About 10 years ago I came home to find the neighbours dog in our yard and
worried he may have attacked our chickens (again). As I walked along the fence
line which is a mix of bushy native shrubs and trees, I suddenly appeared face
to face (3 metres) with a Brown Goshawk staring at me with one talon perched on
the decapitated body of a Brown Cuckoo-dove on the ground. I ran to get my
video camera but of course he had flown up into a tree. I then heard him/her
calling from a tree with a second Goshawk. I have them on film calling but
wonder now where that might be?
While at Lake Wollumboola (south coast NSW) with my son Nigel, we witnessed a
Peregrine swoop towards some Red-necked stints resting on a shallow rocky
outcrop near the lake edge. As they were flushed they all flew up in a panic
and the Peregrine scooped one up with his talons and flew off. That was quite
thrilling to see at the time.
Lastly, in January this year after just returning that afternoon from out west
to Round Hill with Nigel (major highlight was seeing 2 Mallee Fowl for some
time as they crossed the road and just stood in the bush near us for quite some
time), I was woken around 2am by the call of a Powerful Owl. I have only heard
them a few times call elsewhere and have not seen one before. The call stopped
soon after but I woke Nigel and he heard it as well. We couldn't locate it
since the call stopped but the next day while I was out my husband Ian found
the remains under one of our eucalypt trees of a magpie. The skull and beak
were very clean of any flesh and there were feathers in a neat pile on the
ground. No other body parts were found but we did see the silky smooth
droppings (urates?) on the ground and on some leaves.
Carla Jackett
Kangaroo Valley NSW
==============================www.birding-aus.org
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