour which can be difficult in many
lighting situations and distances. For instance an immature Sea Eagle can
look a lot like a young Wedgetail in colours and if it has a neck ring it
can look like an Osprey. However the above characteristics will sort them
out. An Osprey's wings often have a long, relatively narrow, bent back at
the elbows look about them.
I attended a workshop by Greg Czechura at Qld Museum, Brisbane who taught me
these approaches and they certainly make a difference. He even has
characteristics for sorting raptors when they are perched and I was able to
use those, and the slightest hint of plumage features, to id a perched
immature Spotted Harrier in very late afternoon back lit mulga scrub on one
occasion. It becomes a process of elimination - ie it does have this
feature, it doesn't have this one therefore it can't be that or that but it
could be this or this. I am not sure if Greg makes the material available
but you can probably contact him at the Museum.
Regards Rex Fisher
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Evan Beaver
Sent: Wednesday, 14 March 2007 3:43 PM
To: Birding-aus
Subject: Identifying Raptors at 110kph
Good afternoon Birders,
Belting home along the M4 this afternoon I almost caused an accident
trying to identify a raptor. Spotted on the South side of the road,
just past the western end of Prospect Reservoir. If I didn't know
better I would have said it was an Osprey, so I'm baffled. The view,
not surprisingly, wasn't great, but I caught a few details. It was
pounding hard to gain altitude with long deep flaps. Wings were
thinner near the body than the tips, which were spread similarly to a
Square Tail; fingers spread. The problem was the marking. Brown bars
along the leading and trailing edges, and bold white down the center.
The brown was similar to a juvenille Brahminy, though I wouldn't think
the body shape was right for a Brahminy, and it would be well out of
range wouldn't it? So my best guess is an oddly plumaged Whistling, or
failing that, a young Brahminy Kite. In which case, I'm going back for
a better look.
Any comments?
--
Evan Beaver
Lapstone, Blue Mountains, NSW
lat=-33.77, lon=150.64
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